Sell your car in Idaho — no notary, no smog check, no runaround
Selling a car in Idaho is refreshingly light on ceremony: no notary, no emissions test anywhere in the state, and the 6% sales tax lands on the buyer when they title it — not on you. Your whole job is a clean signature, a bill of sale, a $3.50 release-of-liability filing, and keeping your plates. Below is every form, fee, and deadline — plus a cash offer if you'd rather hand the whole errand to us.
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Our pickup network runs deepest in these markets, but we buy in all 44 Idaho counties — Panhandle to the Bear Lake line.
What Idaho requires when you sell
| Notary | Not required. A standard Idaho title transfer runs on signatures alone. The only notarization anywhere in ITD's title paperwork is on the duplicate-title application — and even that form accepts a county assessor or deputy assessor as a witness in place of a notary (ITD 3367). |
|---|---|
| The title form | You sign off the existing title — including the odometer reading for vehicles newer than model year 2010 and under 16,000 lbs — and the buyer applies for a fresh one on form ITD 3337 at a county assessor's motor-vehicle office. The title fee is $14.00, and the paperwork is due within 30 days of the transfer; missing that window adds a $20.00 late-filing penalty. |
| Lost your title? | Replace it with ITD 3367, the Duplicate Idaho Title Application: $14.00 plus a small county admin fee, or add $26.00 for RUSH service. Your signature must be notarized or witnessed at the assessor's counter, and the form can't transfer ownership — sellers replacing and transferring in one step use ITD 3369 instead (ITD 3367). |
| Protect yourself after the sale | File a Release of Liability, form ITD 3858, within 5 days of handing over the vehicle — the fee is $3.50. Idaho Code 49-526 requires it, and a properly filed release can protect you from what the car does next: infractions, towing, storage charges (Idaho DMV). |
| License plates | Yours, not the car's. Idaho Code 49-431 says the registration card and plates 'shall remain with and in the possession of the transferor' — so strip them before the handoff, and move them to another vehicle you own once that vehicle is registered (Idaho Code 49-431). |
| Sales tax | The buyer's bill, never yours. Idaho's 6% sales tax on the purchase price is collected by the county assessor or ITD when the buyer applies for their title. Your bill of sale is what establishes that price — write one and keep a copy (Idaho State Tax Commission). |
| Inspections | No emissions testing anywhere in Idaho. The Legislature repealed the requirement effective July 1, 2023, ending testing in Canyon County and Kuna, and the EPA approved shutting down Ada County's long-running program the same year. No smog check is needed to sell or register a car (Idaho DEQ). |
Form numbers and fees current as of August 2026, verified against the Idaho DMV's vehicle-titles page — double-check there before you sign; ITD revises its forms quietly.
Asked by Idaho sellers
Do I need a notary to sell my car in Idaho?
No. A standard Idaho title transfer takes signatures, nothing more. The one notarized form in ITD's title stack is the duplicate-title application (ITD 3367) for a lost title — and even there, a county assessor or deputy assessor can witness your signature at the counter instead of a notary.
Who pays the sales tax when I sell my car privately in Idaho?
The buyer, always. Idaho's 6% sales tax on the purchase price gets collected when the buyer applies for their title at the county assessor's office or ITD — you never touch it. Your job is the bill of sale that documents the price, so write one and keep a copy in case the figure is ever questioned.
How do I release liability after selling my car in Idaho?
File form ITD 3858, the Release of Liability, within 5 days of handing over the vehicle; it costs $3.50. Idaho Code 49-526 requires the filing, and filing it properly is what can protect you if the buyer collects parking tickets, abandons the car, or racks up tow and storage charges before retitling it.
I lost my Idaho title — can I still sell the car?
Not until it's replaced — ITD's duplicate-title application can't be used to transfer ownership, so the replacement has to come first. File ITD 3367 with the $14 fee (notarized, or witnessed by the assessor), or pay $26 more for RUSH service if you're in a hurry. Selling and replacing in one motion? That's a different form — ITD 3369 — and we can point you through it while your offer stands.