The family exemption, on one page: a sale or gift of a vehicle between lineal ascendants and descendants is exempt from Kansas sales tax, and this affidavit is how the county treasurer knows the exemption applies. Both halves swear - the seller certifies the relationship to the buyer, the buyer certifies it back - and the form's own footnote draws the family tree precisely: grandparents, parents, children including adopted and step children, grandchildren, and the spouses of any of these qualify; a brother, sister, aunt, uncle, niece or nephew does not.
Written against TR-215 (www 07/24), issued under K.A.R. 92-19-30(h).
The two blanks must mirror each other exactly - if the seller writes mother, the buyer writes son or daughter, and a mismatched pair sends the whole sheet back. Where a name on the title does not match the family story - a remarried parent, an adopted child under a former name - pair this affidavit with a One and the Same statement on the TR-12 so the counter can connect the record to the relationship.
Two documents, and they are not the same thing. Take the blank TR-215 from the ksrevenue.gov copy so you get the revision that is current today, then print our TR-215 guide and keep it beside you while you fill theirs in.
This is the actual TR-215, rendered from the PDF the Kansas Department of Revenue, Division of 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
Two certifications that must mirror each other - mother above, son below - with the qualifying family tree printed between them. The signature lines stay empty on the sample because the Division built them as signature fields for a pen, and the instruction under the heading wants both of them signed before the sheet reaches the counter.
Field by field
Every line, in the order you meet it
1
You fill this in
The vehicle
Year, model and ID number of the car staying in the family.
Watch out: Match the certificate exactly. The exemption attaches to this transfer of this vehicle - a sheet that describes a different car exempts nothing.
2
You fill this in
Your certification
What you are to the buyer, in the blank - father, mother, grandmother - then your hand printed name and signature.
Watch out: Check the printed list at the foot before writing anything. The line between grandchild and niece is the line between exempt and taxed, and the form will not bend it.
3
The buyer fills this in
Their certification
The buyer's half: what they are to you, hand printed name, signature.
Watch out: The two blanks must be two ends of the same relationship. Mother and son agree; mother and grandson do not, and the counter reads both lines.
4
The buyer fills this in
Attach and file
The affidavit goes to the county treasurer with the assigned title when the buyer registers.
Watch out: Everything else about the transfer is ordinary - title fee, property tax, proof of insurance, the 60-day clock. This sheet removes exactly one line from the bill: the sales tax.
At a glance
What goes where
On the form
What to put in it
Vehicle Information
Year, model and ID number - the vehicle whose transfer the exemption covers.
Relationship Certification - Seller
The printed sentence: I hereby certify that I am related to the buyer as a lineal ascendant or descendent, with a blank for what you are to them - father, mother, and so on - completed by your hand printed name and signature.
Relationship Certification - Buyer
The mirror: the buyer certifies the relationship to the seller - son, daughter, and so on - with their own hand printed name and signature.
The qualifying list
Printed in a box at the foot: lineal ascendants or descendents are grandfather, grandmother, father, mother, son, daughter, adopted child, step child, grandchild, and the spouses of any of these - and the sentence that a brother, sister, aunt, uncle, niece or nephew does not qualify for exemption.
What gets this one rejected
•A sale between siblings. The form's footnote rules it out by name - a brother, sister, aunt, uncle, niece or nephew does not qualify - however close the household. That sale is taxed like any other private sale.
•One signature. The instruction under the title is both the seller's and buyer's signatures must appear on this form; a one-sided family certification certifies nothing.
•A relationship described vaguely. The blank asks what you are to the buyer - father, mother, grandchild, step child - and the counter matches the two certifications against each other. Family friend is not on the list, and in-law only qualifies as the spouse of someone who is.
•Using it to skip the rest of the paperwork. The exemption is from sales tax only: the title is still assigned, the title fee is still owed, and the buyer still registers within 60 days like any other transfer.
Rules that decide whether it is accepted
•The exemption covers a lien too. The Department's tax publication is explicit that the family exemption applies to vehicles with or without a lien - a child taking over a financed car from a parent still transfers tax-free, though the lender's consent rules still apply.
•Spouses ride the lineal line. The spouses of qualifying ascendants and descendants qualify in their own right - a daughter-in-law is inside the exemption; a sister remains outside it.
•Money changing hands does not break it. The exemption turns on the relationship, not the price. A genuine sale from father to daughter at full market value is as exempt as a gift - which is why the form is two sworn relationship certifications rather than a price declaration.
Every line here was read off TR-215 (www 07/24) itself — the PDF is here — and off the Kansas Department of Revenue, Division of Vehicles pages.
This is plain-language help with a form, not legal advice, and where our wording and the agency's differ,
theirs governs.
