What Is a VTR Form in Texas and When Do You Need One?

A VTR form is any form published by the Vehicle Titles and Registration division of the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles, and in Texas you need one anytime you buy, sell, gift, inherit, or request records for a vehicle. The division’s initials appear as the prefix on form numbers like VTR-346, VTR-262, and VTR-275, and in the TxDMV mailing address. Form 130-U, the Application for Texas Title and/or Registration, sits alongside them and runs through nearly every title transaction even though its number doesn’t carry the VTR prefix.¹

You’ll sometimes see VTR described online as “Vehicle Transaction Record.” That’s wrong. It stands for Vehicle Titles and Registration, and the forms are specific to Texas; other states use their own paperwork and numbering.

The VTR Forms Most People Actually Use

TxDMV publishes well over a hundred VTR-numbered forms, but only a handful come up in ordinary vehicle transactions.²

Form 130-U — Application for Texas Title and/or Registration. The primary document for any title transfer or new registration.³
VTR-346 — Motor Vehicle Transfer Notification. Sellers file this to tell TxDMV they no longer own the vehicle.⁴
VTR-262 — Affidavit of Heirship for a Motor Vehicle. Used by heirs to transfer a deceased owner’s vehicle outside of probate.⁵
VTR-34 — Application for Certified Copy of Title. For titles that are lost, damaged, or destroyed.
VTR-267 — Additional Liens Statement. Filed with Form 130-U when a vehicle has more than one lienholder.
VTR-275 — Request for Texas Motor Vehicle Information. Owners and lienholders use it to request records on a specific vehicle.⁶

All of them download free from the TxDMV forms page, and paper copies are available at county tax assessor-collector offices.

When You’re Buying or Selling a Vehicle

A private sale creates paperwork for both sides. The buyer has 30 calendar days from the sale date to file Form 130-U at a county tax assessor-collector’s office and pay the title fee, registration fee, and any motor vehicle sales tax owed.³ You can file in the county where the sale happened, where you live, or where the lienholder is located.⁷ Active-duty military get 60 days.

The seller’s job is to hand over a properly signed title showing the sale date and odometer reading, plus a signed Form 130-U with the sales price filled in.⁸ The seller should also file a VTR-346 within 30 days.

One point trips sellers up: the VTR-346 does not transfer ownership. It only updates TxDMV’s records to show you no longer have the vehicle.⁴ Until the buyer actually files Form 130-U and a new title is issued, you remain on record. Parking tickets, toll violations, and crimes committed with the vehicle can land on you. Filing the VTR-346 shields you from that exposure. You can submit it online through the TxDMV website or mail the paper form to TxDMV – VTR, 4000 Jackson Ave, Austin, Texas 78731.¹

What to Bring to the County Tax Office

Before you go, pull together the vehicle identification number, the current odometer reading, full legal names and addresses for buyer and seller, the sales price, lienholder details or a lien release if the loan has been paid off, and proof of liability insurance in the applicant’s name. A valid government-issued photo ID is also required.

When You’re Gifting a Vehicle

Texas lets qualifying family members and 501(c)(3) nonprofits transfer a vehicle as a gift with a flat $10 motor vehicle tax instead of the standard 6.25% sales tax. The gift rate only applies between specific relationships: spouses, parents, stepparents, children, stepchildren, siblings, grandparents, grandchildren, in-laws within those groups, legal guardians, and qualifying nonprofits.⁹ Give a vehicle to someone outside that list and the recipient owes standard sales tax on its value.

To claim the gift rate, both the donor and the recipient complete Form 14-317, the Affidavit of Motor Vehicle Gift Transfer, in addition to Form 130-U. The affidavit must be notarized or signed in front of a county tax office staff member, and the title application has to be submitted in person by either the donor or the recipient.⁹

When You’re Inheriting a Vehicle

The paperwork for a deceased owner’s vehicle depends on whether the estate went through probate.

If the estate was probated, the executor or administrator can assign the title by presenting a certified copy of the probate proceedings, Letters Testamentary, or Letters of Administration at the county tax office. No VTR-262 is needed.⁵

If there was no probate and no administration is necessary, the heirs complete VTR-262 with notarized signatures. If the deceased had a surviving spouse, that spouse is usually the only person who needs to sign, unless the deceased also had children from another relationship, in which case those children must sign too. With no surviving spouse, all children must sign. A guardian signs for any minor children and attaches Letters of Guardianship.⁵

The VTR-262 goes in with Form 130-U, the assigned title (or verification if the vehicle was last titled out of state), a lien release if applicable, and proof of liability insurance if the heir is also registering the vehicle. As of September 1, 2025, vehicles transferred from a decedent’s estate through a will, the statutes of descent and distribution, or a right of survivorship agreement are exempt from gift tax.⁹

What Happens If You Miss the 30-Day Deadline

Two separate penalty clocks start running when the buyer misses the title transfer deadline.

The first is the title transfer penalty. Filing on or after the 31st day triggers an automatic $25 fee. After 60 days, another $25 is added for every 30-day period (or partial period) you keep waiting, up to a $250 cap.¹⁰

The second is the tax penalty. Pay the motor vehicle sales tax 1 to 30 days late and 5% is added to what you owe. After 30 days, the penalty jumps to 10%, with a minimum of $1.³ State law sets both penalties, and county tax offices cannot waive or reduce them for any reason.¹⁰

The numbers add up quickly. On a $15,000 private purchase, 6.25% sales tax alone is $937.50. Wait 45 days and you’ve added a $25 title penalty plus $46.88 in tax penalties. Wait four months and it gets genuinely painful.

Where to Download and File VTR Forms

Every VTR form is a free PDF download at txdmv.gov/forms, and paper copies are available at any county tax assessor-collector office or TxDMV Regional Service Center.² Form 130-U and anything that goes with it, including VTR-262 and Form 14-317, has to be submitted in person at a county tax office because fees and taxes are paid at the time of filing.⁷ The county issues a receipt confirming the application was filed, and once processing is complete the new title is mailed to the registered owner, or to the lienholder if there’s an active lien.

1
Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. Motor Vehicle Tax Guide – Application for Texas Title and/or Registration
2
Texas Department of Motor Vehicles. TxDMV Forms
3
Texas Department of Motor Vehicles. Application for Texas Title and/or Registration (Form 130-U)
4
Texas Department of Motor Vehicles. Texas Motor Vehicle Transfer Notification
5
Texas Department of Motor Vehicles. Affidavit of Heirship for a Motor Vehicle (VTR-262)
6
Texas Department of Motor Vehicles. Request for Texas Motor Vehicle Information (VTR-275)
7
Texas Department of Motor Vehicles. Detailed Instructions for Application for Texas Title and/or Registration (Form VTR-130-UIF)
8
Texas Department of Motor Vehicles. Buying or Selling a Vehicle
9
Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. Motor Vehicle Tax Guide – Gifts
10
Texas Department of Motor Vehicles. TxDMV Title Penalties Press Release