How to fill out Delaware MV212

The buyer's application for a Delaware title, and the form most sellers mistakenly think they need. Its own instructions draw the line: the MV212 is for a car arriving on an out-of-state title, a manufacturer's certificate of origin, or a Delaware title that was reassigned out of state - and in-state title transfers do not require it, because the whole application is printed on the back of the Delaware certificate itself.

Written against MV212 (09/2022), issued under 21 Del. C. s. 2302, which requires every application for an original certificate of title to be made on the form the Department furnishes or approves. As a seller this is not your form, but it is worth reading the odometer line on it. Federal law requires the current mileage to be provided on transfer of ownership, and writing a reading in is a certification that it is the actual mileage unless one of the boxes beside it is ticked. The reading your buyer copies onto this application comes from what you wrote on the back of the certificate.

Two documents, and they are not the same thing. Take the blank MV212 from the dmv.de.gov copy so you get the revision that is current today, then print our MV212 guide and keep it beside you while you fill theirs in.

Step 1 · the form itself Blank MV212 — Application for Title PDF at dmv.de.gov · new tab Step 2 · how to fill it in Our filled-in MV212 guide PDF · print and keep beside you

Filled in

What a completed one looks like

This is all 2 pages of the actual MV212, rendered from the PDF the Delaware Division of Motor Vehicles publishes and completed end to end: letterhead, every field, and the blocks at the foot.

Amber — you write it
Grey — not yours to fill
Numbered — explained below

Page 1 of 2. The application itself. Everything amber is the applicant's; the strip along the right-hand edge and the block at the foot belong to a Motor Vehicle Associate.

Page 2 of 2. The instruction sheet the Division prints on the reverse, unmarked because there is nothing on it to fill in. It is the page that says an in-state transfer does not need this form at all.

Field by field

Every line, in the order you meet it

1
The buyer fills this in
Is the vehicle a lease
A yes/no at the very top, with a leasing company name and a c/o line beside it. A private buyer answers no and moves on.
Watch out: Answer yes and the title prints as 'Leasing Company c/o your name', and the leasing company - not you - has to sign the application.
2
The buyer fills this in
Name and Delaware address
Full legal name, then a Delaware residential address, then a separate mailing address if the post goes somewhere else, then email and phone.
Watch out: The residential line has to be a Delaware address. A PO Box belongs on the mailing line and nowhere else.
3
The buyer fills this in
Odometer reading and its brand
The mileage, with one of four boxes beside it: Actual, Exempt/Not Required, Not Actual, Exceeds Mechanical Limits.
Watch out: This has to agree with what the seller wrote on the back of the certificate. If the seller ticked an exception box there, the same brand belongs here.
4
The buyer fills this in
Make, year, model, body style, VIN and colour
The description of the vehicle, copied from the title in front of them. Fuel type and title brand sit in the right-hand column.
Watch out: The instruction on the reverse is that the information must match the signed and executed documentation or the current Delaware record. Close is not a match.
5
The buyer fills this in
The weight lines
Tare weight is the unit empty. MGVWR is the manufacturer's maximum loaded weight. Registration weight has to sit between the two.
Watch out: For an ordinary car these come off the door jamb or the registration card. For a trailer they decide the fee, which is why Delaware asks.
6
The buyer fills this in
Liens or Encumbrances
The lender financing the purchase, name and address, exactly as it appears on the title. If there is no loan, write none and initial it.
Watch out: Exactly the same is the standard the form sets. A lender's name abbreviated on one document and spelled out on the other is a mismatch.
7
The buyer fills this in
Sign, with licence number and date of birth
Applicant and co-applicant sign under penalty of perjury that all liens have been accurately stated, each adding a driver licence number, the state if it is not Delaware, and a date of birth.
Watch out: Every applicant named on the title has to sign. A parent or guardian signs as well if the applicant is under 18.
8
The buyer fills this in
The Document Fee Recording Form
Total vehicle price, less trade-in value, net cost, then the fee lines and a total amount due.
Watch out: The total vehicle price here should be the price written on the back of the certificate. Two different numbers on two documents in the same envelope will be queried.
9
Dealers only
Trade-in information
Year, make, and the title, tag and registration number of a Delaware-titled trade, with the selling dealer's details and signature.
Watch out: A private buyer leaves this blank. Selling privately and buying a replacement is a different route entirely - it is a credit claimed afterwards, not a trade recorded here.
10
Somebody else fills this in
Examined By, tag block and DMV Use Only
The right-hand column and the strip at the foot: examining associate, tag number, retained tag, special plate, background, months, expiration, NAIC code, verification ticks and initials.
Watch out: Nothing in either belongs to an applicant. If a form arrives with these filled in by the buyer, it goes back.

Watch it done

The MV212 walkthrough, from Delaware DMV

Before you watch. Watch it as a buyer's video. It does not cover the two things that end a Delaware seller's exposure - the Report of Sale and the plate - and it does not mention that an ordinary sale between two Delaware residents needs no MV212 at all.

The Division's own seventy-nine-second run through this form, published on its channel at youtube.com/@delawaredmv. Nothing loads from YouTube until you press play.

At a glance

What goes where

On the form	What to put in it
Lease question, name and addresses	A yes/no at the very top for whether the vehicle is a lease and the leasing company's name, then the applicant's name, a Delaware residential address, a separate mailing address, email and two phone numbers. The residential address to title or register any vehicle must be a Delaware address; a PO Box or an out-of-state address is only allowed as a mailing address.
Description of Vehicle	Odometer reading with four brand boxes beside it - Actual, Exempt/Not Required, Not Actual, Exceeds Mechanical Limits - then make, year, model, body style, colours, fuel type, VIN and title brand.
The weight block	Tare weight (the unit empty - shipping, curb or unladen weight are all accepted), MGVWR (the maximum the manufacturer says it can carry loaded, under section 45 of Title 21), registration weight, which may not exceed the MGVWR nor fall below the tare, number of axles including the drive axle, and a Federal DOT number where one is required.
Liens or Encumbrances	One block for the secured party's name and address. If there is no lender, the instruction on the form is to enter 'none' and initial it - a blank is not the same answer.
The certification and signatures	I/We certify, under penalty of perjury, that all liens have been accurately stated. Applicant and co-applicant sign, each with a driver licence number, the state if it is not Delaware, and a date of birth. A parent or guardian consents if the applicant is under 18.
Document Fee Recording Form	A column of money: total vehicle price, less trade-in value, net cost, document fee, registration fee, vanity fee, retention fee, title fee, lien fee, other fee, total amount due.
Trade-In Information for Delaware Registered Vehicles Only	Year, make, and the title, tag and registration number of the trade, plus the selling dealer's name, number, address and signature. Credit is given for only one motor vehicle or trailer per application.
DMV Use Only	Business licence verified, Division of Corporations verified, NMVTIS checked, associate initials and date. Nothing in this strip is yours.

What gets this one rejected

•Filing it on an ordinary Delaware-to-Delaware sale. The instructions say it plainly: in-state title transfers do not require form MV212 to be submitted with the Delaware title.
•Anything other than blue or black ink. The instruction is in capitals - application must be completed in blue or black ink ONLY - and no alterations, corrective tape, or erasable ink are permitted.
•Photocopies where originals are demanded. Original documents are required for a release of lien, for a power of attorney, and for all title-related documents; court documents may be originals or certified copies; only photo identification may be a photocopy, fax or scan.
•A signature by somebody other than the owner without the paperwork behind it. A representative signing the title and the application must present an original, signed and notarized power of attorney - and for a company, a copy of the representative's photo ID and a notarized letter of signature authority on company letterhead.
•A power of attorney that mixes handwriting and typing. The form requires it to be either all typed or all handwritten and to include all vehicle information.
•A lienholder name that does not match. The instruction is exact: the lienholder name and address entered on the MV212 and on the title must be exactly the same.
•Leaving the lien block empty when there is no lender. Enter none and initial it.
•An out-of-state residential address. A PO Box or out-of-state address is only allowed for a mailing address.

Rules that decide whether it is accepted

•How a power of attorney has to sign. The form prints the wording twice so it cannot be missed: John Smith by Shannon L. McDonald POA. The owner's name, then 'by', then the attorney-in-fact's name, then POA - signed and printed that way on both the title and the application.
•Cash never travels. If you post the application, the fees go by personal cheque, cashier's cheque or money order payable to Delaware DMV. Do not mail cash or credit card information.
•What a business applicant has to be. Registered with the Delaware Division of Corporations, in good standing, and holding a current Delaware business licence, under 21 Del. C. s. 2119. An officer signs as applicant and enters their official title.
•Who signs on a lease. The title and registration will read 'Leasing Company c/o individual entity name', and the applicant signature is the leasing company's - the individual's name goes on the Name line.
•Trade-in credit. One vehicle or trailer per application, and it has to be Delaware titled in the applicant's name, under 30 Del. C. s. 3001 and 30 Del. C. s. 3002. A dealer with an approved memorandum of understanding on file can verify a new vehicle's VIN in the trade-in block; without that, a new vehicle needs VIN verification at a Delaware DMV inspection lane.

Every line here was read off MV212 (09/2022) itself — the PDF is here — and off the Delaware Division of Motor Vehicles 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 Delaware seller paperwork, or what selling a car in Delaware involves.

How to fill out Delaware MV212

What a completed one looks like

Every line, in the order you meet it

Is the vehicle a lease

Name and Delaware address

Odometer reading and its brand

Make, year, model, body style, VIN and colour

The weight lines

Liens or Encumbrances

Sign, with licence number and date of birth

The Document Fee Recording Form

Trade-in information

Examined By, tag block and DMV Use Only

The MV212 walkthrough, from Delaware DMV

What goes where

What gets this one rejected

Rules that decide whether it is accepted

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