How to fill out Alabama MVT 5-13

One page that lets somebody else sign your name on a title transaction. Alabama's general motor vehicle power of attorney, as opposed to the secure one federal law requires for a mileage disclosure - this is the form for a seller who is deployed, in hospital, out of state or simply unable to stand at a county counter. It appoints a named attorney-in-fact for named purposes on one named vehicle, and it is void the moment anybody tidies it up.

Written against MVT 5-13 (4/21), issued under Ala. Admin. Code r. 810-5-75-.40; Code of Ala. 1975, Section 32-8-35. A power of attorney does not conjure a certificate out of nothing. If the title is missing, the attorney-in-fact still has to apply for a replacement, wait the ten to fifteen days and then sign; if a lien is recorded, the payoff still has to clear. What this form saves is the journey to the counter, not the process.

Two documents, and they are not the same thing. Take the blank MVT 5-13 from the revenue.alabama.gov copy so you get the revision that is current today.

Every line, in the order you meet it

1. 1
   You fill this in

   Section A - the vehicle

   Vehicle identification number, year, make, model and body type, then the licence plate number and the state that issued it.

   Watch out: The plate is still yours in Alabama, so it is still on the record even after the car has gone. Write the number that is on the registration, not the one on the bumper if the two have parted company.

2. 2
   You fill this in

   Section B - taxpayer name and address

   Your name and address, typed or printed, in the left-hand block.

   Watch out: Match the certificate. A power of attorney granted by a name the Department's record does not hold is a power of attorney from a stranger.

3. 3
   You fill this in

   Section B - your email and telephone

   Both, underneath the address block.

   Watch out: This is the number the licensing office will ring when something on the packet does not add up, and the whole point of the form is that you are not there.

4. 4
   You fill this in

   The representative

   The name and address of the person or firm you are appointing, with their email and telephone.

   Watch out: Name a person, not a relationship. My son is not an appointment; a full legal name and an address is.

5. 5
   You fill this in

   The purpose ticks

   Tick title application, transfer or lien filing for an ordinary sale. Add register and purchase license plates if they will also be moving your tag onto another car.

   Watch out: Tick everything the job actually needs. A power that authorises the title but not the plate leaves the appointee standing at the same counter unable to finish.

6. 6
   You fill this in

   Additions or restrictions

   Ruled lines for anything you want to narrow or add - a price floor, a single named buyer, an expiry.

   Watch out: Write in ink and write it once. Any alterations or strikeovers shall void this Power of Attorney, and that includes this block.

7. 7
   You fill this in

   Signature of taxpayer

   Sign and date on the line marked with a V. A second row underneath is for a co-owner.

   Watch out: Two names joined by and on the front of the certificate means both rows, both signatures, both dates.

8. 8
   Somebody else fills this in

   Signature of appointee

   The person you appointed signs and dates at the foot, under the words NOT VALID WITHOUT THIS SIGNATURE.

   Watch out: Get it before you post the form. A signed power sitting in an envelope with an empty appointee line is a wasted week.

What gets this one rejected

• •An appointee who has not signed. The line says NOT VALID WITHOUT THIS SIGNATURE and it means the whole document.
• •A struck-through word anywhere on the page. The special notice voids the instrument for any alteration or strikeover, which puts it in the same class as the certificate itself.
• •A blank purpose section. The power runs to the matters described above, and if nothing is described nothing is authorised.
• •One signature where the title is in two names joined by and. Rule 810-5-75-.40 requires both owners to sign the assignment, and a power of attorney from one of them does not change the other's position.
• •Using it for a mileage disclosure on a title held by a lienholder or lost. That is the MVT 8-4, and the federal rule behind it will not accept a general power in its place.
• •A photocopy. Original signatures are required, on the form's own last line.

Rules that decide whether it is accepted

• •It is one vehicle, not a standing arrangement. Section A pins the power to a single VIN, plate and state. A second car needs a second form.
• •The title service provider tick is different. It is the only purpose for which Section A is not required, because a title service provider is a licensed intermediary handling documents rather than a person acting on one named vehicle.
• •The appointee is taking on something real. They are authorised to receive and inspect confidential tax information and to perform any and all acts the owner could perform on the matters ticked. That is why the form makes them sign for it.

Every line here was read off MVT 5-13 (4/21) itself — the PDF is here — and off the Alabama Department of Revenue, Motor Vehicle Division pages. This is plain-language help with a form, not legal advice, and where our wording and the agency's differ, theirs governs.

Back to all Alabama seller paperwork, or what selling a car in Alabama involves.