Sell your car in Oregon — no sales tax, no notary, no inspection
Oregon asks less of a car seller than most states do: no sales tax, no notary, no safety inspection, and no separate transfer form — you sign the back of the title and you're most of the way home. The one item with a clock on it is the notice of sale, due to DMV within 10 days of the handoff. Below, every rule that matters, verified against the DMV's own instructions.
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Pick your metro
One rulebook, five very different markets. Portland's DEQ deadlines and theft-wave leftovers, Salem's storm-scarred valley, Eugene's college-calendar churn, Medford's fire-rebuilt Rogue Valley, and Bend's high-desert boom each get a page of their own below.
What Oregon requires when you sell
| Notary | None. Oregon's official selling instructions come down to this: every owner (and any lienholder releasing interest) signs and dates the back of the title — a notarization step appears nowhere in the process. |
|---|---|
| The title form | There isn't a separate one for a standard sale; the assignment happens on the title itself. For vehicles model year 2011 or newer that are under 20 years old, write the odometer reading on the back — both seller and buyer must sign that mileage disclosure. |
| Lost your title? | File an Application for Replacement Title (Form 735-515). Oregon charges no separate duplicate fee — a replacement costs the same as any title, tiered by MPG: $101 (0–19 MPG), $106 (20–39 MPG), $116 (40+ MPG), and $192 for all-electric vehicles. |
| Protect yourself after the sale | Notify DMV within 10 days — online at DMV2U or with the Notice of Sale or Transfer of a Vehicle (Form 735-6890). DMV notes the sale on your record, but you stay listed as the owner until the buyer completes the transfer, so that dated notice is your paper trail. File it the day the car leaves. |
| License plates | They don't have to go with the car — DMV says you may remove your plates before selling the vehicle. Pull them at handoff. |
| Sales tax | There isn't one. Oregon levies no sales tax on vehicles — the 0.5% vehicle privilege tax falls on dealers, and the 0.5% use tax covers purchases from out-of-state sellers. Neither touches a private sale between individuals: the price you shake on is the whole price. |
| Inspections | No periodic safety inspection exists in Oregon. DEQ emissions testing applies only inside two boundaries — the Portland and Medford metro areas — where non-exempt passenger vehicles must pass every two years to register or renew. Everywhere else: nothing to pass. |
Every form number and fee above was verified against the Oregon DMV's official buying-and-selling guide accurate as of August 2026; if a rule moves after that, DMV's own page is the authority.
Asked by Oregon sellers
Do I need a notary or a bill of sale to sell my car in Oregon?
No notary — Oregon transfers ownership on plain signatures on the back of the title, nothing more formal. A bill of sale isn't part of the state's required process for a standard private sale either, though writing one never hurts. The document that actually protects you is the notice of sale, filed with DMV within 10 days.
Who pays sales tax on a private car sale in Oregon?
Nobody. Oregon has no vehicle sales tax, and its two half-percent vehicle taxes — the privilege tax on dealers and the use tax on out-of-state purchases — don't apply when two individuals trade a car for cash. Whatever number you agree on is the number that changes hands, complete.
What if my buyer never transfers the title into their name?
You stay listed as the owner on DMV's records until they do — which is precisely why the 10-day notice exists. File it online at DMV2U or on Form 735-6890 and the sale gets noted on your record, giving you a dated trail showing exactly when the car left your hands.
I can't find the title. Can I still sell the car?
Yes, once you replace it. File Form 735-515 — Oregon charges no duplicate surcharge, just its standard MPG-tiered title fee: $101 to $116 for gas vehicles, $192 for an EV. Order it before you list, because a serious buyer wants paper in hand at the handoff.