New York City car sale paperwork, in the DMV's order

What you fill in on the back of the New York title

Turn the title over and find the Transfer by Owner section. The New York DMV tells sellers to print the seller's name and address, the buyer's name and address, and the date of transfer, then sign on the seller's signature line. The DMV adds that the vehicle belongs to the new owner the moment you sign, so sign only with the buyer in front of you and the payment in hand.

Write nothing on the front, and fill in nothing until the sale is happening. The DMV's rule is blunt: "The DMV will not accept titles with cross-outs, alterations, or erasures of any kind." A corrected date or a changed address voids the certificate, and a voided title, even by mistake, means a duplicate before ownership can move: form MV-902, $20 as of 2026-11-07 on the DMV's title page. See title problems.

A title already signed over to you cannot be signed over again; the seller must hold a title in their own name. The buyer leaves with the signed title, the signed original lien release if a lienholder is listed on the front of the title, the MV-912 and the DTF-802.

Source: New York DMV: Certificate of Title.

The MV-912 bill of sale and the DTF-802 sales tax form

New York asks for two documents besides the title. The first is the Vehicle Bill of Sale, form MV-912, which the DMV says both seller and buyer sign even if the car is a gift. The form is one page: the price, the year, make, model and VIN, both names and addresses, two signatures and two dates. For a gift, the DMV says to write a price of $0 and mark it as a gift. The buyer gives the original to the DMV; keep a photocopy.

The second is the Statement of Transaction, form DTF-802, from the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance. The buyer completes the purchaser's part. You complete Section 6, the Affidavit of Sale, when the car is a gift or is sold below fair market value to anyone other than a spouse, parent, child, stepparent or stepchild; otherwise the form says the new owner needs a copy of the bill of sale signed by the seller. The tax is not yours to collect: the DMV's sales tax page says the buyer brings the DTF-802 to a DMV office, where the DMV calculates and collects the sales tax and issues a receipt. The five-borough rate and the rest of what the buyer pays at the counter are on where to sell.

Source: New York DMV: Buy, Sell, or Transfer Vehicle Ownership; Form MV-912, Vehicle Bill of Sale (PDF); Form DTF-802, Statement of Transaction (PDF); New York DMV: Sales Tax Information.

The odometer and damage boxes

The back of the title has two disclosure statements. On mileage, the New York DMV states the rule this way: "For motor vehicles manufactured in or after the 2011 model year that are 20 model years old or newer, the seller must complete the odometer disclosure statement on the back of the title certificate." For a 2010 or older car, the DMV says odometer disclosure is not required. The federal rule behind that, 49 CFR 580.17, exempts a 2011-or-newer vehicle transferred at least 20 years after January 1 of its model year, and a 2010-or-older vehicle after 10 years; its own example is that in calendar year 2031, model year 2011 and older cars are exempt. If your title has no odometer space, the DMV says the buyer must get a completed form MV-103 from you.

The damage disclosure is different, and age does not excuse it: the DMV says the Damage Disclosure Statement on the back of a New York title must be completed for all vehicles, regardless of age. For a car eight model years old or newer, the DMV will not register it or issue a new title unless the seller completed the statement and the buyer signed it. If you disclose damage whose repair cost exceeds 75 percent of the car's retail value at the time of loss, the DMV says the car cannot be registered until it passes a DMV salvage examination, after which it gets a branded title; see salvage and rebuilt titles.

Source: New York DMV: Certificate of Title; 49 CFR 580.17, odometer disclosure exemptions (eCFR).

What the buyer does at the DMV, and how long the title takes

Once the papers change hands, the New York DMV says the new owner must register and title the car at a DMV office and pay sales tax or prove an exemption, and cannot legally drive it before getting plates and a registration or transferring them from another car they have registered. The clock runs from insurance: the buyer must register within 180 days of the effective date on their insurance ID card. The buyer brings the signed title, the MV-912, the DTF-802 and a Vehicle Registration/Title Application (form MV-82); the DMV's Registration Guide lists the rest of the documents for their case.

The buyer pays at registration. The DMV lists sales tax, a plate or transfer fee, county use tax in most counties, a one- or two-year registration fee and a title certificate fee of $50 as of 2026-11-07. When the buyer registers, the DMV gives them, or mails within one to two weeks, plates, a windshield sticker, a registration document and a 10-day inspection extension sticker; the DMV says an inspection issued to the previous registrant is not valid, so your sticker does the buyer no good (see inspection). The title is slower: the DMV says New York State title certificates are not issued over the counter, state law requires it to mail the title after examining the proof of ownership, the process can take several weeks, and a buyer with nothing after 90 days should contact a DMV Contact Center.

Source: New York DMV: Register and Title a Vehicle; New York DMV: Certificate of Title; New York DMV: Buy, Sell, or Transfer Vehicle Ownership.

Plates and the windshield sticker come off before the sale

The New York DMV's instruction to sellers is explicit: take the license plates off the vehicle and peel the registration sticker from the windshield before you complete the sale. The plates are yours to transfer to another car or to turn in, and the DMV warns that a seller who does not dispose of them properly can be charged with traffic or parking violations that are not theirs. In New York City a ticket dated after the sale is handled under parking tickets. How to surrender them, the receipt to keep and why the insurance stays on until then are on plates and insurance.

Source: New York DMV: Certificate of Title.

The state DMV offices in the five boroughs

The DMV offices in the five boroughs are run by New York State, and each one below lists vehicle registration among its services. As of 2026-11-07 the DMV's locator shows twelve state offices in the five boroughs: in Manhattan, Harlem at 5 West 125th Street, Midtown at 366 West 31st Street, License Express at 145 West 30th Street and Lower Manhattan at 11 Greenwich Street; in Brooklyn, Atlantic Center at 625 Atlantic Avenue and Coney Island at 2875 West 8th Street; in Queens, College Point at 30-56 Whitestone Expressway, Jamaica at 168-46 91st Avenue and Springfield Gardens at 168-35 Rockaway Boulevard; in the Bronx, the District Office at 610 Exterior Street and the License Center at 1350 Commerce Avenue; and on Staten Island, Richmond at 1775 South Avenue. The three AAA locations on the same map, in Brooklyn, Manhattan and Whitestone, are for AAA members only.

The locator page is where a visit is arranged: "We strongly encourage making a reservation. If an office is experiencing long wait times when you arrive, ONLY those with a reservation will be permitted to enter." Reservations are made from each office's details page, not at every location, and the DMV asks visitors to complete its Document Guide first. Most of this falls to the buyer. A seller's one likely visit is to surrender plates, and the locator's service list for these twelve offices does not name that service, so check the office's details page first or use the PD-7 mail route.

Source: New York DMV: Office Locations and Reservations; New York DMV: Certificate of Title; New York DMV: office location data.

The order of operations for a New York City sale

1. Find the title. If it is lost, or a paid-off lender is still printed on the front, start with title problems.
2. Agree the price and take payment in a form you can verify; selling privately covers the handover.
3. With the buyer present, print both names and addresses and the date in the Transfer by Owner block, complete the odometer statement if the car is a 2011 or newer model that is 20 model years old or newer, complete the damage disclosure for any car, and sign.
4. Both of you sign the MV-912. Fill in the seller's part of the DTF-802, with Section 6 if it is a gift or a below-market sale to anyone other than a spouse, parent, child, stepparent or stepchild.
5. Take the plates off and peel the sticker from the windshield before the car leaves.
6. Hand over the title, any original lien release, the MV-912 and the DTF-802. Keep photocopies.
7. Transfer or surrender the plates, then deal with insurance, in the order on plates and insurance.

Selling to the partner buyer changes the middle of the list, not the ends: the buyer's driver verifies the car and completes the title transfer paperwork at pickup, while the plates stay yours to handle. See how the offer works.

Source: New York DMV: Certificate of Title; New York DMV: Buy, Sell, or Transfer Vehicle Ownership.

Where this page leads next

With the title, the MV-912 and the DTF-802 done, the step most New York City sellers skip is the one that protects them: surrender the plates before the insurance comes off. If you would rather have a buyer's driver come to your block and complete the title transfer at pickup, read how the offer works, or call (332) 456-9629.