Sell your car in Iowa: no notary, a bill of sale, plates off
Iowa keeps it simple: ownership transfers on the back of the title, nobody asks for a notary, and there is no inspection standing between you and a sale. Whether you're in the Des Moines metro or out past the county blacktop, a real cash offer and free pickup are on the table.
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Pick your metro
Des Moines is the busiest of them; if you live in the metro, start with our Des Moines page. If you're selling a car in Iowa anywhere else, the steps below still apply.
How to sell a car in Iowa
- 01Read the front of your title first. Two owners joined by "and" both sign as sellers; joined by "or", either one can sign alone. If a lender still shows with no cancellation, the county treasurer will send your buyer home, so get the lien signed off on the title or released on Form 411168 before you list. Title lost? Form 411033 goes to the county that issued it, costs $35 and takes five days.
- 02Fill in the ASSIGNMENT OF TITLE block. Everything you sign is in that one block on the back: the buyer's name and address, the sale date, SALE or GIFT, the price you were actually paid, the mileage on a 2011 or newer (leave it empty on a 2010 or older), the two damage questions, then your signature and printed name. No notary. Nothing can be crossed out: a mistake takes a notarized Affidavit of Correction (Form 411219), and a wrong price takes a replacement title.
- 03Write a bill of sale as well. An Iowa administrative rule (701-250.2(3)) wants a bill of sale signed by you to establish the price, even on newer titles that have a price box, and the buyer hands it in at the counter. Date it and describe the car, because a copy is one of the two papers that let the buyer drive home without plates. What goes on a bill of sale.
- 04Pull the plates; Iowa assigns them to you. Iowa Code s. 321.34 gives plates to the owner, not the car, and says you remove them when you sell. If the car is currently registered, the buyer can drive it for 30 days with no plates while carrying a copy of the signed bill of sale or of both sides of the assigned title; if it isn't, the county treasurer sells them a 30-day permit for $25. Photograph the finished back of the title before it goes: that copy is your proof of sale.
- 05Give the buyer your county and plate expiry. Iowa makes it your job to tell the buyer the county where the car was last registered and when your plates expire. The Iowa title transfer happens at a county treasurer's office, not at the Iowa DOT (the office most people call the Iowa DMV). The buyer has 30 calendar days to bring your signed title, the bill of sale and Form 411007, which you don't sign, to any county treasurer's office. They pay $35 for the title plus the fee for new registration, $10 plus 5% of the price.
- 06Decide whether to file Form 411107. Iowa's seller notice is optional, with no deadline and no penalty, which is rare. Filed with any county treasurer, the Notice of Sale of Vehicle and Delivery of Title (Form 411107) puts a presumption on the record that you assigned and delivered the title. It needs a notary, and it's worth the trip when the buyer is a stranger or drives off without transferring.
- 07Move or refund the registration. Put the plates on a replacement vehicle within 30 days and the unused registration carries over as a credit, or hand them in at any county treasurer and claim the unused months on Form 411047 within six months of the sale. Nothing under $10 is paid or credited.
Selling without an ad? You can get an instant cash offer here instead, and the back of the title is still where you sign. Checked against the Iowa Department of Transportation in August 2026.
What Iowa requires when you sell
| Notary | Not needed to transfer the car. Everything you sign sits in the ASSIGNMENT OF TITLE block on the back of the certificate, and none of it is notarized. A notary turns up only in side cases, such as the optional Notice of Sale (Form 411107) and the Affidavit of Correction (Form 411219) you need if something on the title is written wrong (Motor Vehicle Division's Seller's Checklist). |
|---|---|
| The title form | There isn't a separate one for you. You assign ownership in the block on the back of the Iowa title, which on titles printed since September 2023 also has boxes for the sale date, SALE or GIFT and the purchase price. The odometer reading (model year 2011 and newer) and the damage questions go in that block too; a separate Damage Disclosure Statement (Form 411108) is only for a car seven model years old or newer when the block can't carry the disclosure. Your buyer then has 30 days to apply at any county treasurer's office on Form 411007, paying $35 for the title (a $30 fee plus a $5 surcharge). |
| Bill of sale | Required, though there is no official Iowa bill of sale form. Iowa Admin. Code r. 701-250.2(3) calls for a bill of sale, or an equivalent, signed by the seller on every sale to establish the purchase price (Iowa Administrative Code). Sign and date one that describes the car and states the price; a copy also lets your buyer drive a registered car home without plates. Here is what goes on one. |
| Lost your title? | File Form 411033 with the treasurer in the county that issued the title. Every owner listed must sign, the fee is $35, and a lost title carries a 5-day waiting period before the replacement issues. Surrender a damaged or altered original instead and it can process the same day (Iowa county treasurers). |
| Protect yourself after the sale | Optional in Iowa, with no deadline and no penalty: the Notice of Sale of Vehicle and Delivery of Title (Form 411107) goes to any county treasurer and has to be notarized. Once it's on file, the record presumes you assigned and delivered the title. That is evidence, not the shield: under Iowa Code s. 321.493(3), a genuine sale and handing over the car are what end your liability (Iowa Code s. 321.46). File it when the buyer is a stranger or drives off without transferring, and keep a photo of the back of the title either way. |
| License plates | They're yours. Pull them at the sale, then either move them to your next vehicle within 30 days, carrying the unused registration over as a credit, or hand them in at any county treasurer and claim the refund on Form 411047 within six months of the sale (nothing under $10 is paid). If the car is currently registered, your buyer can drive it plateless for up to 30 days while carrying a copy of a signed, dated bill of sale or of both sides of the assigned title; if it isn't, the county treasurer sells them a 30-day permit for $25. |
| Sales tax | Iowa doesn't charge regular sales tax on vehicle sales. The buyer instead pays a one-time fee for new registration — $10 plus 5% of the purchase price — at the county treasurer (Iowa Dept. of Revenue). As the seller, you owe nothing. |
| Inspections | None. Iowa has no periodic safety or emissions inspections, so there's nothing to pass before you sell. The lone exception is the $53 salvage theft exam by a certified peace officer, and that only applies when converting a repaired salvage vehicle to a rebuilt title (Iowa DOT). |
Fees and forms checked against the Iowa DOT's official seller guide as of August 2026 — titling itself runs through your county treasurer, so call ahead if your county does anything its own way.
No notary needed here, unlike a handful of states; a replacement title runs $35 — compare all fifty; what protects you after handoff; selling when the title is gone; or price the Iowa transfer in the fee calculator.
Asked by Iowa sellers
Do I need a notary to sell a car in Iowa?
No — and there's no notarized bill of sale requirement hiding in the fine print either. An ordinary signature transfers an Iowa title, which is why plenty of sales here close on a tailgate in a driveway. A notary only comes into side paperwork, such as the optional Notice of Sale (Form 411107) or an Affidavit of Correction (Form 411219) if something on the title is written wrong.
What does selling a car cost me in taxes or fees in Iowa?
Nothing. The buyer pays the one-time fee for new registration ($10 plus 5% of the price) and the $35 title fee when they transfer at the county treasurer. The only fee a seller might ever touch is $35 for a replacement title if yours has gone missing.
What do I do with my plates after the sale?
Take them off before the car leaves. Iowa plates belong to you, not the vehicle — transfer the remaining registration to your next car or apply for a refund, keeping in mind the six-month window and the $10 minimum.
Do you buy cars everywhere in Iowa, or just the big cities?
Statewide. The city pages below go deep on the five biggest markets, but pickup runs to county-road addresses too — if a truck can reach the car, the offer stands anywhere from Decorah to Council Bluffs.