Texas Vehicle Title Transfer: Forms, Fees, and Sales Tax

A Texas vehicle title transfer happens at the buyer’s county tax assessor-collector office within 30 days of the sale. The buyer brings the signed title, a completed Form 130-U, ID, and proof of insurance, then pays a $28 or $33 title fee plus 6.25% motor vehicle sales tax.¹ The seller has a separate job: file a Vehicle Transfer Notification so the state’s records show the car is no longer theirs.

What the Seller Must Sign on the Title

Texas Transportation Code Section 501.028 sets out exactly what the seller has to complete on the certificate of title before ownership can change hands. The seller signs and prints their name, prints the date of transfer, and prints the buyer’s full name and address.² Leaving the buyer’s information blank so they can fill it in later creates a gap in the chain of title that will stall the transfer at the counter.

If the seller can’t sign in person, a designated agent can sign using TxDMV Form VTR-271, a limited power of attorney built specifically for motor vehicle transactions.³ A general power of attorney can work, but the VTR-271 avoids questions at the county office about whether the document covers vehicle titles.

What the Buyer Brings to the County Office

The core document is Form 130-U, the Application for Texas Title and/or Registration.⁴ Completing it takes the vehicle’s seventeen-digit VIN (visible through the lower-left corner of the windshield or on the driver-side door jamb), the current odometer reading, legal names and addresses for both parties, and the sale price.

Alongside the 130-U and the signed title, bring valid government-issued ID such as a Texas driver license or U.S. passport, and proof of current liability insurance in the buyer’s name. The insurance has to be active when the county processes the application. One thing you no longer need: as of January 1, 2025, Texas eliminated vehicle safety inspection for non-commercial vehicles, so a current inspection sticker is not part of the title transfer.⁵

Where and When to File

File in the county where the buyer lives, or where the lienholder is located if there’s a lien. In-person filing lets a clerk catch errors on the spot; mail with original signatures is also accepted. After processing, the clerk issues a temporary registration receipt as proof of ownership, and the permanent title arrives by mail within a few weeks.

The deadline is 30 days from the date of sale.¹ Active-duty military get 60 days. After that, penalties begin.

Fees and How the Sales Tax Is Actually Calculated

The base title fee is either $28 or $33 depending on whether you live in an emissions-compliant county. The Dallas-Fort Worth and Houston metro counties, among others, charge the higher amount. County offices may add small local processing fees and a surcharge for credit card payments.

Sales tax is 6.25%, but the number it’s applied to catches most buyers off guard. Tax is based on the greater of the actual sale price or 80% of the vehicle’s Standard Presumptive Value.⁶ SPV is calculated by TxDMV from regional private-party sales data drawn from nationally recognized value guides. Cosmetic condition doesn’t factor in, so a car with hail damage carries the same SPV as one in showroom shape.

If you paid less than 80% of SPV, you can contest the tax by getting a certified appraisal on TxDMV Form 14-128 within 30 days of the sale (60 days for active-duty military). The county will then base tax on the appraised value, as long as it’s not lower than what you actually paid. If you already paid the higher SPV-based tax and then obtain a favorable appraisal within that window, Form 14-202 lets you claim a refund of the difference.⁶

Late Filing Penalties

Texas charges a $25 late transfer penalty for filings between 31 and 60 days after the sale. After day 60, another $25 accrues for each additional 30-day period, or any portion of one, until the application is filed. The total caps at $250. Dealers face a separate $10 delinquent transfer penalty when they file past 30 days. All penalties are paid to the county at the time you file, on top of the title fee and sales tax.

Gift Transfers Between Family

Vehicles given as gifts between qualifying family members skip the 6.25% sales tax entirely. Instead, the recipient pays a flat $10 gift tax when titling and registering.⁷ On a $20,000 vehicle, that’s $10 instead of $1,250.

Eligible gift transfers are limited to vehicles received from a:

Spouse (separate property)
Parent, stepparent, or child, including stepchildren
Grandparent or grandchild, including in-laws and greats
Sibling, brother-in-law, or sister-in-law
Guardian
Qualifying 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization

Transfers between aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, and cousins do not qualify even at zero dollars; those are taxed as sales with SPV procedures. To count as a gift, the recipient must pay no consideration at all. Assuming a lien, paying cash, providing labor, or exchanging property of any kind converts it to a sale. As of September 1, 2025, vehicles transferred from a deceased owner’s estate through a will, intestate succession, or a right of survivorship agreement are exempt from the $10 gift tax entirely.⁷

What the Seller Files Separately

Sellers have their own filing obligation many people skip: the Vehicle Transfer Notification on Form VTR-346.⁸ This tells TxDMV the vehicle has been sold and updates the state record. Without it, you remain the registered owner in the system even after the buyer drives away with a signed title, and toll violations, parking tickets, and worse can trace back to you.

Filing within 30 days of the sale provides a legal shield.¹ The fastest method is online at TxDMV.gov/VTN, which processes immediately. The paper form can also be mailed to TxDMV. Don’t do both. Keep a copy of whichever method you use as proof of the transfer date.

Transferring a Title With a Lien

You can’t transfer a clean title while a loan is outstanding. Once the loan is paid off, the lienholder has 10 days to release its interest.⁹

For paper titles, the owner takes the title, a lien release letter from the lienholder, and a completed Form 130-U to the county tax office. The $28 or $33 title fee applies again for issuing the lien-free title. For liens recorded through the Electronic Lien and Title system, the lienholder notifies TxDMV electronically once the loan is satisfied, and TxDMV converts the electronic record to a paper title mailed to the owner. No county visit is needed for the lien removal itself, though a visit is still required when the clean title is transferred to a buyer.

Transferring a Title After the Owner Dies

When the owner has died and there’s no probated will or estate administration, heirs can transfer the title using Form VTR-262, the Affidavit of Heirship for a Motor Vehicle.¹⁰ The form also works when a will exists but hasn’t been probated, or when a court determines no administration is necessary.

All heirs must sign before a notary. A surviving spouse is typically the only signature required, unless the deceased had children from another relationship, in which case those children must also sign. With no surviving spouse, every child of the deceased must sign. A guardian signs for minor children and attaches Letters of Guardianship. If heirs can’t appear before the same notary on the same day, separate copies of the form can be completed. The completed affidavit goes to the county tax office along with Form 130-U, proof of insurance, and any applicable lien release. Estate transfers on or after September 1, 2025, are exempt from the $10 gift tax.

Odometer Disclosure

Federal law requires every seller to give the buyer a written disclosure of the odometer reading.¹¹ If you know the reading doesn’t reflect actual miles driven because the odometer was replaced, repaired, or rolled past its mechanical limit, you must disclose that actual mileage is unknown. A false mileage statement is a federal violation, and Texas won’t issue a title without the signed, dated disclosure.

Some vehicles are exempt: those with a gross vehicle weight rating over 16,000 pounds, non-self-propelled vehicles such as trailers, and older vehicles that have aged out. Model year 2010 or earlier vehicles are exempt once they’re at least 10 years old. Vehicles from 2011 and newer become exempt after 20 years.¹²

1
Texas Department of Motor Vehicles. Buying or Selling a Vehicle
2
State of Texas. Texas Transportation Code 501.028 – Signatures
3
Texas Department of Motor Vehicles. Limited Power of Attorney for Eligible Motor Vehicle Transactions (Form VTR-271)
4
Texas Department of Motor Vehicles. Application for Texas Title and/or Registration (Form 130-U)
5
Texas Department of Public Safety. Vehicle Safety Inspection Changes Take Effect January 2025
6
Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. Motor Vehicle Tax Guide – Standard Presumptive Value
7
Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. Motor Vehicle Tax Guide – Gift Tax
8
Texas Department of Motor Vehicles. Texas Motor Vehicle Transfer Notification (Form VTR-346)
9
Texas Department of Motor Vehicles. Add/Remove a Lien on a Vehicle
10
Texas Department of Motor Vehicles. Affidavit of Heirship for a Motor Vehicle (Form VTR-262)
11
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 49 U.S. Code 32705 – Disclosure Requirements on Transfer of Motor Vehicles
12
eCFR. 49 CFR Part 580 – Odometer Disclosure Requirements