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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How to sell a car in Oregon
- 01Get the lender's release onto the front of the title. If a loan is shown, the Oregon lien release happens on the front of the certificate: the lender signs it there. Paid off but the title still shows it? Ask the lender for a Statement of Lien Satisfaction (Form 735-524). Lost the title? Apply for a replacement on Form 735-515 first. DMV was quoting about a week for replacements in August 2026, and a 2011-or-newer car needs the new title before the sale, because the mileage has to be disclosed on a title.
- 02Sign the REASSIGNMENT block, not the front line. Every owner named on the front who is giving up their interest signs the SIGNATURE line in the REASSIGNMENT block on the back. No notary, no witness. The front line marked SIGNATURE (DOES NOT RELEASE INTEREST) is only for clearing a paid-off loan, so signing it does nothing for your sale. Use blue or black ink and never white out or cross out: the title reads VOID IF ALTERED OR ERASED. A wrong name is fixed with Form 735-502, not a pen.
- 03Write the mileage only if Oregon asks for it. The Oregon odometer disclosure covers model year 2011 or newer cars under 20 years old. Write whole miles, no tenths, and the buyer signs under it. On a 2010 or older car, leave the line blank: DMV won't record a reading it didn't require. If the lender still holds the title, the reading goes on a Secure Odometer Disclosure (Form 735-403A), which DMV mails on request.
- 04Use a bill of sale only when the title can't carry the release. An Oregon bill of sale isn't required for a standard sale, because your signature on the title is the release. The Vehicle Bill of Sale (Form 735-501) is for when someone releasing interest can't sign the title, such as a previous owner still named on it.
- 05Decide whether the plates stay on. Left alone, the plates and the registration you paid for go with the car. DMV says you may remove them, and its notice of sale form suggests it to avoid tickets and towing charges. If you take them, the buyer pays full registration fees for new plates and can get a 21-day trip permit to get home. To put them on another car you own, that's a $30 plate transfer on Form 735-268.
- 06Tell Oregon DMV within 10 days. ORS 803.112 gives you 10 days from the date of the sale. File your Oregon notice of sale online at DMV2U, on Form 735-6890, or on the back of the registration card. It doesn't take the car out of your name: you stay the listed owner until the buyer transfers the title. It does put a dated line on your record naming who took the car. Fill in only what you know, since a false notice is a misdemeanor.
- 07Your buyer applies to DMV within 30 days. The Oregon title transfer is the buyer's job. They send your signed title and an Application for Title and Registration (Form 735-226) to DMV Services in Salem, or take them to any DMV office. The title fee is $101, $106 or $116 by the car's MPG rating, or $192 if it's all-electric, and there's no sales tax. After 30 days DMV adds $25, then $50 from day 61, charged on their application, not to you.
Rather not list it at all? You can get an instant cash offer here instead. Checked against the Oregon DMV in August 2026.
What Oregon requires when you sell
| Notary | None for a standard sale. Every owner giving up their interest signs the reassignment block on the back of the title, with no notary and no witness. A lender releasing its interest signs on the front of the title instead. The exception is the Inheritance Affidavit (Form 735-516), used to move a car out of a dead owner's name without probate, which does need a notary. |
|---|---|
| The title form | The seller has no separate one: the assignment happens on the back of the title itself, and the buyer then files the Application for Title and Registration (Form 735-226). For vehicles model year 2011 or newer that are under 20 years old, write the odometer reading on the back in whole miles — both seller and buyer must sign that mileage disclosure. |
| Bill of sale | Not required for a standard sale: your signature on the back of the title is the release. A bill of sale (Oregon's Vehicle Bill of Sale, Form 735-501, or an equivalent) is needed only when the title can't carry the release, for example from a previous owner still named on the title who isn't signing it. Source: Oregon DMV handbook, Chapter E. |
| 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 vehicles bought from dealers outside Oregon. 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.
No notary needed here, unlike a handful of states; a replacement title runs $101 — compare all fifty; what protects you after handoff; whether you need a bill of sale; or price the Oregon transfer in the fee calculator.
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 vehicles bought from dealers outside Oregon — 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.