The most misunderstood form in the Indiana set. It is not a way of selling a car without a title, and the BMV says so in a single sentence: a bill of sale cannot be used to transfer vehicle ownership for a vehicle that requires a certificate of title by law. What it does do is prove ownership of the handful of things Indiana never titled, act as a supporting document where a certificate is missing a date or a price, and give both sides a receipt worth keeping.
Written against State Form 44237 (R6 / 12-24), issued under IC 9-17-2-4.
Write one anyway. It costs nothing, it is the only document in a private Indiana sale that both parties keep a copy of, and if the certificate later turns out to be missing a date or a price it is what the BMV will look at.
Two documents, and they are not the same thing. Take the blank State Form 44237 from the forms.in.gov copy so you get the revision that is current today.
This is the actual State Form 44237, 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
Filled in as a receipt alongside a properly assigned certificate, which is the honest use of it for a car. The entire watercraft row is grey - overall length, state of principal operation, registration number and the six propulsion boxes are for a boat and nothing else.
Field by field
Every line, in the order you meet it
1
You fill this in
The identification number
Seventeen characters in the wide box at the head of the vehicle panel, then Year, Make and Model underneath.
Watch out: Required if this is the primary ownership document, optional if it is only supporting a certificate that is missing something. Write it either way - it costs nothing and it settles which car the receipt is about.
2
You fill this in
Skip the vessel row entirely
Overall Length of Vessel, State of Principal Operation, Registration Number, Date of Issuance and the six propulsion ticks.
Watch out: Every one of those is labelled watercraft only. A car with Propeller ticked is not a joke a branch associate has heard for the first time.
3
You fill this in
Purchase Price and Date of Sale
The two boxes in the SALE INFORMATION panel.
Watch out: Match them to the certificate exactly. This form's usefulness is precisely that it can supply a date or a price the certificate is missing - which only works if the two agree wherever they overlap.
4
You fill this in
The conveyance sentence
Nothing to fill in, but read it. You are certifying that the vehicle is not subject to any liens that are the responsibility of the seller.
Watch out: If a lender was ever on this certificate, check the release is recorded before you sign under that line. A lien you paid off but nobody discharged is still your responsibility.
5
You fill this in
Sign, and print in the BMV's order
Signature and date, then the printed name in the order the box asks for - last, first, middle initial or company name.
Watch out: A second row waits below for a joint owner. A company signs in the company's name, which is what the or company name at the end of the label is there for.
6
You fill this in
Your address
Number and street, city, state and ZIP, under the seller signatures.
Watch out: This is one of the four things the BMV requires a bill of sale to contain if it is ever going to work as proof of ownership. The others are the purchaser's name, the vehicle description and your signature.
7
The buyer fills this in
The purchaser's half
Two signature rows, printed names, and an address block, under a second perjury affirmation.
Watch out: For a boat there is a fourth line above it worth reading - the bill of sale may serve as a temporary certificate of number for a limited period. For a car it means nothing at all and grants no right to drive.
At a glance
What goes where
On the form
What to put in it
Vehicle or Hull Identification Number
One wide box at the top of the VEHICLE OR WATERCRAFT INFORMATION panel, with Year, Make and Model beneath it.
The watercraft-only row
Overall Length of Vessel, State of Principal Operation, Registration Number and Date of Issuance, each marked watercraft only, followed by six propulsion ticks - Air Thrust, Manual, Propeller, Sail, Water Jet and Other.
SALE INFORMATION
Purchase Price and Date of Sale, side by side, above the conveyance sentence.
The conveyance sentence
I do hereby sell, transfer and convey all rights for the above vehicle / watercraft to the purchaser in consideration of the sale payment amount, with a certification that it is not subject to any liens that are the responsibility of the seller.
Seller block
Two signature rows with printed names in the order last, first, middle initial or company name, then the address of the seller as number and street, city, state and ZIP.
Purchaser block
The same again for two purchasers, under a second perjury affirmation and a note about temporary certificates of number for watercraft.
What gets this one rejected
•Using it in place of a certificate for a car. The BMV lists eight situations where a bill of sale is accepted as proof of ownership and every one of them is a vehicle that was never required to be titled.
•Using it to overwrite the certificate. The rule is explicit - a bill of sale can't be used to override information that has been written on the certificate of title, and where the two disagree the certificate is what is used.
•Leaving the identification number off when it is the primary ownership document. It is required in that case, and only optional where the form is supporting a certificate that is missing something.
•One seller signing where two are named. Two signature rows exist because a jointly owned vehicle needs both.
•Expecting it to be notarised. This form is not required to be notarized or signed under penalties for perjury as an ownership document - though the block still carries the perjury wording.
•Filling in the vessel row for a car. Length, propulsion and state of principal operation are marked watercraft only for a reason.
Rules that decide whether it is accepted
•It can rescue a date or a price. A bill of sale may be used to determine the date of sale and/or purchase price of a vehicle in situations where the vehicle's certificate of title does not contain this information.
•Alongside it, an inspection. Where it is being used as the ownership document, the BMV's rule is that a bill of sale application must include a Physical Inspection of a Vehicle or Watercraft.
•For watercraft it doubles as a permit. The purchaser's block carries a line that it may serve as a temporary certificate of number, valid for a period of time not to exceed forty-five (45) days from the date of sale.
Every line here was read off State Form 44237 (R6 / 12-24) 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.
