Sell your car in Illinois — no notary, no inspection, no runaround.
Illinois keeps private car sales refreshingly simple: sign the title, mail one report to Springfield, take your plates off — no notary, no inspection station, no county-by-county maze. Wherever the car sits, from a Rogers Park alley to a Metro East cul-de-sac, the process is the same and the offer comes to you.
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Chicago is the busiest market in Illinois; sellers there can start with the Chicago page. Around Chicago and in the Metro East, the emissions test comes with the buyer's plate renewal, not with your sale.
How to sell a car in Illinois
- 01Start with the title Illinois mailed you. Illinois always mails a title, to the first lienholder or to you, and you can't pick one up in Springfield. If a loan is still on it, there's no Illinois lien release form: your lender clears the record with a lien clearance letter, which the buyer will need. Lost it? You'll need an Illinois duplicate title, and the state won't issue one within 15 days of the original or 30 days of an earlier duplicate. If the state's records say it was mailed and it never arrived, that's VSD 252 instead.
- 02Sign the Assignment of Title; fix slips on VSD 393. The Illinois title transfer happens on the back of the certificate itself. Sign and print your name, write the date of sale, and fill in the buyer's printed name and address. If two owners are named, both sign. No notary is needed. Don't cross anything out: a mistake is fixed on VSD 393, signed by whoever made it and by the other party.
- 03Mileage goes in the title's block, or on VSD 333. On a 2011 or newer car, the reading goes in whole miles, no tenths. There's no "exempt" box, just two boxes that flag a bad reading; leave both blank unless one is true. A 2010 or older car sold before 1 January 2031 needs no reading. If the title's mileage block is spoiled, full or missing, or the reading is wrong, the statement goes on VSD 333, because VSD 393 can't fix mileage. The buyer signs to acknowledge your reading.
- 04Pull your plates: an Illinois plate can't be sold. Illinois plates belong to you, not the car. Selling an active plate is unlawful and gets the plate revoked. Take them off before the buyer drives away, then keep them for your next car or hand them back. An Illinois plate transfer to another car you own is $25 ($190 if that car also needs its $165 title), sent with your latest registration ID card, or VSD 76 if the card is lost. The Illinois emissions test follows the plates too: it's enforced at plate renewal, so there's no test to pass before you sell.
- 05Post the Seller's Report of Sale, VSD 703. The Seller's Report of Sale (VSD 703) is the Illinois notice of sale. It's one page: date of sale, year, make, VIN, and both your names and addresses. Mail it to the Vehicle Services Department in Springfield. It gives no deadline in days; it says to do it immediately. It releases your responsibility for the car, but it doesn't transfer ownership. Only the signed title and the buyer's application do that.
- 06Warn the buyer: 20 days, and a form they can't download. Illinois law (625 ILCS 5/3-112) gives the buyer 20 days to apply for a new title at a Secretary of State facility, and until they do, the record still carries your name. They file VSD 190, which can't be downloaded: it's printed from the state's Electronic Registration and Title system or picked up at a facility, and a printed one must reach a facility within 7 days. With it go the $165 title fee and the buyer's RUT-50 tax return, paid by check to the Illinois Department of Revenue but handed in at the Secretary of State counter.
Checked against the Illinois Secretary of State in August 2026.
What Illinois requires when you sell
| Notary | None needed. Asked directly whether an Illinois title has to be notarized, the Secretary of State answers with one word: no. That covers the Assignment of Title on the back, the only signature most sellers ever give. Four forms for fixing problems do carry a notary block: VSD 895 Statement of Ownership, VSD 694 Natural Disaster Disclosure, RT OPR 31 Small Estate Affidavit and RT OPR 23 Security Bond. Source: Illinois Secretary of State FAQ. |
|---|---|
| The title form | There is no separate transfer form for the seller: ownership moves on the Assignment of Title section printed on the certificate itself, and the Seller's Report of Sale (Form VSD 703) is what you send in afterward; the buyer then files Form VSD 190 and has 20 days to get the title into their own name. Source. |
| Bill of sale | Not required, and there's no state form. The Illinois Secretary of State doesn't publish an Illinois bill of sale or ask for one: the buyer's title application runs on your signed title, VSD 190 and the RUT-50 tax return. If you want a written record of the price anyway, here's what a bill of sale should cover. Source. |
| Lost your title? | A duplicate costs exactly $50, filed on the same VSD 190 — by mail to Springfield or in person at a Secretary of State facility. Source. |
| Protect yourself after the sale | Mail the Seller's Report of Sale (Form VSD 703) to the Vehicle Services Department in Springfield. The form's instruction is immediately, and in its own words this "will release your responsibility for the vehicle." Source. |
| License plates | Plates stay with you. Per the state, "license plates belong to an owner, not the vehicle" — pull them before the buyer drives off (it's illegal for them to run on your plates), and move them to another car you own for a $25 transfer fee ($190 total if that car also needs a $165 new title). Source. |
| Sales tax | The buyer's bill, not yours. Private sales are taxed on Form RUT-50, which the buyer hands in at a Secretary of State facility with the title application, inside their 20 days: under $15,000 it follows an age table ($465 for a year-old car, sliding to $100 at 11+ years); at $15,000 or more it's price-based, starting at $850. Source · Secretary of State. |
| Inspections | No safety test stands between you and a sale — Illinois' program covers second-division vehicles (trucks, trailers, buses, heavy diesels), not passenger cars. Emissions testing exists only around Chicago and Metro-East St. Louis, and it's enforced at plate renewal, never at the point of sale. IDOT · Illinois EPA. |
Every fact above was checked against the Illinois Secretary of State's official used-vehicle guide and the linked state pages as of August 2026. Fees and forms change — the links are there so you can verify. Every form above lives with the Illinois Secretary of State’s Vehicle Services division, the agency that handles vehicle titles and registration statewide.
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 Illinois transfer in the fee calculator.
Asked by Illinois sellers
Do I need a notary to sell a car in Illinois?
No. Asked directly whether an Illinois title has to be notarized, the Secretary of State answers with one word: no. That covers the Assignment of Title on the back, which is the only signature most private sellers give. Four forms for fixing problems do carry a notary block: VSD 895 Statement of Ownership, VSD 694 Natural Disaster Disclosure, RT OPR 31 Small Estate Affidavit and RT OPR 23 Security Bond.
Who pays the sales tax on a private sale?
The buyer, on Form RUT-50, which goes in at a Secretary of State facility with their title application, inside the 20 days they have to apply. Under $15,000 the tax follows an age table from $465 down to $100; at $15,000 and up it's price-based, starting at $850. None of it comes out of your pocket as the seller.
What do I do with my license plates?
Take them off before the buyer drives away — Illinois plates belong to you, not the car, and it's illegal for the new owner to run on them. You can move them to another vehicle you own for a $25 transfer fee.
How do I make sure the car is no longer my problem after the sale?
Mail the Seller's Report of Sale, Form VSD 703, to the Secretary of State in Springfield right away. In the state's own words, that's what releases your responsibility for the vehicle.
Is the Illinois DMV the same as the Secretary of State?
In practice, yes. Illinois has no separate DMV: the Illinois Secretary of State issues titles and plates, and even the agency calls its counters DMV facilities. The buyer's title application goes in at a Secretary of State facility; your Seller's Report of Sale (VSD 703) goes by mail to the Vehicle Services Department in Springfield.