Sell your car in Alabama — the paperwork is printed on the title
Alabama keeps a private car sale short on paperwork: no notary, no emissions test, no safety inspection, and no separate seller's form — the assignment you sign is printed right on the certificate of title. The whole game is signing it exactly right, pulling your plate, and keeping a bill of sale. Here's every rule, checked against ALDOR's own pages.
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Pick your metro
One set of ALDOR rules, five very different markets. Birmingham's commuter mileage, Huntsville's PCS deadlines, Mobile's rain and salt, Montgomery's plant-and-base economy, and Tuscaloosa's graduation-week wave each get a page of their own below.
What Alabama requires when you sell
| Notary | None. ALDOR's FAQ says it flat out: Alabama does not require a title assignment to be notarized. The one thing the state is picky about is the signature itself — sign exactly as your name appears on the face of the title, middle initial and all. |
|---|---|
| The title form | There isn't a separate one — the seller's assignment is printed on the certificate of title itself. You complete it and hand the title over; the buyer then applies for their new title through a Designated Agent (the county license plate issuing official, a licensed Alabama dealer, or an Alabama bank or credit union). The state application fee is $15.00 plus a $1.50 designated-agent commission, and some counties add local fees on top. |
| Lost your title? | A replacement costs $15, non-refundable. The titled owner (or recorded lienholder) applies online through ALDOR's Public Title Portal or through any designated agent in the state; the legacy paper route is form MVT 12-1 at the same fee. One requirement: the vehicle must currently be titled in Alabama. |
| Protect yourself after the sale | Alabama has no release-of-liability filing and no statutory notice deadline for private sellers. Your protection is practical: a signed, dated bill of sale and a pulled plate. If ALDOR later sends a Mandatory Liability Insurance verification notice for a car you already sold, respond online at MyDMV — or at your county licensing office — with that bill of sale, and the notice clears. |
| License plates | The plate leaves with you, not the car — ALDOR requires the registrant to remove it upon sale or disposal. Moving it to your next vehicle costs a $1.25 state transfer fee; a number of counties add local issuance fees. |
| Sales tax | Entirely the buyer's bill. Private-party purchases owe Alabama's casual sales tax — 2% state on automotive vehicles plus county and city rates — collected by the county licensing official when the buyer titles and registers. You collect nothing and remit nothing. |
| Inspections | No emissions testing anywhere in Alabama, and no periodic safety inspection program either. The only look-over is administrative: the county licensing official inspects the vehicle and ownership documents when ownership changes, and the buyer has 20 calendar days from purchase to register without penalty or interest. |
Every fee and rule above was checked against ALDOR's official title FAQ as of August 2026 — if anything changes after that, the state's page wins.
Asked by Alabama sellers
Does Alabama require a notary to sell a car?
No. ALDOR's own FAQ says the state does not require the assignment of a title to be notarized. What trips people up instead is the signature: sign the assignment exactly as your name is printed on the face of the title, or the buyer's title application can bounce at the counter.
Is there a release-of-liability form in Alabama?
No — Alabama has no named form and no filing deadline for sellers. Keep a signed, dated bill of sale and take your plate off the car before it leaves. If an insurance-verification notice shows up later for the vehicle you sold, respond through MyDMV or your county licensing office with that bill of sale and it clears.
Who pays sales tax on a private car sale in Alabama?
The buyer, when they title and register. Alabama's casual sales tax — 2% state on automotive vehicles plus local county and city rates — is collected by the county licensing official at registration. As the seller, you handle no tax at all.
I lost the title. Can I still sell my car in Alabama?
Get a replacement first — it's $15, non-refundable, and quickest through ALDOR's online Public Title Portal (any designated agent can also process it, and the paper form is MVT 12-1). The one catch is that the vehicle must currently be titled in Alabama; once the new title arrives, you sell normally.