How to fill out North Dakota SFN 2888

Not the ordinary bill of sale - this is the sworn one, and it exists for a vehicle whose seller cannot produce a certificate of title. Where the everyday private-party bill of sale takes two signatures and no oath, this takes the seller's signature in front of a notary and adds three warranty lines the ordinary form does not have: that the seller is the legal owner and the vehicle is free of liens except as stated, that the seller has the right to sell it and will defend the title against all claims except as stated, and - the line the whole document turns on - the reason the certificate of title cannot be furnished.

Written against SFN 2888 (4-2026), issued under North Dakota Department of Transportation, Motor Vehicle Division; item three on the untitled vehicle checklist at ND Admin. Rule Ch. 37-12-04-01. Get this signed while the seller is still findable. The commonest way an untitled-vehicle application dies is that the person who sold the car - often years ago, often an elderly relative or a farm estate - cannot be produced to swear to anything, and the department's only alternative route is restricted to vehicles more than 40 years old. If you are buying something without a title, the notarised certificate and the seller's own explanation are worth more than the vehicle's price in negotiating terms.

Two documents, and they are not the same thing. Take the blank SFN 2888 from the dot.nd.gov copy so you get the revision that is current today, then print our SFN 2888 guide and keep it beside you while you fill theirs in.

Step 1 · the form itself Blank SFN 2888 — Seller's Certificate and Vehicle Bill of Sale PDF at dot.nd.gov · new tab Step 2 · how to fill it in Our filled-in SFN 2888 guide PDF · print and keep beside you

Filled in

What a completed one looks like

This is the actual SFN 2888, rendered from the PDF the North Dakota Department of Transportation, 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

A completed North Dakota SFN 2888, Seller's Certificate and Vehicle Bill of Sale. The buyer block names Marlys J. Thorsrud, at 1427 Chestnut St in Grand Forks, ZIP code 58201. The vehicle rows show a 1978 Chevrolet C10 Custom Deluxe pickup, green, gas, weight 3,800, with its thirteen-character vehicle identification number. The selling price is 1,800.00 and the date of sale 05/09/2026. The seller is Vernon L. Haugtvedt of 512 Division Ave, Cavalier, North Dakota 58220. The comments record that the truck stood in a machine shed on the seller's farm from 1996 until sale and was sold complete but not running. Both warranty exception lines read None, and the reason a certificate cannot be furnished records that the truck was bought at a farm auction in 1996 and never titled in the seller's name. The name is printed and the signature line signed. The Acknowledgement block beneath is shaded grey. — Completed for a farm pickup that never had a North Dakota certificate. Note the two warranty lines answered None rather than left empty, and the reason line doing the work the whole application rests on. The vehicle identification number is thirteen characters because a 1978 truck predates the seventeen-character standard. The acknowledgement block is grey because a notary fills every line of it, and neither party exists - the truck they describe is invented too.

Field by field

Every line, in the order you meet it

1
You fill this in
Buyer Information
The buyer's legal name, driver's licence or FEIN with the Select One box marked, telephone and full address. On an untitled application this is the person who will apply for the title.
Watch out: This block and the applicant block on the statement of ownership have to name the same person at the same address. The department reads the two documents together.
2
You fill this in
Vehicle Information
Year, make, model, body style, then the identification number, colour, fuel type and weight - a fuller description than a titled car needs.
Watch out: Photograph the VIN plate while you are writing this down - a photo of the VIN plate is item two on the department's untitled-vehicle list, and the inspection will be checked against what you enter here.
3
You fill this in
Selling Price and Date of Sale
The consideration and the day the vehicle changed hands, beside the acknowledgement that the seller grants, sells, transfers and delivers it.
Watch out: The excise tax on an untitled vehicle is worked on fair market value rather than on this price, and the department may ask for a dealer appraisal. A low price does not lower the tax here.
4
You fill this in
Seller Information and comments
The seller's legal name, telephone and address, with a free-text comments block underneath.
Watch out: The comments block is where the vehicle's story goes - how long it sat, where, and in what condition. A reviewer in Bismarck has nothing else to go on.
5
You fill this in
The two warranty lines
Free from all liens and encumbrances except, and the right to sell and defend the title against all claims except - each with a space for exceptions.
Watch out: Write None rather than leaving them blank. A blank line reads as unanswered; None is a warranty the seller has given.
6
You fill this in
Reason the Certificate of Title can not be furnished
The seller's explanation of why there is no title, which the Registration Manual asks for by name.
Watch out: Specific beats apologetic. When the vehicle was acquired, from whom, and why no certificate was ever issued or transferred - that is what the department is deciding on.
7
You fill this in
Name printed and Signature of Seller
The seller signs before a Notary Public or Authorized Officer, above the Class B misdemeanor penalty note.
Watch out: Take the seller to the notary rather than posting them the form. Original signatures are required and a second attempt is often impossible.
8
Somebody else fills this in
The Acknowledgement block
State, county and the sworn date, followed by the officer's own four lines - name printed, stamp affixed, signature, commission expiry.
Watch out: The officer's block. If the seller is elderly or unwell, most North Dakota banks and many insurance offices will send a notary out - it is worth asking.

At a glance

What goes where

On the form	What to put in it
Buyer Information	The buyer's legal name with a Select One between driver's licence and FEIN, the number, a telephone number, and a full mailing address. On an untitled-vehicle application the buyer is the person applying for the North Dakota title.
Vehicle Information	Year, make, model and body style; then vehicle identification number, colour, fuel type and weight - a fuller description than a titled vehicle needs, because there is no certificate to copy it from.
Selling Price and Date of Sale	Beside the acknowledgement that on the date of sale indicated the seller grants, sells, transfers and delivers the vehicle to the buyer for and in consideration of the selling price and other adequate consideration.
Seller Information	The seller's legal name, telephone number and full mailing address.
Additional seller comments	A free-text block for anything about the vehicle or the transaction that the boxes do not cover.
Free from all liens and encumbrances except:	A warranty line with an exception space. None is a complete answer; blank is not.
Right to sell, and defence of title except:	The second warranty - that the seller has the right to sell and will warrant and defend the title against the claims and demands of all persons except those named.
If applicable, reason Certificate of Title can not be furnished:	The line that makes this form what it is, and the manual's own instruction is that the seller should provide the reason why a title cannot be furnished.
Name (type or print) and Signature of Seller	The seller signs here, and the label attaches the condition: before a Notary Public or Authorized Officer.
Acknowledgement	Where and when the seller swore to it, with the officer's printed name, stamp, signature and commission expiry underneath.
PENALTY	The filing of a false or fraudulent Seller's Certificate of Sale is a Class B misdemeanor punishable by a fine of up to $500.00 and/or thirty (30) days in jail.

What gets this one rejected

•The reason line left empty. It is the substance of the document - the department is being asked to issue a title on the strength of an explanation, and a form without one is an ordinary bill of sale that has been notarised for no reason.
•The warranty exception lines left blank rather than answered. Free from all liens except - and the answer, where there are none, is to say so.
•A description copied from an advertisement. Colour, fuel type and weight are asked for because there is no certificate to check them against, and the VIN inspection will be compared with what is written here.
•The buyer's block completed by the seller from memory. The buyer here is the title applicant, and their identifier and address are what the new certificate is built from.
•A signature taken outside a notary's presence. The signature label is explicit and the whole point of this form over the ordinary bill of sale is that it is sworn.

Rules that decide whether it is accepted

•It is one of two notarised statements the same application needs. The untitled-vehicle procedure asks for this certificate and a separate notarised statement of ownership from the applicant. They answer different questions - why the seller has no title, and how the applicant came to be holding the vehicle.
•Where the seller cannot be found, there is a substitute with a hard limit. If all attempts to obtain this certificate and the statement of ownership have been unsuccessful, the department's affidavit of ownership may be used instead - but only for vehicles more than 40 years old.
•Original signatures only. The manual ends the untitled-vehicle list in capitals: all documents require original signatures. A scan of a notarised certificate is not the notarised certificate.
•The whole package goes to Bismarck. An untitled vehicle is reviewed by the Bismarck central office and the title is mailed once the review process is complete. This is not a counter transaction at a branch.

Every line here was read off SFN 2888 (4-2026) itself — the PDF is here — and off the North Dakota Department of Transportation, Motor Vehicle Division 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 North Dakota seller paperwork, or what selling a car in North Dakota involves.

How to fill out North Dakota SFN 2888

What a completed one looks like

Every line, in the order you meet it

Buyer Information

Vehicle Information

Selling Price and Date of Sale

Seller Information and comments

The two warranty lines

Reason the Certificate of Title can not be furnished

Name printed and Signature of Seller

The Acknowledgement block

What goes where

What gets this one rejected

Rules that decide whether it is accepted

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