Sell your car in California, smog check and all
California makes the seller handle the smog check, hands you a title with no notary line on it, and gives you exactly five days to tell the DMV the car is gone. We keep track of all of it so you don't have to — and we'll put a real number on the car, whatever county it's parked in.
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The title, REG 138 and plate rules above are the same in every California city. The busiest is Sacramento, which has its own page.
How to sell a car in California
- 01Get the smog certificate yourself. The California smog check is the seller's job: you give the buyer a valid certificate, which goes to the DMV electronically and is good for 90 days. Gasoline cars 1976 or newer and diesels 1998 or newer (14,000 lb GVWR or under) need one once they are four model years old. Anything newer skips the test and the buyer pays an $8 smog transfer fee instead. A sale to a spouse, domestic partner, sibling, child, parent, grandparent or grandchild is exempt too, claimed on a REG 256. If a passing certificate already reached the DMV at renewal in the last 90 days, a REG 139 spares you a second test, but don't sign one for a car you suspect would fail.
- 02Get the lender's release, or file a REG 227. If a lender is still printed on the title, get its release before you sell. The REG 166 is the lender's release for when the title itself can't carry it. On a car two model years old or newer, a lender outside the Electronic Lien Title (ELT) program can release only on the title itself, so a missing title has to be replaced by the lender first. Title lost? The REG 227 replaces it and transfers the car to your buyer on the same sheet. A replacement cancels the old title, so never sign one that turns up later.
- 03Sign the face of the title, not the back. Sign the California Certificate of Title exactly as your name is printed, on line 1 and again under the odometer disclosure. The reassignment blocks on the back are for dealers. A slash between two owners' names means AND, so both of you sign; OR needs only one. California asks for no notary here. Write the mileage in on any 2011 or newer car: federal law exempts those only after 20 years, even though the DMV's own checklist still says 10. The buyer prints their full name as it reads on their California license or ID and signs.
- 04Put the price and date on a REG 135. California doesn't require a bill of sale, since the signed title carries the sale. The DMV's own REG 135 is still worth filling in: it fixes the sale date your 5-day clock runs from and the price the buyer's use tax is worked out on.
- 05Leave ordinary plates on; take personalized ones off. Ordinary California plates stay on the car and go to the buyer, the opposite of the rule in Nevada and Arizona. Personalized and special interest plates are yours. Take them off before the buyer takes the car, and file a REG 17 to move them to your next car, hold them, or release them.
- 06File the REG 138 within 5 days. The Notice of Transfer and Release of Liability is the California release of liability, due within five days of the sale date. File it online at dmv.ca.gov/nrl: it takes a couple of minutes and prints a receipt. A mailed form gets no confirmation at all, so that receipt is your only proof. Until it's filed, parking tickets, tolls and liability for what the buyer does with the car still follow you.
- 07Your buyer has 10 days at a DMV field office. The buyer finishes the California title transfer at a California DMV field office within 10 days, with the signed title, your smog certificate, the odometer reading, the bill of sale and the $15 transfer fee (plus the $8 smog transfer fee if the car was too new to test). The buyer also owes use tax at the sales-tax rate where the car will be registered; you owe none. The REG 343 is the buyer's application, so don't fill it in for them. Their 10 days and your 5 both start on the sale date.
You can also skip the listing and get an instant cash offer here. Checked against the California DMV in August 2026.
What California requires when you sell
| Notary | Not required for a standard private-party sale — buyer and seller simply sign the Certificate of Title. The one exception: if a lienholder appears on the registration, the lien release in section 5 of form REG 227 must be notarized. |
|---|---|
| The title form | There isn't a separate one for you. The transfer happens on the California Certificate of Title itself; the buyer takes it to a California DMV field office within 10 days and pays the $15 transfer fee (VC 9255). |
| Bill of sale | Optional. The DMV publishes an official California bill of sale, the REG 135, but the signed title is what carries the sale. Use it to pin down the price and the sale date when you need them on paper (DMV REG 135). |
| Lost your title? | File an Application for Replacement or Transfer of Title (REG 227) — the fee is $28 and the duplicate arrives by mail in roughly 15–30 days. Better: the same form can transfer ownership directly, so you can sell without waiting for the replacement. |
| Protect yourself after the sale | File the Notice of Transfer and Release of Liability (REG 138) within 5 days of the sale — the form itself says "Protect Yourself." It takes minutes online at dmv.ca.gov/nrl and cuts you loose from the buyer's future tickets and tolls. |
| License plates | Standard plates stay with the car. Personalized and special-interest plates are yours to keep: the DMV says to remove them before the new owner takes possession, then file a REG 17 to reassign or hold them. Putting ordinary plates on in their place costs $28 (VC 9265). |
| Sales tax | The buyer's problem, not yours. A private-party buyer owes use tax at the sales-tax rate for the address where the car will be registered, calculated on the full purchase price (CDTFA Publication 52). |
| Smog check | Lands on the seller. A passing smog inspection is required before you sell; the certificate transmits to the DMV electronically and stays valid for 90 days. Exempt: vehicles less than 4 model years old (the buyer pays an $8 smog transfer fee instead), gasoline cars from 1975 or older, diesels from 1997 or older, electric vehicles, and motorcycles. |
Form numbers and fees above were checked against the California DMV's title transfer pages as of August 2026. The DMV adjusts fees from time to time, so confirm there before you file.
No notary needed here, unlike a handful of states; a replacement title runs $28 — compare all fifty; what protects you after handoff; selling with a loan still on it; or price the California transfer in the fee calculator; and if the tags have been dead a while, every lapsed year is its own bill.
Asked by California sellers
Do I need a smog check to sell my car in California?
In most cases, yes — the Bureau of Automotive Repair puts the pre-sale smog check on the seller, and the certificate (sent electronically to the DMV) is good for 90 days. The exemptions are generous, though: vehicles less than four model years old skip it (the buyer pays an $8 smog transfer fee instead), as do 1975-or-older gasoline cars, 1997-or-older diesels, EVs, and motorcycles. When we buy your car, we'll tell you which bucket yours falls in.
Who pays the sales tax on a private-party car sale?
The buyer. California charges use tax — same rate as sales tax — on private-party purchases, based on the address where the buyer registers the vehicle. As the seller, you collect your money and owe the state nothing on the transaction.
I can't find my title. Can I still sell?
Yes. The REG 227 form replaces a lost, stolen, or damaged title for $28 — and it can transfer ownership at the same time, so there's no need to wait 15 to 30 days for a duplicate to show up in the mail before you sell.
What's the one step California sellers forget?
The REG 138 — the Notice of Transfer and Release of Liability. Until it's filed, parking tickets, toll violations, and worse can still land on you. File it online at dmv.ca.gov/nrl within five days of the sale; it asks for the vehicle info, the buyer's name and address, the sale date, the selling price in whole dollars, and the odometer reading.