The form that appears when the price looks low. If the purchase price is under 80% of the vehicle's average fair market value, or the car is over 15 years old and the price is under $500, the agent has to establish what the vehicle is actually worth and both parties have to explain the number in writing, under oath.
Written against MV-3 (3-25), issued under 75 Pa.C.S. 1318.
PennDOT's own Buying or Selling fact sheet states this trigger backwards, as a vehicle sold for 80% less than the fair market value. The form says what it means: a purchase price that is less than 80% of the average fair market value. A car sold for seven-tenths of what the guide says it is worth is inside the trigger, not outside it - and a seller who reads the fact sheet instead of the form will not see it coming.
Two documents, and they are not the same thing. Take the blank MV-3 from the pa.gov copy so you get the revision that is current today.
This is all 3 pages of the actual MV-3, rendered from the PDF the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation 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 3. Sections A to E. The agent’s fair market value in Section B, the buyer’s details in C, the written explanation in D, and the seller’s notarised self-certification in E.Page 2 of 3. Section F, the purchaser’s self-certification - the only one of the two that is never optional - followed by the general information and the list of approved valuation guides.Page 3 of 3. The exceptions and procedures. Seven situations where this form is not required at all, and the warning to the issuing agent about their own liability.
Field by field
Every line, in the order you meet it
1
The buyer fills this in
Section A, the vehicle and the price
Model year, make, model, body type, the purchase price and the VIN, then the odometer reading in a row of boxes with no tenths.
Watch out: The price here has to be the same one written on the title application. Two different numbers on two forms in the same envelope is what starts the audit.
2
Dealers only
Section B, the agent's figure
The average fair market value from a PennDOT approved guide, with the guide named, or a tick to say the vehicle was not listed in one.
Watch out: An online guide is acceptable, but the agent has to keep a print-out of the page in their files. Do not offer to look the number up for them.
3
The buyer fills this in
Section C, the purchaser
Names, PA driver's licence or photo ID number and dates of birth for the purchaser and any co-purchaser.
Watch out: A business writes its business identification number here instead - an employer identification number, not somebody's licence.
4
You fill this in
Section D, the explanation
Why the price is what it is, written out. Rust, a failed inspection, a family arrangement, a car that has not run in two years - whatever is true.
Watch out: The form says use additional paper if more space is required. It means it - one line reading "sold cheap" is what gets the transaction looked at.
5
You fill this in
Section E, the seller's self-certification
Printed name, signature, co-owner if there is one, telephone number, and the day, month, year, county and country of signing.
Watch out: Skipped only where the vehicle was purchased out of state - then the out-of-state seller's signature is not required and the purchaser's alone carries the form.
6
The buyer fills this in
Section F, the purchaser's self-certification
The identical block for the buyer, always required, signed and notarised.
Watch out: The declaration above it is an unsworn falsification under 18 Pa.C.S. 4904 - a fine of at least $1,000 and up to two years.
At a glance
What goes where
On the form
What to put in it
Section A, vehicle description
Model year, make, model, body type, purchase price, the VIN, and a boxed odometer reading with no tenths.
Section B, agent verification of fair market value
The agent ticks one of two statements: that the average fair market value is a stated figure as verified by the current edition of a PennDOT approved publication, naming the publication - or that the vehicle or its value was not listed in one they hold. Then their signature, agent number and date.
Section C, purchaser information
Last, first and middle name of the purchaser and any co-purchaser, PA driver's licence or photo ID number, and dates of birth.
Section D, purchaser and seller explanation
A free-text block. Explain in detail why the price is less than 80% of the average fair market value, or how the price was arrived at on a vehicle over 15 years old sold for less than $500, or how it was determined if the vehicle is not in an approved guide.
Section E, self-certification of seller
Your printed name, signature, a co-owner line, a telephone number, and the day, month, year, county and country you signed in. Not required where the vehicle was purchased out of state.
Section F, self-certification of purchaser
The same block again for the buyer, and this one is never optional.
What gets this one rejected
•Leaving Section D vague. It asks for an explanation in detail, and the department has an audit route behind it.
•Refusing to sign. The instruction to the agent is unambiguous: when the purchaser or seller refuses to complete Sections D, E and F, the agent must refuse to complete the transaction, and the incomplete title application should not be submitted.
•An unnotarised signature. The seller's and purchaser's signatures must be signed and notarised in Sections E and F.
•Using it on a vehicle it does not cover. It is for passenger vehicles, trucks registered at 11,000 lbs and under, motorcycles and motor homes built in the past 15 model years.
•Reaching for it where an exception applies - a new vehicle to its first retail customer, a reconstructed, recovered theft or specially constructed vehicle, a flood vehicle, a former police or taxi vehicle, a lease buyout by the lessee, a death transfer, or a trailer.
Rules that decide whether it is accepted
•Whose figure it is. Not yours and not the buyer's. The agent looks up the average retail value in one of the guides PennDOT names - N.A.D.A., The Automobile Red Book, The Black Book Official Used Car Guide, American Used Car Guide or the Kelley Blue Book Used Car Guide - and writes the publication's name on the form.
•Mileage counts, options do not. Where the guide differentiates for high or low mileage the agent must add or deduct accordingly, using the figure from the odometer statement. They are told not to adjust for specific options such as air conditioning.
•The audit is a real thing. The note to the purchaser says an additional audit of the vehicle sale by the Department of Revenue may occur, and to keep this form, the cancelled cheque or cash receipt, the receipt from the seller and the title application. Fail to reply and you will be assessed for the estimated amount of tax due.
•The agent is on the hook too. The warning printed at the foot cites Section 1318(e): a summary offence, a fine of not less than $100 nor more than $500, and not less than $200 for a later one, or up to 90 days.
Every line here was read off MV-3 (3-25) itself —
the PDF is here — and off the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation pages.
This is plain-language help with a form, not legal advice, and where our wording and the agency's differ,
theirs governs.
