How to fill out Pennsylvania MV-4ST

The document a Pennsylvania private sale actually runs on when the car already carries a Pennsylvania title. It applies for the new certificate, handles the registration plate and computes the sales tax, all on one sheet - and you are not allowed to have a blank one. PennDOT issues it to authorized agents only, which is why the transfer happens at a notary or tag service rather than at a counter.

Written against MV-4ST (not published online), issued under 75 Pa.C.S. 1111 and 1103.1. PennDOT's instruction sheet labels the certification block Section G and the joint-ownership note Section I. The printed form has them the other way round - G is additional title information and I is certification. Follow the letters on the paper in front of you, not the ones in the guide.

There is no download link for the MV-4ST here because there is not one anywhere - PennDOT does not publish it. The card below explains where it does come from.

Step 1 · how to get one The MV-4ST is not downloadable Why, and how to order it · pa.gov · new tab

Filled in

What a completed one looks like

This is the actual MV-4ST, 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

PennDOT's own completed sample of Form MV-4ST from the Agent Services Handbook: Section A carrying a PA title number and a 2004 Chevrolet, Section B naming Smith as the seller, Section C naming Jones and a co-purchaser with a county code of 22, Section F transferring registration plate ABC-1234 with insurance details and the issuing agent's certification, Section G's joint-ownership note, Section H's fee column running from a 6,100 dollar purchase price to a 459 dollar total, and Section I signed by Amy Marie Jones and John Jacob Jones. — Not our annotation - PennDOT's own completed specimen, printed on page 113 of PUB 457, the Agent Services Handbook, revision 5-25. Every person and address on it is the department's invention: Smith, Jones, 1535 Any Street, Anytown PA 17000, and dates written 20XX. It is the only picture of a filled-in MV-4ST anywhere, because the blank is not published.

Field by field

Every line, in the order you meet it

1
The buyer fills this in
Section A, the vehicle
PA title number, make, model year and the full VIN, copied from the certificate rather than from the car.
Watch out: Make means the trade name. The instruction sheet spells it out with examples: Ford, Chevrolet, Chrysler - and tells you not to list Mustang, Cavalier or New Yorker.
2
You fill this in
Section B, the seller
Your actual full last name, first name and middle name, or the full business name if the car is in a company's.
Watch out: This has to agree with the name printed on the face of the certificate you are assigning. A married name on one and a maiden name on the other stops the transaction.
3
The buyer fills this in
Sections C and D, the purchaser
Legal name, PA driver's licence or photo ID number, date of birth, street address, city, state, ZIP, date acquired and the county code.
Watch out: The second purchaser block is a trap on a modern title - it may only be used where the assigned certificate is a pre-1989 one.
4
The buyer fills this in
The county code
A two-digit number for the buyer's actual county of residence, taken from the table the agent works off.
Watch out: It is what sets the tax rate: 02 is Allegheny at 7 per cent and 51 is Philadelphia at 8 per cent, and everywhere else pays 6.
5
The buyer fills this in
Section E, vehicle traded
Left empty on an ordinary cash sale. It exists so a trade-in can be deducted before tax is worked out.
Watch out: The condition ticked here should, within reason, correspond to the price assigned - the instruction sheet says so, and a mismatch invites a look from the Department of Revenue.
6
The buyer fills this in
Section F, the registration plate
Which plate the buyer ends up with: one issued by PennDOT, an exchange, a temporary plate from a full agent, or a transfer of a plate they already have.
Watch out: A temporary registration plate is valid for 90 days. The agent hand-writes the number as well as sticking the sticker on, so that all three copies carry it.
7
The buyer fills this in
Section F, insurance and the agent's certification
Insurance company, policy number, effective and expiry dates, then the agent certifying the date they checked that the vehicle is insured.
Watch out: No alteration of that date is accepted. It is the agent's own certification that they verified financial responsibility, and it has to be completed even where no registration was issued.
8
The buyer fills this in
Section G, joint ownership
A tick box for two buyers who are not married to each other and want the survivor to take the car.
Watch out: Leave it blank and PennDOT issues the title as tenants in common, which sends a deceased co-owner's share to their heirs rather than to the other owner.
9
The buyer fills this in
Section H, tax and fees
Purchase price, less trade-in, taxable amount, the tax at 6, 7 or 8 per cent, then the title, lien, registration, county, transfer and replacement fees, added to a grand total.
Watch out: One cheque or money order, made out to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The agent's own service fee is a separate charge and is not on this line.
10
The buyer fills this in
Section I, certification
The purchaser signs, and a co-purchaser signs beneath, after everything above is filled in and paid.
Watch out: Signed after completion, not before. A company or corporation signs through an authorised representative, whose job title goes on the second line.

At a glance

What goes where

On the form	What to put in it
Section A, vehicle purchased	The PA title number in full, make of vehicle as a trade name rather than a model name, model year, the complete vehicle identification number as shown on the VIN plate, and a condition tick.
Section B, seller	You. The instruction is to list the seller's actual full last name, first name and middle name or full business name - not the way it was written in the advert.
Sections C and D, first and second purchaser	Full legal names, PA driver's licence or photo ID number, date of birth, street address, city, state, ZIP, the date acquired, and a two-digit county code from the department's own table. A second purchaser block exists but may only be used where the certificate assigned is a pre-1989 one.
Section E, vehicle traded	Only if a vehicle went the other way. Make, VIN, model year, body type and condition of the trade-in, which is deducted before tax.
Section F, application for registration	Whether a plate is issued by the department, exchanged, or a temporary plate is issued by a full agent; the plate number being transferred and its expiry; the title number and VIN it comes off; a signature from the person it is being transferred from if that is not the applicant; insurance company, policy number and dates; and the issuing agent's own certification.
Section G, additional title information	Two notes. Tick the first if a co-purchaser who is not a spouse wants joint tenants with rights of survivorship; leave it and the title issues as tenants in common. Tick the second for a daily rental or leased vehicle.
Section H, tax and fees	Purchase price, less trade-in, taxable amount, then sales tax at 6%, or 7% for Allegheny County and 8% for the City of Philadelphia. Below it: title fee, lien fee, registration or processing fee, county fee, duplicate registration card fee, transfer fee, increase fee, replacement fees, and a total.
Section I, certification	The purchaser's signature and the co-purchaser's, made after the form is complete. The printed sentence has them certifying that all statements are true and correct and acknowledging that failing to keep financial responsibility can cost them their operating privilege.

What gets this one rejected

•Trying to bring your own. There is no blank MV-4ST published anywhere; the instruction sheet is headed for PennDOT authorized agents use only.
•Using it for a car that is not already titled in Pennsylvania. That is the other form - an out-of-state certificate or a manufacturer's statement of origin goes on an MV-1 instead.
•A nickname or an initial in the purchaser block. The instruction is explicit: do not use nicknames or first and middle initials, and the name must match the Pennsylvania identification credential the agent examined.
•A P.O. box on its own. It may be listed in addition to the actual numbered street address but never instead of it.
•An address that does not match the buyer's photo ID, unless one of the narrow exceptions applies and the residency self-certification is attached.
•Sending it in late. The completed application and its supporting documents must reach PennDOT within 20 days from the date of sale.

Rules that decide whether it is accepted

•Three copies, three destinations. White always goes to PennDOT. Yellow is retained by the dealer or full agent for at least three years and becomes their record of any temporary plate issued. Pink is kept by whoever the certificate of title is to be issued to.
•The assignment has to be finished first. The instruction sheet lists what the attached Pennsylvania certificate must already carry before this form means anything: the odometer, lienholder, purchaser name and address, seller signature or signatures, purchaser signature or signatures, and notary public information.
•One assignment, unless the title is ancient. Reassignment to a second applicant is only acceptable if the attached Pennsylvania certificate of title is a pre-1989 one. On anything newer, the first assignment is the only assignment.
•The low-price trigger. If the purchase price is less than 80% of the vehicle's average fair market value, or the vehicle is over 15 years old and the purchase price is less than $500, the agent must complete the fair market value form as well.

Every line here was read off MV-4ST (not published online) 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.

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

How to fill out Pennsylvania MV-4ST

What a completed one looks like

Every line, in the order you meet it

Section A, the vehicle

Section B, the seller

Sections C and D, the purchaser

The county code

Section E, vehicle traded

Section F, the registration plate

Section F, insurance and the agent's certification

Section G, joint ownership

Section H, tax and fees

Section I, certification

What goes where

What gets this one rejected

Rules that decide whether it is accepted

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