Sell your car in New York, from the Battery to Buffalo
New York is really five or six car markets wearing one trench coat — congestion-priced Manhattan, salt-belt Buffalo and Rochester, boom-cycle Syracuse, commuter Albany. The paperwork, at least, is identical everywhere: no notary, the plates stay with you, and the sales tax is the buyer's problem. Here's how it works, wherever you park.
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Pick your metro
Every market below gets its own guide, because selling a flood-scare Queens hatchback and a rust-belt Rochester pickup are not the same errand.
What New York requires when you sell
| Notary | None needed. The state's own Vehicle Bill of Sale (form MV-912) has plain signature lines for seller and buyer — there's no notary block anywhere on it, and a standard private-sale title transfer doesn't call for one either. |
|---|---|
| The title form | There isn't a separate one. You sign the transfer-of-ownership section printed on the New York title certificate itself, then hand the buyer a bill of sale showing year and make, VIN, sale date, price, and both parties' names and signatures — MV-912 is the DMV's version. |
| Lost your title? | A duplicate costs $20 using form MV-902, filed online, by mail, or at a DMV office. Every title is printed in Albany and mailed — even applying in person, you leave empty-handed. Weekday orders in before 8 p.m. print the next business day and mail the day after. |
| Protect yourself after the sale | New York has no notice-of-sale or release-of-liability filing. Your shield is the plates: transfer them to another vehicle or surrender them (form PD-7 by mail) before canceling insurance, or the DMV suspends the registration — and can suspend your driver license too. |
| License plates | They belong to you, never to the car. Pull them off at the sale, then either move them to your next vehicle or turn them in to the DMV. The mailed-back FS-6T receipt is your proof, and its postmark counts as the official surrender date. |
| Sales tax | The buyer pays it — calculated and collected by the DMV at registration via form DTF-802, which issues a sales tax receipt. Your signature only goes on that form if the car was a gift or sold below fair market value. |
| Inspections | Required every 12 months and again at every change of ownership — your sticker is void for the new owner, who gets a 10-day extension from the date they register to pass a fresh one. Emissions testing rides along with the annual safety inspection for most vehicles 2 to 25 years old. |
Accurate as of August 2026 — rules shift, so double-check anything load-bearing on the official NYS DMV transfer page before you sign.
Asked by New York sellers
Do I need a notary to sell a car in New York?
No. The state's bill of sale form has nothing on it but plain signature lines, and the title assignment doesn't require one either. Two signatures at a kitchen table make a fully legal New York private sale.
What happens with my license plates when I sell?
They come off the car and go with you — always. Transfer them to your next vehicle, or surrender them by mail with form PD-7, and do it before you cancel the insurance. The DMV sends back an FS-6T receipt whose postmark date is your official surrender date. Get the order backwards and your registration gets suspended.
Who pays the sales tax on a private car sale in New York?
The buyer — and not to you. The DMV calculates and collects it when they register the car, using form DTF-802. As the seller you only touch that form if the vehicle was a gift or sold under fair market value, in which case your signature goes on it as well.
I can't find my title. Can I still sell the car?
Once you replace it, yes. File form MV-902 with $20 — online, by mail, or at an office — and know that every replacement is printed in Albany and mailed out, so even an in-person visit ends with waiting on an envelope. Weekday orders placed by 8 p.m. print the next business day.