How to fill out Oregon 735-11

Two pages, a hundred-odd boxes, and an inspector's signature that a seller cannot supply for themselves. Oregon charges $9 for it and it becomes the buyer's problem in four situations, three of which a seller can see coming: the ownership document is from another state or another country, the vehicle is being titled as totalled or as assembled, reconstructed or replica, or DMV has reason to believe it was never certified as meeting federal vehicle standards. If you are selling a car you brought to Oregon and never retitled, this is the form standing between your buyer and a plate.

Written against 735-11 (1-26), issued under ORS 803.045 and OAR 735-020. Revised January 2026. The inspection costs $9 and can be done during a title appointment at DMV, which is usually the cheapest way to fit it into a sale rather than making it a separate errand.

Two documents, and they are not the same thing. Take the blank 735-11 from the oregon.gov copy so you get the revision that is current today.

Every line, in the order you meet it

1. 1
   The buyer fills this in

   CUSTOMER INFORMATION

   Printed name last, first, middle, the customer number with its state of issue, a message phone and a full address.

   Watch out: State of issue matters here in a way it does not elsewhere on Oregon paperwork — the whole reason this form exists is usually that the vehicle and its owner have just arrived from somewhere else.

2. 2
   The buyer fills this in

   VEHICLE INFORMATION

   Plate number, state or province of registration, year, make, body style and model.

   Watch out: Province is on the form because Oregon sees Canadian ownership documents. If the vehicle came from outside the United States it needs proof of federal standards compliance as well as this inspection.

3. 3
   The vehicle verifier fills this in

   The vehicle identification number is

   A comb of twenty numbered cells. One character per box, read off the vehicle rather than off the paperwork.

   Watch out: The point of the exercise is to find out whether the metal agrees with the document. An inspector who copies the number off the title has not done the inspection.

4. 4
   The vehicle verifier fills this in

   VIN LOCATION

   Visible through windshield, body-left, body-right, engine compartment, frame, trunk, or other.

   Watch out: At least one box in this column, and in each of the three beside it. The instruction is printed above them in capitals.

5. 5
   The vehicle verifier fills this in

   VIN TYPE and VIN ATTACHED BY

   Metal plate, stamped on body, stamped on frame, adhesive label; then rosette rivets, round rivets, screws, stamped, or not visible.

   Watch out: Rosette rivets are the factory fitting on most modern cars. Screws holding a VIN plate on is the observation that starts a law enforcement referral.

6. 6
   The vehicle verifier fills this in

   CONDITION OF VIN

   Altered or tampered, appears okay, assigned by DMV, cannot locate, illegible or damaged, missing, or none — newly built.

   Watch out: None — newly built is the box for an assembled vehicle that has never had a number. That is where a DMV-assigned VIN comes from, and why the OR prefix box appears on so many other Oregon forms.

7. 7
   The vehicle verifier fills this in

   FED STANDARDS STICKER

   Whether the federal certification label agrees with the VIN, disagrees with it, is illegible, missing, or not applicable.

   Watch out: A sticker that disagrees with the VIN is the single most serious thing this form can record, and it is why the referral block exists underneath.

8. 8
   The vehicle verifier fills this in

   The inspector block

   Printed name, agency or dealership, address, telephone, Oregon dealer number where there is one, date of inspection and signature.

   Watch out: The form must be signed, dated and include the inspector's name, agency or dealer name and address. Any of those missing and the inspection has to be done again.

9. 9
   Somebody else fills this in

   LAW ENFORCEMENT REFERRAL

   A whole block for an officer: reason for referral, the VINs found on frame, body and engine, whether NCIC and LEDS were checked, and a recommendation on assigning a number.

   Watch out: Completed by a law enforcement agency under agreement with DMV. Reimbursement is only made if the subject vehicle is referred by DMV and the form is completed in full.

10. 10
    Somebody else fills this in

    SHADED AREA FOR DMV USE ONLY

    The assigned VIN, where the decal was attached, a control number, and a DMV representative's signature.

    Watch out: Nobody outside DMV writes here. If a vehicle leaves with a DMV-assigned number, this is the block that records it and the number will start with OR.

What gets this one rejected

• •An owner inspecting their own vehicle. The form has to be completed and signed by DMV, an Oregon-certified dealer with the vehicle in stock, or a law enforcement agency — the form's own instructions say the inspector must physically inspect the vehicle.
• •A column left unanswered. The instruction above the four columns is that at least one box must be checked in each.
• •An incomplete form. The instructions say an incomplete inspection form may result in the requirement of a new inspection, which means a second trip.
• •A dealer inspecting a vehicle outside their own stock, or one being titled as totalled, assembled, reconstructed or replica — the form bars dealers from all of those.
• •The LEV boxes ticked by anyone other than Oregon DMV or an Oregon certified dealer, and a fee charged for checking them, which the form prohibits outright.

Rules that decide whether it is accepted

• •Four triggers, and only one is about damage. A foreign — out-of-state or out-of-country — vehicle being titled in Oregon; a vehicle being titled as totalled or as assembled, reconstructed or replica; a vehicle that appears to have been wrecked or destroyed; and a vehicle imported from another country that has not been certified by the manufacturer as conforming to U.S. federal standards.
• •Out-of-state cars can be inspected out of state. The instructions allow an out-of-state vehicle to be inspected by DMV or by any law enforcement agency in the state it is in, which saves a buyer driving an unregistered car across a state line.
• •The LEV boxes are a registration gate, not a title one. DMV will not issue registration for a model year 2009 or newer motor vehicle with 7,500 miles or less on the odometer at initial Oregon registration unless it meets the low emission vehicle requirement or is otherwise exempt.

Every line here was read off 735-11 (1-26) itself — the PDF is here — and off the Oregon Department of Transportation, Driver and Motor Vehicle Services 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 Oregon seller paperwork, or what selling a car in Oregon involves.