How to fill out North Dakota SFN 2903

The applicant's own sworn account, and the second of the two notarised statements an untitled-vehicle application needs. The seller's certificate explains why there is no title; this explains how the applicant came into possession. Its scope is drawn tightly on the face of the form: it shall be used only for proof of ownership for vehicles purchased in prior years for which no manufacturer's statement of origin, bill of sale, or title was issued. It also carries an indemnity - the applicant agrees to hold the State of North Dakota and the department harmless from any and all claims arising from the transfer of title.

Written against SFN 2903 (4-2026), issued under North Dakota Department of Transportation, Motor Vehicle Division; item four on the untitled vehicle checklist at ND Admin. Rule Ch. 37-12-04-01. The indemnity paragraph is the part people sign without reading, and it is the part with the longest tail. You are agreeing to hold the state, the department, its officers and its employees harmless from any and all claims - including costs, expenses and attorney fees - arising from the transfer of a title issued on the strength of your own account. That is the trade North Dakota offers for titling a vehicle with no paper history, and it is a reasonable one, but it is worth knowing you have made it.

Two documents, and they are not the same thing. Take the blank SFN 2903 from the dot.nd.gov copy so you get the revision that is current today, then print our SFN 2903 guide and keep it beside you while you fill theirs in.

Step 1 · the form itself Blank SFN 2903 — Vehicle Statement of Ownership PDF at dot.nd.gov · new tab Step 2 · how to fill it in Our filled-in SFN 2903 guide PDF · print and keep beside you

Filled in

What a completed one looks like

This is the actual SFN 2903, 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 2903, Vehicle Statement of Ownership. The vehicle rows show a 1978 Chevrolet C10 Custom Deluxe pickup, green, gas, weight 3,800, with its thirteen-character vehicle identification number. Purchased from Vernon L. Haugtvedt on 05/09/2026. The explanation records that the truck was bought for $1,800 and hauled to Grand Forks on a trailer, that the seller had owned it since a 1996 farm auction and never held a certificate of title for it, and that a national history check returned no ownership record in any state. The applicant is given as Marlys J. Thorsrud, 1427 Chestnut St, Grand Forks 58201. The liens and encumbrances block is shaded grey. The name is printed and the legal signature line signed, and the Acknowledgement block beneath is shaded grey. — The applicant's half of the untitled-vehicle package, with the explanation block doing the work: how the vehicle was acquired, how it was moved, why the previous owner never had a certificate, and what the history check returned. The lien block is grey because nothing is owed, and the acknowledgement block because the notary owns it. The applicant, the previous owner and the vehicle were all invented for this page.

Field by field

Every line, in the order you meet it

1
You fill this in
The vehicle description rows
Eight entries in two rows: year, make, model, body style, then identification number, colour, fuel type and weight.
Watch out: Match the seller's certificate exactly, character for character on the VIN. Two sworn statements that describe the vehicle differently are two problems, not one.
2
You fill this in
Vehicle Identification Number
Read off the vehicle itself, and photographed for the application.
Watch out: Older vehicles carry shorter numbers than the seventeen characters modern cars use - write what is on the plate rather than padding it out.
3
You fill this in
Purchased From and Date Purchased
Who the applicant acquired it from, and when.
Watch out: These two should agree with the seller's certificate. Where the seller has since died or cannot be traced, say so in the explanation below rather than leaving the line vague.
4
You fill this in
Explain how you came into possession of this vehicle
The free-text account the department decides on, and the manual asks for detail.
Watch out: Include what the history check returned. A reviewer reading that no ownership record exists in any state, in your own words, is a reviewer who knows you did the first step.
5
You fill this in
Applicant's Legal Name and address
Your legal name, driver's licence or FEIN, telephone, and full mailing address.
Watch out: Proof of North Dakota residency is item ten on the department's untitled-vehicle list - for an individual that is a North Dakota driver's licence or state identification number, which is what this block records.
6
The lienholder fills this in
Liens and Encumbrances
A lienholder's name and address, where the vehicle is being financed.
Watch out: Leave it empty otherwise. Its own label warns that the title will be mailed to the lien-holder, and an unfinanced vehicle with an entry here produces a certificate you have to chase.
7
You fill this in
Name printed and Legal Signature of Owner
Signed before a Notary Public or Authorized Officer, above the indemnity and the Class B misdemeanor penalty note.
Watch out: Read the indemnity first. It commits you to defending the state against claims arising from a title issued on your account of the vehicle's history.

At a glance

What goes where

On the form	What to put in it
Vehicle description	Year, make, model and body style on the first line; then the identification number, colour, fuel type and weight on the second.
Purchased From and Date Purchased	The person the applicant acquired it from, and when.
Explain how you came into possession of this vehicle	The free-text block, and the manual's instruction for it is that you must be detailed in your explanation regarding how you came into possession of this vehicle without a title.
The ownership statement	The subscriber states the vehicle was purchased as stated above and that it is free from all liens and encumbrances except those listed.
Applicant's Legal Name	With a Check One between DL and FEIN, the number and a telephone, then a full mailing address.
Liens and Encumbrances	A lienholder name and address block, carrying its own warning in the label: title will be mailed to lien-holder.
The indemnity	The applicant agrees to indemnify, save and hold harmless the State of North Dakota, its agencies including the Department of Transportation, its officers and employees, from any and all claims which may arise or result from acts or omissions in the transfer of title.
Name (Type or Print) and Legal Signature of Owner	The applicant prints the name and signs, with the label requiring a Notary Public or Authorized Officer to witness it.
Acknowledgement	The applicant's oath as the officer records it: state, county, date, printed name, stamp, signature, and expiry of commission.
PENALTY	Any person making any false statement of the warranty of title for which another penalty is not specifically provided is guilty of a Class B misdemeanor.

What gets this one rejected

•A one-line explanation. The manual asks for detail, and this is the block the Bismarck reviewer weighs - how the vehicle was found, what was paid, who had it before, and why no paperwork exists.
•Using it for a vehicle that does have a record somewhere. The form's scope is vehicles for which no manufacturer's statement of origin, bill of sale or title was issued - and if the history check finds a record in any state, the untitled route closes.
•A lienholder entered where there is none. The block's own label warns that the title will be mailed to the lienholder, so a stray entry redirects the certificate.
•Signing it without reading the indemnity. It is a positive undertaking to defend the department against claims arising from the transfer, not boilerplate.
•A vehicle description that disagrees with the seller's certificate. The two sworn statements arrive in the same envelope and are read against each other.

Rules that decide whether it is accepted

•Buy the history check first. The department's procedure starts with a national vehicle history check purchased from an approved provider, and if a certificate of title or ownership record is found in any state the untitled vehicle process cannot be completed. Spend that money before you spend anything else.
•The department checks again anyway. A record search is also conducted by the Motor Vehicle Division during processing, and an additional record may be found at that time. An application that survives your own check can still fail on theirs.
•Where a North Dakota record does exist, there is a different door. The manual routes that case to a request for vehicle information with the number eleven exception initialed and a $3 fee, under the administrative rule that permits the release - not to this form.
•It is sworn, and so is the seller's certificate. Two notarised documents, two different signers, one application. Neither substitutes for the other.

Every line here was read off SFN 2903 (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 2903

What a completed one looks like

Every line, in the order you meet it

The vehicle description rows

Vehicle Identification Number

Purchased From and Date Purchased

Explain how you came into possession of this vehicle

Applicant's Legal Name and address

Liens and Encumbrances

Name printed and Legal Signature of Owner

What goes where

What gets this one rejected

Rules that decide whether it is accepted

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