How to fill out Ohio BMV 4311

The other thing to do with a plate you have taken off: give the registration up. This cancels a vehicle registration and its plates, on a notarised application posted to the BMV in Columbus. It is the nearest thing Ohio has to a release of liability, and it is worth understanding what it is not - it does not report a sale, and it does not transfer anything.

Written against BMV 4311 (9/22), issued under Ohio Revised Code 4503.12. Cancelling is not undoing. The certification is explicit that the registration may not be re-instated at any time, so this is the form for a plate you are finished with rather than one you might want back.

Two documents, and they are not the same thing. Take the blank BMV 4311 from the dam.assets.ohio.gov copy so you get the revision that is current today.

Step 1 · the form itself Blank BMV 4311 — Customer Request to Cancel Vehicle Registration PDF at dam.assets.ohio.gov · new tab

Filled in

What a completed one looks like

This is the actual BMV 4311, rendered from the PDF the Ohio 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

Ohio form BMV 4311 filled in: plate FRD 1176 expiring November 2026, VIN 5TDZK23C08S183024, purchased 12 June 2019, owner Marlene R. Kovach of Youngstown, signed and dated 29 May 2026 and notarised in Mahoning County, with the joint owner and lessor blocks left empty. — The actual BMV 4311, completed for a second vehicle whose plate was not being moved anywhere. The mailing address and the direct inquiries block at the foot are part of the form - this one is posted to Columbus rather than handed over a counter.

Field by field

Every line, in the order you meet it

1
You fill this in
The plate and its expiration date
Both taken off the registration card, in the block marked required information.
Watch out: The warning above the block is the reason to check them twice: without complete and correct information the request will be returned, and the round trip is a fortnight.
2
You fill this in
The vehicle identification number
The VIN of the vehicle the registration belongs to.
Watch out: Off the title, not off the door jamb - the BMV is matching it to a registration record, and a transposed character is a returned form.
3
You fill this in
The purchase date
When you bought the vehicle, not when you sold it.
Watch out: The form asks about the registration, which began when you acquired the car. There is nowhere on it to record a sale, which is exactly why this is not a notice of sale.
4
You fill this in
Owner information
First name, middle initial, last name, current mailing address and telephone, with a joint owner or lessor line where one applies.
Watch out: Current mailing address, not the one on the registration if you have moved - the confirmation is posted to the address on the record, and there is a number on the form for correcting it first.
5
You fill this in
Sign the certification
Printed name, signature and date, under an acknowledgement that the registration may not be re-instated and that no refunds may be received.
Watch out: Read those two clauses before signing. If the plate might be wanted on another car, a transfer is the form you want instead.
6
You fill this in
The notary block
The same acknowledgement Ohio prints on every title document, filled in by whoever takes your signature.
Watch out: Required even if you no longer live in Ohio. Then the original - not a copy - goes to Vehicle Information Services at the post office box printed on the form.

At a glance

What goes where

On the form	What to put in it
Registration information	The Ohio licence plate, the expiration date, the vehicle identification number and the purchase date. The heading says required information and warns that without complete and correct information the request will be returned.
Owner information	First name, middle initial, last name, current mailing address, telephone, a business name where applicable, a joint owner or lessor name, and the lessor's address if the vehicle is leased.
The certification	That the information is true to the best of the applicant's knowledge, and an acknowledgement that the registration may not be re-instated at any time and that no refunds may be received from it.
Signature block	Three cells across one row: the printed name, the signature over the printed X, and the date.
Notary	Sworn to and subscribed in my presence, the day, month, year, county and state, the seal, the notary's signature and the commission expiry.
Instructions block	Seven numbered points at the foot, covering who may request a cancellation, what a death in the ownership requires, and how the confirmation comes back.

What gets this one rejected

•A copy. Point four of the instructions says to submit the original application, and that faxes or copies are not accepted.
•An unnotarised form. Point one requires it to be fully completed, signed and notarised even if the applicant is not residing in the State of Ohio.
•A request from somebody not named as an owner. Point two limits it to persons named as owner or co-owner, or someone submitting a power of attorney.
•A cancellation on a vehicle with a registration block. Point six says that where there is a block on the vehicle registration, the request to cancel will not be processed.
•Expecting the plates back. Point five says to make copies for your files, as documents or plates will not be returned.
•Expecting money back. The certification you sign says no refunds may be received from this registration.

Rules that decide whether it is accepted

•Online is quicker and the form says so. The line under the heading points at the BMV's online services to cancel a vehicle registration and licence plates without posting anything.
•A death needs paperwork with it. Point three asks for a copy of the death certificate and probate court documentation where the owner has died.
•The confirmation goes to the registration address. Point seven says confirmation of the request will be mailed to the address on the vehicle registration, and gives a number to call to correct that address first.

Every line here was read off BMV 4311 (9/22) itself — the PDF is here — and off the Ohio 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.

Back to all Ohio seller paperwork, or what selling a car in Ohio involves.

How to fill out Ohio BMV 4311

What a completed one looks like

Every line, in the order you meet it

The plate and its expiration date

The vehicle identification number

The purchase date

Owner information

Sign the certification

The notary block

What goes where

What gets this one rejected

Rules that decide whether it is accepted

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