A Virginia motorcycle bill of sale can be a plain handwritten statement, and the DMV will accept it as proof of what you paid. To do its job, it needs six things: the purchase price, the motorcycle’s year, make, and model, the vehicle identification number, the date of sale, and the signatures of both the buyer and the seller.1Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles. Motor Vehicle Sales and Use Tax That’s the whole list. Addresses, odometer readings, and notarization are not required on the bill of sale itself.
Copy the VIN carefully. It’s a 17-character string stamped into the frame, usually on the steering neck, and the DMV will compare it against the title. A single wrong digit stalls the titling. If what’s on the frame doesn’t match what’s on the title, stop and sort that out before any money moves.
Getting the Price Right
Whatever number you write becomes the number the DMV taxes. Virginia charges 4.15% of the gross sales price, with a $75 minimum.1Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles. Motor Vehicle Sales and Use Tax On a $5,000 bike, that’s $207.50. On a $500 bike between friends, it’s still $75.
Writing a fake low price to shrink the tax is a bad idea, especially on a newer motorcycle. For bikes five years old or newer that appear in a recognized pricing guide, the DMV will not accept a price lower than the guide value minus $1,500 unless the buyer signs an affidavit under penalty of perjury swearing the lower price is legitimate.2Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Code 58.1-2405 – Basis of Tax The $1,500 cushion covers normal wear and minor cosmetic issues. If the bike really did sell for less because it needs engine work or was wrecked, the affidavit is your path. For motorcycles older than five years, the DMV has more flexibility to accept whatever price the parties declare.
Gift Transfers
If the motorcycle is a gift to your spouse, parent, son, or daughter, there’s no sales and use tax. Write “gift” in the price field on the title instead of a dollar amount, and the recipient files Form SUT 3 (Purchaser’s Statement of Tax Exemption) to claim the exemption, checking the box for the right relationship.3Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles. Purchaser’s Statement of Tax Exemption
One catch, and it only exempts spouses: if the recipient takes over an unpaid loan balance, that balance becomes a taxable amount.3Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles. Purchaser’s Statement of Tax Exemption A parent gifting a child a bike with $3,000 still owed on it owes tax on that $3,000. Gifts between siblings, cousins, or friends don’t qualify at all; the DMV will tax those based on sale price or fair market value.
What the Seller Does With the Title
The bill of sale proves the price. The title transfers ownership, and the seller handles that by completing Section A on the front of the existing Virginia title. Every owner shown on the title must print and sign their name, write in the buyer’s full name and address, record the odometer reading directly off the motorcycle, enter the date of sale, and write the sale price.4Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles. Buying/Selling a Vehicle For a gift, “gift” goes in the price field.
The odometer entry is not optional. Virginia law requires the seller to record it on the certificate of title at transfer, and the DMV will not issue a new title to the buyer without it. Knowingly recording a false reading is a Class 1 misdemeanor. Older bikes get an exemption: 2010-or-earlier model years are exempt from odometer disclosure once transferred at least 10 years after their model year, and 2011-or-newer models are exempt once transferred at least 20 years after their model year.5Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Code 46.2-629 – Odometer Reading to Be Reported on Certificate of Title
Before the buyer rides off, the seller takes the license plates. Plates belong to the seller, not the bike. The seller should also notify the DMV that the motorcycle has been sold and call their insurer to update or cancel coverage.4Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles. Buying/Selling a Vehicle
If There’s a Lien
A title showing a lienholder cannot be legally assigned until the loan is paid and the lien released. Lienholders typically release the title within 10 to 20 business days after final payment, sometimes faster with electronic processing. Never hand over money for a motorcycle with an active lien unless the payoff happens at the same time, through escrow or at the lender’s office. A seller who promises to pay the loan off after you pay them is asking you to trust them with your cash and no title.
Using Form SUT 1 Instead
Virginia also publishes an official alternative to a handwritten bill of sale called the Vehicle Price Certification, or Form SUT 1. It’s designed for motorcycles and other vehicles more than five years old, and it’s the form to reach for when the seller forgot to write the price on the title or wrote an incorrect one.6Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles. Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles Form SUT 1
Either party can complete and sign it. The form collects the sale date, VIN, color, year, make, model, and body type, and the signer certifies under penalty of perjury that everything on it is true. Despite what you may read elsewhere, SUT 1 does not require notarization; there is no notary line on the form.6Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles. Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles Form SUT 1
Bringing It All to the DMV
You have 30 days from the date of purchase to apply for a title in your name.7Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Code 46.2-600 – Owner to Secure Registration and Certificate of Title Miss that window and the DMV adds a $10 late fee.8Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles. DMV Fees You can file in person at a DMV customer service center, at a DMV Select location, or by mail.4Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles. Buying/Selling a Vehicle
Bring the assigned title, your proof of purchase price (the bill of sale or an SUT 1), and payment for:
- Title fee: $15
- Sales and use tax: 4.15% of the purchase price, or $75, whichever is greater
- Registration fee: varies by weight, starting at $30.75 for vehicles 4,000 pounds or less
These are the DMV’s current amounts.8Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles. DMV Fees Some localities add their own registration fees, and bikes garaged in certain Northern Virginia counties pay a $2 emissions inspection fee. You will also need to certify insurance coverage, or pay the $600 Uninsured Motorist Fund fee, before the DMV issues plates or decals.9Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles. Insurance Requirements That fee is not insurance; it just lets you register.
Getting the Motorcycle Home
Private buyers get caught by this: only licensed dealers can issue temporary tags in Virginia.10Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Code 46.2-1542 – Temporary Registration When you buy from another person, there is no legal way to ride the bike on public roads until you have titled it, registered it, and bolted on your own plates. Plan to trailer it, visit the DMV the same day you pick it up, or meet the seller near a DMV office.