The form that turns the excise tax off, which is why it is the most heavily fortified document in the ordinary New Mexico set. A genuine gift is not a sale, so no tax is due - but the division requires this two-page affidavit, sworn separately by donor and recipient, each signature notarized on its own page, before it will believe one. It is also the one everyday transfer form that prints an Exempt (EX) box in its odometer disclosure, because its 2025 revision post-dates the federal rule change.
Written against MVD-10018 (Rev 11/2025), issued under 3.11.4.15 NMAC; NMSA 1978 §§66-5-38 and 30-25-1 (the perjury warning printed on the form).
The relationship line is not decoration - it is evidence the division weighs. Gifts flow along family lines; a 'gift' to a stranger who answers a classified ad is the mischaracterisation the manual warns loses the state substantial revenue, and both signers have sworn to it under a felony statute.
Two documents, and they are not the same thing. Take the blank MVD-10018 from the realfile.tax.newmexico.gov copy so you get the revision that is current today, then print our MVD-10018 guide and keep it beside you while you fill theirs in.
This is all 2 pages of the actual MVD-10018, rendered from the PDF the New Mexico Taxation and Revenue Department, Motor Vehicle Division 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 vehicle, the odometer disclosure with its Exempt (EX) box - this 2025 revision is the one everyday form that prints one - and the donor's sworn statement with notary block.Page 2 of 2. The recipient's page: relationship to the donor, the mirror-image affidavit that no payment was given or received, and the second notary acknowledgement.
Field by field
Every line, in the order you meet it
1
You fill this in
The vehicle, and the odometer
Year, make, model, VIN and plate, then the odometer disclosure - reading in whole miles and one of four boxes, EX included on this revision.
Watch out: A 2010-or-older vehicle can honestly take EX under the federal rule; a 2011-or-newer one cannot until it is twenty. This is the rare New Mexico form where that choice is printed rather than implied.
2
You fill this in
Donor block and date of gift
The giver's name, address and contact details, and the date the gift was made.
Watch out: The date of gift starts the recipient's titling clock the same way a sale date would. A gift 'dated' months before the counter visit invites the late-transfer penalty conversation.
3
You fill this in
The donor's oath, before a notary
Sign the donor affidavit in the notary's presence; the notary completes the acknowledgement, dates it, and seals it.
Watch out: Read the sentence you are swearing: no payment was received in consideration of the transfer. Consideration is broader than cash - assumption of a loan, forgiven debts, and traded labour all count.
4
The buyer fills this in
Recipient and relationship
Page two: the new owner's details and the relationship line - daughter, brother, spouse, friend.
Watch out: Answer it plainly. The division reads this line when deciding whether the gift story holds together, and vagueness helps nobody.
5
The buyer fills this in
The recipient's oath, before a notary
The new owner swears the mirror-image affidavit and is notarized on their own page.
Watch out: The two notarizations need not be the same notary or the same day - but the affidavit travels as one document, and the recipient files it with their title application.
6
The buyer fills this in
File it with the title work
The completed, twice-notarized affidavit goes in with the certificate and the application at the field office.
Watch out: The title fee is still owed on a gift - the affidavit removes the excise tax, not the transaction. A gift headed straight for a trade-in can take the title-only route and skip the plate.
At a glance
What goes where
On the form
What to put in it
Year, Make, Model
The vehicle or vessel being given.
Vehicle (VIN) or Hull (HIN) Identification #, License Plate Number or Hull Decal Number
One identification rule serving cars and boats.
Odometer Disclosure Statement
The reading in whole miles, then four boxes - this revision prints The actual mileage (AM), Mileage in excess of mechanical limits (EL), the odometer-discrepancy warning (NM), and Exempt (EX).
Donor Name (Prior Owner), Date of Gift, Address, City, State, Zip Code, Email, Phone
The giver's block, with the date the gift actually happened.
AFFIDAVIT OF DONOR (PRIOR OWNER)
The donor's sworn sentence: the vehicle or boat was transferred as a gift to the recipient on the date indicated, and no payment was received in consideration of the transfer of ownership.
Signature of Donor, Date, and the donor's notary block
Sworn before a notary - the form prints, in its own spelling, NOTORIZATION MUST BE BY A PUBLIC NOTARY - with the acknowledgement, commission expiry and seal space.
Page two: Recipient Name (New Owner), Relationship of New Owner to Prior Owner
The receiver, and how the two of you are connected - the one question a sale document never asks.
AFFIDAVIT OF RECIPIENT (NEW OWNER)
The mirror-image oath: the vehicle was transferred as a gift by the donor, and no payment was given or received.
Signature of Recipient, Date, and the recipient's own notary block
A second, separate notarization - one notary visit each, or one visit together.
What gets this one rejected
•One notarization instead of two. Donor and recipient each swear on their own page, and the division's manual is explicit that both signatures must be notarized.
•Money anywhere in the story. The affidavit's operative words are 'no payment' - a discounted price, a debt forgiven, or work traded for the car makes this a sale, and the affidavit false.
•Filed without need. A transfer with a price is simply taxed on the price; this form exists only for the transfer with none.
•Absent when claimed. The manual's instruction is that without the affidavit, a claimed gift is treated as a sale and taxed on the higher of the actual price or the vehicle's reasonable value.
•An odometer block skipped because it is family. The gift moves title, and the federal disclosure attaches to the transfer, not to the money - the reading and a code are still required.
•Signed before the notary is present. The acknowledgement recites that the signer appeared and signed voluntarily; a pre-signed sheet asks the notary to certify something they did not see.
Rules that decide whether it is accepted
•The perjury warning is printed twice, once per page. Any person who makes any false affidavit under the Motor Vehicle Code commits a fourth degree felony - Sections 66-5-38 and 30-25-1 NMSA 1978, quoted on both pages of the form.
•A gift can be titled without registration. The How to Title a Vehicle page covers the gift headed straight for a trade-in: a title-only transaction, title fee paid, no plate issued.
