Sell your car in New Hampshire: no notary, no inspection, plates off
New Hampshire asks less of a car seller than most states do: no sales tax, no notary, no release-of-liability filing, and — for now — no inspection sticker to worry about. You sign the back of the title, keep your plates, and you're done. Here's exactly how it works, and what changed in 2026.
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Wherever you live in New Hampshire, your buyer registers the car at the clerk's office in their own town or city. For Manchester, the state's busiest city, see our Manchester page.
How to sell a car in New Hampshire
- 01Check the model year first. New Hampshire titles only cars from model year 2000 on (RSA 261:3). A 2000 or newer has a certificate of title for you to sign over. A 1999 or older was never titled unless an owner asked for it, and the duplicate application won't issue one, so it sells on a bill of sale instead (step 04). Whatever its year, you can get an instant cash offer here and skip the ad.
- 02Get any lien signed off, even an old one, before you advertise. If your title ever named a lienholder, the lender has to sign a TDMV 20A Release of Lien, even if you paid the loan off years ago. Lost the certificate? Apply for a duplicate on TDMV 18 and pay $35.00. That is the one title form you fill in, sign and mail yourself. Start both before you have a buyer, not after.
- 032000 or newer: fill in the assignment on the back, once, in ink. The Bureau of Title asks for three things there: the buyer's name and address, the mileage, and your signature with your name printed beside it. Write the mileage in whole miles and tick one of the three boxes, usually ACTUAL MILEAGE; a number with no box ticked gets sent back. The buyer signs too, to acknowledge your mileage statement. No notary is needed, but the signatures must be originals, not stamps or copies. The Bureau accepts only one assignment between private parties, so a spoiled entry needs a TDMV 111 Voided Assignment Letter. Never hand over the title with the buyer's name left blank.
- 041999 or older: complete TDMV 22A and hand over proof of the VIN. For a car the state doesn't title, you fill in the TDMV 22A Report of Sale or Transfer of a Non-Titled Motor Vehicle. It works as the New Hampshire bill of sale for these cars, with an odometer certification and both signatures on one sheet. It isn't enough on its own: the buyer also needs proof of the VIN to register, and your old registration certificate, current or expired, counts. If you no longer have that certificate, the buyer needs a TDMV 19A Verification of Vehicle Identification from an inspection station, a dealer or a police officer instead.
- 05Take the plates off and keep the expired registration. Your registration expires the moment ownership changes (RSA 261:66), and expired plates can't be displayed (RSA 261:77). The plates are yours. Keep them, and keep the expired registration certificate: that certificate, not the plates, is what your town or city clerk needs to credit the unused part of what you paid against your next car's registration. There is nothing to cancel and nowhere to mail the plates.
- 06The buyer drives on a 20-day plate, then sees their own clerk within 20 days. The buyer gets a $20.00 temporary plate from a DMV drop box or by appointment, with a photocopy of the signed title or bill of sale and their license. An out-of-state buyer gets a 20-day in-transit registration for the same $20.00. A New Hampshire buyer takes the paperwork to the clerk's office in the town or city where they live. The clerk, not either of you, prepares the application for the New Hampshire title transfer, so there is no form to print. It must reach the Division within 20 days of the sale (RSA 261:4), and a late one costs $70.00 instead of the $35.00 title fee. No sales tax is due. The Division's buying and selling instructions cover the buyer's side.
- 07Call your insurer only after the buyer drives off. New Hampshire doesn't tie your policy to the registration, so nobody at the Division will tell you when to cancel. Wait until the assignment is done and the buyer has driven off on their own plate: under RSA 261:14, an owner who has done their part of the assignment and handed the car over isn't liable as owner for damage from how it's driven after that. Then call your insurer. If the Division has put you under an insurance filing, your driving privileges depend on meeting it, so check before you cancel anything.
Checked against the New Hampshire Division of Motor Vehicles in August 2026. Every New Hampshire form we cover is on our New Hampshire forms page.
What New Hampshire requires when you sell
| Notary | Not required. The Bureau of Title's rule lists three things the assignment on the back of a New Hampshire title must carry: the buyer's name and address, the odometer reading in actual mileage, and your signature with your name printed beside it. The buyer signs too, to acknowledge the mileage. Nothing in an ordinary sale is sworn; the only notarized papers the rules mention are a power of attorney and the Affidavit of Ownership for Antique Vehicles (TDMV 105). |
|---|---|
| The title form | There isn't one. You assign the title on the reverse of the certificate itself at the time of sale; the buyer then applies for a new title at their town or city clerk's office and pays a $35.00 title fee. Title applications are prepared by clerks, licensed dealers, or lenders — never by private individuals. |
| Bill of sale | Only for a 1999-or-older car. A 2000 or newer car changes hands on the signed title, and New Hampshire asks for no separate bill of sale. A car the state doesn't title needs one, filled in by you: form TDMV 22A, or an equivalent bill of sale that carries everything RSA 261:148 and Saf-C 1904.05 require. Source: NH DMV, bill of sale. |
| Cars from 1999 or older | New Hampshire doesn't title vehicles with a model year of 1999 or older. Those sell on a bill of sale instead: form TDMV 22A (Report of Sale or Transfer of a Non-Titled Motor Vehicle), paired with proof of the VIN — your old New Hampshire registration certificate (current or expired), a title, or a Verification of Vehicle Identification (TDMV 19A). Heavy trucks with three or more axles and truck-tractors over 18,000 lbs stay titled at any age. |
| Lost your title? | File an Application for Duplicate Title (TDMV 18) with a $35.00 fee. Attach a Release of Lien (TDMV 20A) if the original title ever named a lienholder, even for a loan paid off long ago, and collect every owner's signature on a jointly owned vehicle. A duplicate takes about 5 to 10 calendar days; a new title takes about 30 to 50 calendar days once the Division has the application. Start before you list, not after you sell. |
| Protect yourself after the sale | For a 2000 or newer car there's nothing to file: New Hampshire has no notice-of-sale or release-of-liability form for a titled vehicle, and no deadline for you. For a 1999-or-older car the one report is TDMV 22A, which you complete as the seller. Your protection is RSA 261:14: once you've completed the assignment and handed the car over, you aren't liable as owner for damage from how it's driven after that. Keep copies of the signed title or bill of sale, and remember your plates never leave with the car. |
| License plates | Plates stay with the seller, always. A private-sale buyer needs a 20-day temporary plate ($20.00, RSA 261:57) to legally drive the car home, and an out-of-state buyer needs a 20-day in-transit registration ($20.00, RSA 261:57-b). You can transfer your plates to a replacement vehicle through your town or city clerk; first-time plates carry an $8.00 plate fee. |
| Sales tax | None. New Hampshire has no sales tax at all, so nobody pays tax on the sale itself. A New Hampshire buyer pays the $35.00 title fee plus town and state registration fees when registering, and no tax; a buyer from another state settles any tax with their home state when they register there. |
| Inspections | Suspended until further notice. Per official DMV guidance dated February 13, 2026, inspection stations may not issue stickers and annual inspections are not required. The suspension followed the Legislature's move to end the program and the collapse of the inspection-vendor contract; litigation is ongoing and the status may change. Drivers remain responsible for keeping any vehicle driven in NH safe to operate under RSA 266. |
Every fee and form number above was checked against the NH DMV's official title-transfer instructions as of August 2026 — rules change (the inspection suspension proves it), so verify anything load-bearing before you sign.
No notary needed here, unlike a handful of states; a replacement title runs $35 — compare all fifty; what protects you after handoff; selling with a loan still on it; or price the New Hampshire transfer in the fee calculator.
Asked by New Hampshire sellers
Is there really no sales tax on car sales in New Hampshire?
Really. New Hampshire has no sales tax of any kind, so the sale price is the sale price. A buyer registering in NH pays the $35.00 title fee and town and state registration fees, not a tax; a buyer from Massachusetts or anywhere else settles tax with their own state when they register the car at home. Nothing about tax touches you as the seller.
Does my car need an inspection sticker before I can sell it?
Not right now. DMV guidance dated February 13, 2026 suspends the annual safety and OBD-emissions inspection program until further notice — stations can't issue stickers and inspections aren't required. Litigation over the program is ongoing, so the status could change, and RSA 266 still requires any car driven in NH to be safe to operate. Either way, a sticker was never a precondition for selling.
My car is a 1998 model and I can't find a title — is something wrong?
Probably not. New Hampshire doesn't title vehicles with a model year of 1999 or older, so there may never have been one. Those vehicles sell on the DMV's Report of Sale form (TDMV 22A), paired with proof of the VIN: your old New Hampshire registration certificate (current or expired), a title, or a Verification of Vehicle Identification (TDMV 19A).
What happens to my license plates when I sell?
They stay with you — plates never transfer with a New Hampshire car. Take them off before the buyer leaves; the buyer drives home on a $20 twenty-day temporary plate, or a $20 in-transit registration if they're headed out of state. You can move your plates to your next vehicle through your town or city clerk.