The one BMV vehicle form in this set that has to be notarised, and the only way somebody else signs an Indiana title for you. Five numbered sections: who you are, who the attorney-in-fact is, what they may do, your signature, and a notary certificate. It is limited by design - the authority it gives runs to the certificate of title and the registration for one named vehicle and stops there.
Written against State Form 1940 (R7 / 11-24), issued under IC 9-17 and IC 30-5.
Sign this in front of the notary, not before you get there. The certificate is not a formality on this form - it is the only thing standing between a limited authority over one vehicle and a signature somebody could have written at any time.
Two documents, and they are not the same thing. Take the blank State Form 1940 from the forms.in.gov copy so you get the revision that is current today.
This is the actual State Form 1940, rendered from the PDF the Indiana Bureau 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
The whole form, notary certificate included. This is the only page in the Indiana set where the amber runs all the way to the bottom - every other form ends at a signature, and this one ends at somebody else's seal.
Field by field
Every line, in the order you meet it
1
You fill this in
Your details, section one
Name in the order first, middle initial, last or company name, telephone number, and your residential address.
Watch out: Residential, per instruction 2. A company uses its principal place of business, which is not necessarily the address on its letterhead.
2
You fill this in
The vehicle
Vehicle or Hull Identification Number in its banded box, then Make, Year and the Title Number if you know it.
Watch out: This is what limits the power of attorney. One identification number means one vehicle, and a second car needs a second form.
3
You fill this in
Section two, the attorney-in-fact
Their name, telephone number and full address.
Watch out: Fill this in yourself and fill it in before you sign. A blank in section two on a form you have already signed is a blank cheque over your title.
4
You fill this in
Read section three
Nothing to complete - the printed authorisation covers transactions involving the certificate of title and/or registration for the vehicle listed above.
Watch out: Note what it does not cover. It is not a general power of attorney and it gives nobody authority over anything except that one vehicle's paperwork.
5
You fill this in
Sign it in front of the notary
Signature of Customer Requiring Representative, printed name and date, in section four.
Watch out: In front of, not before. The certificate below says sworn to before me, and a notary who did not watch you sign should not be completing it.
6
You fill this in
Watch the notary complete section five
State, county, the day, month and year, the notary's signature, printed name, commission expiry and seal - none of it yours to write, all of it yours to check.
Watch out: Look at the commission expiry date before you leave the desk. An expired commission makes the certificate worthless, and nobody will discover that until a branch tells your buyer.
7
You fill this in
Hand over the original
The completed form goes with the certificate to the branch.
Watch out: Keep a photocopy for yourself and a photograph on your phone. This document lets somebody else dispose of your car, and you should know exactly what it says afterwards.
At a glance
What goes where
On the form
What to put in it
SECTION ONE: CUSTOMER AND VEHICLE INFORMATION
Customer name in the order first, middle initial, last or company name, a telephone number, the address, and then the Vehicle or Hull Identification Number with Make, Year and Title Number if known.
SECTION TWO: ATTORNEY-IN-FACT INFORMATION
The same again for the person being appointed - name, telephone, address, city, state and ZIP.
SECTION THREE: AFFIRMATION
One printed sentence and nothing to complete: I hereby authorize the attorney-in-fact to complete transactions involving the certificate of title and/or registration for the vehicle or watercraft listed above.
SECTION FOUR: AUTHORIZING SIGNATURE
Signature of Customer Requiring Representative, printed name and date. This is the signature the notary watches.
SECTION FIVE: NOTARY CERTIFICATE
STATE OF and COUNTY OF with an SS: notation and a seal space, the sworn-before-me sentence with day, month and year blanks, then the notary's signature, printed name and commission expiry.
Reset Form
A button top right, because this is one of the BMV's fillable forms - which matters when several of these have to be produced at once.
What gets this one rejected
•An unnotarised form. Instruction 3 is a single sentence: the Limited Power of Attorney form must be notarized to be valid.
•Two customers on one sheet. Instruction 1 says if more than one customer's signature is required, each customer must complete their own Limited Power of Attorney section.
•A post office box for an individual. Instruction 2 asks individuals to enter their residential address; companies enter their principal place of business.
•A blank attorney-in-fact block. Signing section four with section two empty hands somebody a signed authority over your title with the name still to be filled in.
•An identification number that does not match the certificate. The authority attaches to one named vehicle, and a transposed character makes it an authority over nothing.
•A notary who was not there. The certificate reads sworn to before me, a Notary Public, in and for said County, which is a statement about presence.
Rules that decide whether it is accepted
•The notary certificate can travel separately. Instruction 4 allows it: the Notary Certificate may be notarized on the front of this form or by attaching a separate notary certificate.
•Title Number is marked if known. The one optional box in section one. A missing title number does not stop the form, but supplying it saves a search at the counter.
•It covers title and registration together. Section three names both, so an attorney-in-fact appointed for a sale can also deal with the plate on the same authority.
Every line here was read off State Form 1940 (R7 / 11-24) itself — the PDF is here — and off the Indiana Bureau 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.
