Sell your car in Delaware — no sales tax, no notary, no nonsense
Delaware keeps a car sale refreshingly small-state: no notary, no sales tax, and an inspection lane the DMV runs itself for free. The whole transaction fits on the back of the title. The habit worth keeping is tearing off the Seller's Report of Sale and sending it to the DMV with your registration card the day the car rolls away — it's a strip at the foot of the title, and it flags the DMV's record until the buyer retitles. Here's the full picture, checked against the DMV's own paperwork.
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Wilmington draws the most Delaware sellers, and selling a car in Wilmington has its own page. The DMV has four facilities statewide, and the buyer can title the car at any of them.
How to sell a car in Delaware
- 01Read the front of your title first. Two things printed there shape the sale. The join between the owners' names: AND means every owner signs, (& OR) means one signature is enough. The model year: 2011 and newer must carry the mileage for 20 years, while 2010 and older is only "encouraged." No title in hand? A lost one is a Delaware duplicate title on the MV213. If a lender holds it, the MV35 asks them to send it to a DMV facility you pick. No law sets their deadline, so send it early. Delaware law also makes you tell the buyer about the loan and the true amount owed.
- 02Retain your plate before the sale if you want to keep it. A Delaware plate belongs to you, not the car, and most owners want to keep the number for their next vehicle. Retention costs $35, or $55 if the record shows a lien, and holds the plate for 365 days past the sticker's expiry. Do it first: the DMV says that if you sell with the plate still on the car and haven't retained it, you lose it. On an AND title both owners must be there. Want a low-digit tag to go with the car? That takes a notarized MV73.
- 03Complete Section 1, then check the mileage against the front. This is the Delaware title transfer itself: the Assignment of Certificate of Title on the back. Write the buyer's name and address, the date, the price and the mileage, then sign and print. Delaware titles do not need a notary. Only blue or black ink, and no correction tape; a spoiled title means an MV216 and $35 ($55 with a lien). Leave the price blank and the DMV works the buyer's document fee from the NADA trade-in value instead. A mileage below the figure on the front gets the title rejected unless you tick one of the two exception boxes, and fixing a wrong reading takes a sworn MV809.
- 04Keep the Seller's Report of Sale strip for yourself. On a current Delaware title it is printed at the foot of the certificate. Tear it off and fill it in before the title changes hands; hand over the whole sheet and your only copy goes with it. If your title has no strip, use the DMV's standalone Report of Sale.
- 05Finish the sale with your buyer at a DMV facility. The Delaware DMV recommends it: the buyer gets a title, your name comes off, and a title associate checks the paperwork while it can still be fixed. The buyer signs Section 1 and fills in Section 4, the Purchaser's Application. An in-state sale needs no MV212. There is no sales tax. The buyer pays a $35 title fee ($55 if financed), a document fee of 5.25% of the price or NADA value, whichever is higher, and registration. They need Delaware insurance on the car, and any Delaware inspection is theirs, not yours. They have 30 days to title the car; after that the DMV adds a $35 late fee.
- 06Take the plate; the buyer gets a $20 temporary tag. Your registration ends the moment the car changes hands, so the buyer can't drive on your plate. They can get a $20 temporary tag at any DMV facility. If you didn't retain the plate, return it at any DMV facility or mail it to the Uninsured Motorist Section, P.O. Box 698, Dover, DE 19903, with a note that you sold the car. If the buyer is out of state, the DMV's online Sold Out of State application can keep the tag in your name instead. The DMV wants the plate surrendered before you cancel insurance. Cancel first and you can owe $100, then $5 a day.
- 07Endorse your registration card and send it to Dover. Delaware law (21 Del. C. § 2502) says to write the buyer's name and address and the sale date on your registration card and send it to the DMV immediately. There is no day count; immediately is the deadline. The Report of Sale goes with it. Sold to a dealer? The card goes to the dealer, and the report still goes to the DMV. The report flags the record but doesn't change ownership. Your name truly comes off when the buyer retitles.
- 08Buying another car? File the MV347. If you're a Delaware resident and buy a replacement within 60 days either side of this private sale, the MV347 can credit or refund the document fee on the car you sold. File within 30 days of whichever came second.
Rather not list the car at all? You can get an instant cash offer here instead. Checked against the Delaware Division of Motor Vehicles in August 2026.
What Delaware requires when you sell
| Notary | Not needed. The DMV's titling page says it plainly: Delaware titles do not require notarization. The only document that ever sees a notary in a typical sale is a power of attorney, when someone signs on an owner's behalf. |
|---|---|
| The title form | There isn't a separate one. You complete the Assignment of Certificate of Title (Section 1) on the back of the Delaware title — buyer's name and address, date of sale, purchase price, and the odometer disclosure. If the front reads AND, every listed owner signs and prints; & OR needs only one. The DMV recommends both parties finish the transfer together at a DMV facility, where a title associate can catch paperwork errors on the spot. |
| Bill of sale | Not needed in an ordinary titled sale, and the DMV publishes no form for a Delaware bill of sale. The certificate carries the sale on its own: the buyer's name, the price, the date and the mileage all go in Section 1 on the back (DMV private-sale tips). Want a written receipt anyway? Our bill of sale guide covers what goes in one. |
| Lost your title? | Form MV213 plus a $50.00 fee gets a duplicate. All owners sign with their driver license numbers; a mailed application needs a copy of the owner's license showing the signature, and any lienholder has to sign off or provide a release. A notary enters only if a power of attorney signs for you. |
| Protect yourself after the sale | Delaware's notice of sale is the Seller's Report of Sale, a detachable strip at the foot of a current Delaware title (the DMV also publishes a standalone version). Tear it off before the title changes hands and send it to the DMV in Dover with your registration card, on which you write the buyer's name and address and the date of sale. 21 Del. C. § 2502 says immediately, with no day count. The report flags the DMV's record; it does not change ownership, and your name comes off only when the buyer retitles. Separately, a buyer who sits on the transfer past 30 days owes the DMV a $35.00 late title fee — their bill, not yours. |
| License plates | Yours, not the car's, and it comes off before the buyer drives away. Return it to any DMV facility, or mail it to the Uninsured Motorist Section at P.O. Box 698, Dover, DE 19903 with a note that you sold the car. Or retain it for your next car, as most Delaware owners want to: $35 ($55 with a lien), done before the sale, and it keeps for 365 days past the sticker's expiry. Leave it on the car and the DMV warns the buyer's red-light, toll, and parking violations can land on you; only a low-digit tag can go with the car, on a notarized MV73. Keep your insurance until the plate is surrendered. The buyer can pick up a $20.00 temporary tag at any DMV facility for the drive home. |
| Sales tax | There isn't one — this is Delaware. What the buyer pays instead, at titling, is the DMV document fee: 5.25% of the purchase price or NADA value, whichever is greater (minimum $8), raised from 4.25% effective October 1, 2025 under House Bill 164. It's collected from the person titling the vehicle, so a private seller owes nothing. |
| Inspections | Run by the DMV itself, in its own lanes, for no fee — and it's the buyer's step, handled when they title and register. Vehicles in their newest seven model years, under 10,000 lbs and being titled in Delaware for the first time, may only need a VIN verification instead of the full lane. |
Checked against the Delaware DMV's title transfer pages as of August 2026. Fees and forms change — confirm there before you file anything.
No notary needed here, unlike a handful of states; a replacement title runs $50 — compare all fifty; what protects you after handoff; selling when the title is gone; or price the Delaware transfer in the fee calculator.
Asked by Delaware sellers
Do I need a notary to sell my car in Delaware?
No. The DMV's own titling page states that Delaware titles do not require notarization. The single exception in a normal sale is a power of attorney — if someone signs the title on an owner's behalf, that POA needs a notary. Two people and a pen handle everything else.
Is there sales tax when I sell a car in Delaware?
No — Delaware has no sales tax. What exists instead is the DMV document fee, paid by whoever titles the vehicle: 5.25% of the purchase price or NADA value, whichever is greater, with an $8 minimum (the rate rose from 4.25% on October 1, 2025). As the seller, you collect nothing and owe nothing.
What is the Seller's Report of Sale, and do I really have to mail it?
It's the strip printed at the foot of a current Delaware title; if yours has none, the DMV publishes a standalone version. It records the buyer, the price, the mileage and the date. Tear it off before you hand the title over, and send it to the DMV in Dover with your registration card, on which you write the buyer's name and address and the sale date. Delaware law says to send the card immediately, with no day count, so do it the day you sell. Know its limit: the DMV says the report flags the record but does not change ownership or stop police, the DMV or parking authorities from contacting you. Your name really comes off when the buyer retitles, which is why the DMV recommends finishing the sale together at a DMV facility.
What happens to my license plates after I sell?
They stay with you: Delaware plates belong to the seller, not the car, and they come off before the buyer drives away. Return the plate at any DMV facility or by mail, or retain it for your next car, as most Delaware owners want to. Retention costs $35 ($55 if the record shows a lien) and has to be done before the sale. Don't leave it on the car: the DMV warns the buyer's red-light, toll and parking violations can come back to you. The one exception is a low-digit tag, which can go with the car on a notarized MV73. Your buyer can get a $20 temporary tag at any DMV facility, and you should keep your insurance until the plate is surrendered.