Private Sale: Buying or Selling a Vehicle in Colorado

Your primary goal is to legally "sign over" the vehicle and protect yourself from future liability. Make sure you:

• Sign the Title (Properly Endorse): Sign and print your name on the back of the original Colorado Certificate of Title in the "Seller" section and provide it to the Buyer.
  • Important: Your signature must match your name exactly as it is printed on the front of the title.
• Disclose the Odometer Reading: Fill in the exact mileage on the Certificate of Title or on a DR 2173 Motor Vehicle Bill of Sale
  • Beginning with model year 2011 vehicles, the odometer disclosure is required for every transfer of ownership for the first 20 years of that vehicle’s life. Exemptions are:
    • Vehicles that are 20 years or older
    • Vehicles with a gross weight rating of more than 16,000 lbs
    • Trailers (not self-propelled)
• Provide a Bill of Sale to the Buyer: Even if you sign the title, best practice is to provide a Bill of Sale (Form DR 2173 or a written equivalent).
  • Include the purchase price, date, VIN, year,  make, model, and both parties' names and signatures.
• Provide an Emissions Test (If the Buyer Lives In An Emissions-Testing Area): If the vehicle is more than 7 model years old and the buyer lives in an emissions-testing county, you must provide the buyer with a new passing certificate.
• Remove Your License Plates: Never let the buyer drive away with your plates. In Colorado, plates belong to the owner, not the vehicle. You could be liable for future fines or tolls if you do not keep them.
• Report the Sale: Within 5 days, use the "Report Release of Liability" on myDMV to notify the state that you no longer own the vehicle.

You have 60 days from the purchase date to title and register the vehicle before late fees apply. Late fees are assessed at $25 month/portion of a month up to $100.

• Verify the VIN: Ensure the VIN on the title matches the VIN physically located on the vehicle.
• Protect Against Fraud:
  • Check the Motor Vehicle Verification System to confirm the vehicle has not been reported stolen.
  • Check the National Motor Vehicle Title Information System to research the vehicle's history.
    • Please note, there is a fee to use the National Motor Vehicle Title Information System.
  • Check the National Insurance Crime Bureau to confirm the vehicle has not been declared a total loss.
  • Check the emissions test (if applicable) to ensure it's valid. Be on the lookout for the following:
    • If the passing tests are associated with the VIN of the vehicle.
    • Any anomalies, such as the font being inconsistent on the form.
    • If the test numbers, VIN, or other vehicle identifying information appear to have been manipulated or altered.
  • Make sure the vehicle is a type of vehicle that is eligible for title/registration in Colorado. Visit the Other Vehicle page here for additional information if the vehicle is not a typical motor vehicle.
  • For more information about Motor Vehicle Fraud, click here.
• Confirm the Odometer Reading: Confirm the exact mileage on the title.
  • If the vehicle is a 2011 model or newer, this is required for the first 20 years.
  • Not doing so can result in future problems that affect the vehicle’s value and may not be able to be updated
• Sign the Title: Print and sign your name in the "Buyer" section on the back of the title.
• Get Insurance Immediately: You must have Colorado-compliant insurance before driving the vehicle.
• Driving Home (The 36-Hour Rule): You can legally drive your newly purchased vehicle without plates for up to 36 hours—but only if you are driving it from the seller's location to your home or a registration office.
  • You MUST carry the signed bill of sale that identifies the vehicle by year, make, and VIN, and shows the time and date of sale, is signed by both the buyer and the seller, and includes proof of insurance.
• Visit the County Office: Take the signed title, Bill of Sale, your ID (Secure and Verifiable Identification Form 2841), and proof of insurance to your local county office to pay sales tax and get your new temporary or permanent plates.

• Provide the properly endorsed Colorado Certificate of Title.
• If there is more than one owner named on the front of the Certificate of Title, all owners must print and sign their name(s) as the seller.
• Enter purchase price and date.
• Complete the federally required odometer disclosure.

Visit the Title page here for more information on properly endorsing a title.

If all of the information is completed correctly on the title, a bill of sale is not needed for the title transfer. However, a bill of sale is best practice and is required if the sale price is not listed on the title. A bill of sale can be used to complete the federally required odometer disclosure if it is done on the secure DR 2173 Motor Vehicle Bill of Sale form. Information on where to purchase secure forms can be found at the bottom of the Forms page here. A bill of sale should include buyer and seller names and information, the purchase price, vehicle information (make, model, year), the date of sale, and any other pertinent information to the sale.

A  “Secure” Bill of Sale can be purchased through the following vendors:

• Colorado Auto Dealers Association
• Colorado Independent Automobile Dealers Association
• A-B & C Enterprises
• Colorado Automobile/Powersports Support Services
• BML Dealer Supplies and Title Service

An emissions inspection certificate is required if the buyer lives in an emissions area. Visit the Gas Vehicles Emissions Testing Page here to check if an emissions inspection certificate is required.

Gas emissions tests can be completed at Air Care Colorado locations. Diesel emissions testing locations can be found on the Licensed Diesel Emissions Testing Stations list. 

Sellers Must:

• Provide the vehicle’s “actual mileage” as shown on the vehicle odometer mechanism and certify the mileage by checking the “actual mileage” box; or
• Disclose if the mileage is unknown, if the seller knows the reading is inaccurate by checking the  “not actual mileage”; or
• Disclose that the odometer’s mileage reading is higher than the odometer can physically record by checking the  “mileage in excess of mechanical limits”.
• Print their name as it appears on the title in the “Seller’s Printed Name” area in the Assignment of Owner section.
• Sign the disclosure statement in the “Seller’s Signature” area in the Assignment of Owner section.

Buyers Must:

• Look at the odometer information completed by the seller to make sure it is correct, by verifying the odometer reading displayed on the vehicle odometer mechanism. If it is not, a new title will need to be obtained by the seller, to complete it accurately (see Note).
• Print their name as you would like it to read on the new title, in accordance with your secure and verifiable identification (see DR 2841 on the Forms page here),  in the “Buyer’s Printed Name” area in the Assignment of Owner section.
• Sign the disclosure statement in the “Buyer’s Signature” area in the Assignment of Owner section.
• A date of sale and purchase price must also be included on the back of the title, unless a separate bill of sale is also included.

Note: Not completing the odometer disclosure accurately can lead to a reduction in vehicle value, so make sure it is completed accurately or you could have future issues.

The odometer disclosure reading and indicator information may also be disclosed on the DR2173 Motor Vehicle Bill of Sale form which can be purchased through the following vendors:

• Colorado Auto Dealers Association
• Colorado Independent Automobile Dealers Association
• A-B & C Enterprises
• Colorado Automobile/Powersports Support Services
• BML Dealer Supplies and Title Service

If a vehicle has any sort of brand association, the DR 2710 Branded Title Disclosure Statement on the Forms page must be completed by the seller and buyer. If a vehicle has been labeled “junk,” or “parts only,” or “for crusher,” or similar, it is considered junk and not eligible to receive a CO title. For more information, view the Branded Titles and Junked section on the Title page here.

Sellers should ALWAYS remove their license plates to avoid liability for future accidents, tolls, and crimes committed with the vehicle. License plates are tied to the registered owner, NOT the vehicle. Leaving plates on the sold vehicle links it to the seller, allowing the seller to receive unexpected bills and potentially be investigated if the vehicle is used in a crime.

How should someone dispose of old license plates? Regular plates should be returned to the nearest county motor vehicle office or recycled with a recycling service that will take metal. Sellers with personalized plates may transfer their plates to their next vehicle through their county motor vehicle office.

Within 5 days of the sale, the seller may report the transfer of ownership either online via myDMV here (“Report Release of Liability") or directly with their county motor vehicle office.

To complete a transfer of ownership, you will need your license plate number and the VIN number or verification code from your registration card. This removes the seller from liability for the buyer’s actions involving the vehicle after the sale is complete.

The buyer's local county motor vehicle office will provide them with a temporary permit and/or title and register the vehicle.

Buyers have 60 days from the date of purchase to title and register the vehicle. If they do not title and register the vehicle within 60 days from the date of purchase, late fees will begin to be assessed. Temporary permits are required to operate on the public roadways if a vehicle cannot be titled and registered immediately after purchase. See the Title and Registration pages for additional information.

The buyer may operate a vehicle on the highway prior to obtaining a temporary permit or titling and registering the vehicle if:

• The vehicle was purchased within the last 36 hours via private sale (not a dealership),
• Was purchased on a Saturday, Sunday, holiday, or when their county office is closed, and
• If the vehicle is being driven from the place where the seller stored the vehicle to the place where the buyer intends to store the vehicle.