Sell your car in Arizona — one signature, no notary, no drama
Arizona makes it unusually easy to hand off a car: sign the back of the title, pull your plates, file a free Sold Notice, done. No notary, no sales tax on private sales, no statewide safety inspection. The hard part is getting a fair number — that's where we come in.
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Pick your metro
Selling in the Valley, the Old Pueblo, up in the pines, or down on the border? Each Arizona market has its own quirks — pick your city below.
What Arizona requires when you sell
| Notary | Not required. Arizona's title-transfer statute asks only for your signed assignment on the certificate of title — there is no notarization language anywhere in it. You can even skip paper entirely and transfer the title electronically through eTitle at AZMVDNow.gov. One caveat: if your buyer plans to title the car in another state, that state's DMV may still expect a notarized Arizona title, so ask before you sign. |
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| The title form | There's no separate seller's form for a standard sale — you sign the back of the Arizona title (or use eTitle Transfer online) and the buyer files a Title and Registration Application, Form 96-0236, within 15 days of the purchase. A Title Transfer Bill of Sale, Form 38-1306, is available for Arizona-titled vehicles if you want the deal on paper. |
| Lost your title? | A duplicate Arizona title costs $4.00 through AZ MVD Now, online or by mail — and only one owner's signature is needed to request it. Mail processing can take up to six weeks, so order the replacement before you list the car, not after a buyer is standing in your driveway. |
| Protect yourself after the sale | File a Sold Notice — free online at AZMVDNow.gov, or by mail on Form 46-8502 — within 10 calendar days of the sale. Until it's on record, MVD may still show you as the owner, which means the new owner's tickets, crashes, or abandoned-vehicle fees ($500 and up) can land on you. |
| License plates | Plates stay with you, not the car — MVD's instruction is to remove the plate before the buyer takes possession. You can move it to another vehicle, and after filing the Sold Notice you can claim a registration credit for unused fees at AZMVDNow.gov. The credit shrinks the longer you wait. |
| Sales tax | None on private sales. The Arizona Department of Revenue says it plainly: casual sales between private parties are not taxable. Your buyer just brings a bill of sale to MVD showing a private purchase. (The state's 5.6% use tax hits vehicles bought from out-of-state dealers — not person-to-person sales.) |
| Inspections | Arizona has no periodic safety inspection. The only test tied to registration is emissions, and only in metro Phoenix (Area A) and metro Tucson (Area B) — the rest of the state is exempt. In a private sale the test rides with registration, so it's generally the buyer's problem, though a car that can't pass is worth less inside the two metro areas. |
Rules verified as of August 2026 against ADOT MVD’s official selling-a-vehicle page — fees and forms change, so check there before you sign anything.
Asked by Arizona sellers
Do I need a notary to sell my car in Arizona?
No. The statute only requires your signed assignment on the title, and MVD's own instructions are to sign the back and hand it over — or transfer it electronically through eTitle at AZMVDNow.gov. The one exception worth knowing: if your buyer will title the car in another state, some out-of-state agencies still want a notarized Arizona title, so have them check first.
What is a Sold Notice and do I really need to file one?
It's Arizona's seller-protection filing — free at AZMVDNow.gov, or by mail on Form 46-8502. MVD says to complete it within 10 calendar days of the sale. Skip it and state records may keep you listed as the owner, which is exactly who gets the letter when the car is ticketed, wrecked, or abandoned. It takes two minutes online; file it.
What happens to my license plate and leftover registration?
The plate is yours — take it off before the buyer drives away. You can transfer it to your next vehicle, or file the Sold Notice and request a registration credit for the unused portion of your fees at AZMVDNow.gov. The credit gets smaller every month you sit on it, so don't.
Does the buyer or seller pay sales tax on a private car sale in Arizona?
Neither. The Department of Revenue's guidance is that casual sales between private parties aren't taxable — the buyer just shows MVD a bill of sale documenting a private purchase. Arizona's 5.6% use tax applies to cars bought from out-of-state dealers, which a driveway sale is not.