How to sell a car for someone else, such as a parent

• 40states in our power of attorney form table
• 7states whose secure POA form has its own page here
• 2011+model years that need a written odometer statement in 2026

If the owner can’t be there, a vehicle power of attorney lets you sign

A power of attorney (POA) makes you the owner’s agent, called the attorney-in-fact. A vehicle POA covers one car and its paperwork. Virginia’s VSA 70 is typical: it lets the agent “sign in my/our name, place, and stead any Certificate of Title, or other supporting papers, covering said motor vehicle” (Virginia DMV).

Use the vehicle form of the state that issued the title where it has one. Massachusetts, for example, says its form “can only be used to perform Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles (RMV) transactions” (Massachusetts RMV, archived copy).

Your parent may already have signed a general or “durable” POA for their money. Some title offices accept it. Pennsylvania says a general POA, durable ones included, “is often used when the seller is out of the state or ill,” as long as it is “notarized and include[s] the signatures of two witnesses”; a photocopy is acceptable (PennDOT fact sheet). Iowa takes a general POA with its Affidavit of Authority, form 411020, which “must accompany a notarized POA” (Iowa DOT). Elsewhere, ask before you rely on it. Military OneSource warns that “a company or organization may require that you use their specific form” (Military OneSource), and the state’s own vehicle form avoids the question.

Durable is the word to look for. PennDOT describes a durable POA as one that “remains in effect when the person granting it becomes incapacitated.” If the owner can’t sign anything now and never named an agent, the route runs through a court: a court can appoint a guardian of property or a conservator, “giving them the duty and the power to make financial decisions on someone’s behalf” (CFPB).

How the agent signs: the owner’s name, then “by,” then yours

You don’t sign your own name alone, and you never copy the owner’s signature. Oregon’s instructions: “write the name of the owner followed by the representative’s signature. Example: Sharon Smith by Jane Doe” (Oregon DMV form 735-500). Montana adds “POA” after the agent’s signature (Montana MVD form MV65), and Nebraska wants “John Q. Public by John Doe, POA” on both the seller’s signature line and the printed-name line (Nebraska DMV). If your state’s form or title office gives a format, use that one.

Then take what proves you may sign:

• The original POA. Georgia: “PHOTOCOPIES ARE NOT ACCEPTABLE - ORIGINAL FORM MUST BE SUBMITTED” (Georgia DOR form T-8). Colorado: “All transfers of ownership require the original of this document” (Colorado DR 2175, archived copy).
• ID for both of you. Texas wants the owner and the agent to include “a photocopy of their photo identification” when the POA is used to apply for title (TxDMV form VTR-271). Maryland wants “A copy of all vehicle owners’ driver’s license(s)” attached (Maryland MVA form VR-470).
• A clean form. Texas accepts “only black or blue ink” and “no alterations.” Tennessee’s form “is void if any information has been left blank” (Tennessee form RV-F1311401).
• A form that hasn’t expired. Rhode Island’s ends when the title is processed or “thirty (30) days from my/our signature, whichever comes first” (RI DMV, archived copy). Arkansas’s “is valid until revoked” (Arkansas DFA). Check the dates before the buyer arrives.

Acting for someone comes with a duty. Colorado’s form tells the agent to “use due care to act on your benefit” and to “keep a record of receipts, disbursements, and significant actions taken as agent.” A bill of sale and a note of where the money went cover most of that. Then finish the seller’s side: the release of liability and the license plates.

Selling for a parent in the hospital, in care or far away

Get the POA signed while your parent can sign it, and on the right state’s form. Where the form has a notary block, the owner signs in front of the notary; Vermont’s says to “Sign in the presence of Notary and Witness” (Vermont DMV form VN-101). A few states let DMV staff take the notary’s place: Alaska and Nevada accept a DMV representative, and Washington says “You don’t need your signature notarized if you sign in front of a WA vehicle licensing agent” (Washington DOL form 420-050).

When the car, the title and you are in three different places, plan the day the paperwork comes together. If the title is lost, many of these POAs also cover the duplicate application; Florida’s covers applying “for an original or duplicate certificate of title” (FLHSMV form 82053), and Idaho’s must then be notarized. See what a duplicate title costs in each state and selling a car without the title.

Keep the money in your parent’s name. With our buying partner, the name on the check is the payee’s, and it “may be updated to a name other than the registered title owner only if the Buyer assigned to your sale allows the change” (Peddle).

If the owner is a service member who is deploying or moving, the military’s legal services offices prepare POAs, and Military OneSource says “These services are free to your service member” (Military OneSource). For shipping, storing or selling on orders, see selling a car before a PCS move.

Private buyer, dealer or instant offer: what fits when you sell for someone

If the car runs well and someone can be there for viewings, a private buyer will usually pay the owner more than an instant offer, and a dealer that wants that model may too. A private sale also means strangers, test drives and taking a payment on someone else’s behalf. Trade-in vs. selling privately and what your car is worth help you set a price before you decide.

An instant offer trades some of that price for fewer steps, which can matter when you’re managing a sale from a distance. Our partner, Peddle, gives a free, no-obligation offer online and you have a week to accept it. At pickup the driver checks the car and hands over a check, and the offer is what you’re paid if the car matches what you described. Peddle buys a car titled in a relative’s name “as long as the title is signed properly” (Peddle). Two conditions matter here: “all liens and loans must be paid in full before we can buy your vehicle” (Peddle), and “the title must be with the car at the time of pickup” (Peddle). If you’re signing under a POA, say so when you schedule pickup and have the original with the title. Get a free offer for the car, or ask for a callback. If a loan is still open, selling a car with a loan explains the payoff and the lien release.

What people ask about this