Tells the TxDMV the car is no longer yours. It does not transfer ownership - only the buyer's title application does that - but it marks the motor vehicle record as transferred, which is what stands between you and what the buyer does next.
Written against VTR-346 (Rev 09/23), issued under Texas Transportation Code 503.005.
This is the single most important thing a Texas seller does after handing over the keys, and it is the one most often skipped. Until the buyer files their title application, the state's record still has your name on it.
Two documents, and they are not the same thing. Take the blank VTR-346 from the txdmv.gov copy so you get the revision that is current today, then print our VTR-346 guide and keep it beside you while you fill theirs in.
This is the actual VTR-346, rendered from the PDF the Texas Department 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
The actual VTR-346, downloaded from TxDMV.gov and filled in for one private sale. Note the plates question - it is on the form because in Texas the plates are yours to take, and the answer here is Yes. Amber is what you write; the greyed blocks are deliberately left empty.
Field by field
Every line, in the order you meet it
1
You fill this in
Vehicle information
VIN, year and make are required; body style and model are not. The title or document number is optional, the Texas plate number is not.
Watch out: Copy the VIN off the title rather than the door jamb. The whole point of this form is marking the right vehicle record.
2
You fill this in
Date of transfer
Month, day and year the car changed hands.
Watch out: This is the date the thirty days run from - not the day you got round to filing, and not the day the buyer registers.
3
You fill this in
Did you keep your plates?
A yes or no tick, for cars up to 6,000 lbs and light trucks up to 10,000 lbs.
Watch out: In Texas the answer is usually yes, because the plates belong to you. If you left them on the car, they are still registered in your name.
4
You fill this in
Transferor information
Your first name exactly as it appears on the Texas title, middle name, last name, suffix, address, country and phone.
Watch out: Every one of those is marked required with an asterisk. The form warns that submitting it without the required information may prevent the record being marked and result in the form being returned.
5
The buyer fills this in
New owner information
The buyer's name, an additional owner if there is one, their address, country, phone and email.
Watch out: Get the address right. A record marked as transferred to nobody findable is not much of a record.
6
You fill this in
Signature, printed name and date
Yours alone. The buyer does not sign this form.
Watch out: Then file it - online at TxDMV.gov/VTN is faster, and the form asks you not to submit both online and by post.
At a glance
What goes where
On the form
What to put in it
Vehicle information
VIN, year and make are required; body style and model are not. Title or document number if you have it, and the Texas plate number, which is required.
Date of transfer
Month, day and year. Required, and it is the date the thirty days run from.
Did you keep your plates?
A yes/no tick, for cars up to 6,000 lbs and light trucks up to 10,000 lbs. It is on the form because in Texas the plates are yours to take.
Transferor information
You. First name exactly as it appears on the Texas title, middle name, last name, suffix, full address, country and phone - every one of them marked required.
New owner information
The buyer, with room for an additional owner, their address, country, phone and email.
Signature, printed name and date
Yours. The buyer does not sign this one.
What gets this one rejected
•Missing any field marked with an asterisk. The form warns that submitting it without the required information may prevent the record from being marked and result in the form being returned.
•Filing it both ways. The instruction is plain: do not submit a Vehicle Transfer Notification both online and by mail.
•Writing the buyer's name where yours belongs, or the other way round. The transferor is you.
•Assuming it moves ownership. It says so twice: submission of this form does not transfer ownership, and until a new title is issued the Texas record still shows your name.
Rules that decide whether it is accepted
•['Thirty days, and late is still worth filing', 'The instruction says to submit it within 30 days of the date of transfer to help protect yourself from liability for criminal or civil acts involving the vehicle - and then adds that the department will still notate your record if it arrives after the 30 days. Most states do not say that. File it late rather than not at all.']
•['Online is faster', 'TxDMV.gov/VTN. The paper route is a post to the Vehicle Titles and Registration Division in Austin.']
Every line here was read off VTR-346 (Rev 09/23) itself —
the PDF is here — and off the Texas Department 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.
