Sell your car in Tennessee — no notary, no emissions test, no runaround
Tennessee makes private car sales unusually low-friction: the transfer form is printed on the back of the title, no notary is required, and there isn't an emissions test left anywhere in the state. Here's how the paperwork actually works — and how to skip the meeting-strangers part entirely.
Prefer a callback? Leave your number ↓
Offers powered by our buying partner — ★ 4.7 Trustpilot (205,000+ reviews) · ★ 4.5 Google (8,900+)
Pick your metro
Nashville is the busiest of the Tennessee cities above, and the Nashville page covers selling a car there. The title steps are the same in every county, because every county clerk forwards the paperwork to the same Department of Revenue.
How to sell a car in Tennessee
- 01Read the lien block and the REMARKS box first. Two things on the front can stop a Tennessee sale after the money changes hands. If you paid off a loan, the Tennessee lien release is the lender's signature in the lien block, so check it is signed and dated. A brand in the REMARKS box, such as REBUILT VEHICLE, FLOOD or ACTUAL MILEAGE, carries onto the buyer's new title whatever you both agree. If the title is lost, apply for a Tennessee duplicate title at your county clerk on form RV-F1315201 and wait for it to arrive, because you can't sell against a title you don't have. With a clean title in hand you can advertise the car, or skip the ads and get an instant cash offer here instead.
- 02Gift, family or a low price? Add the affidavit. The price you write on the title is the price the buyer is taxed on. If you're gifting a car in Tennessee, selling to a close relative, or selling at 75% of book value or less, you and the buyer both sign the Affidavit of Non-dealer Transfers (RV-F1301201) under penalty of perjury. It goes in with the signed title. It doesn't replace it.
- 03Write in the buyer's name, then sign in ink. There's no separate Tennessee title transfer form: the assignment is printed on the back of the certificate. With the buyer in front of you, write their name and address, the date and the price, then sign and print your name. Tennessee titles have no notary block and no witness line, and an electronic signature won't be accepted. Two owners joined by AND both sign; only OR, or an older AND/OR, lets one signature do it. Handing the title over with the buyer's name blank is an open title, a Class C misdemeanor for you and for whoever ends up holding it.
- 04Leave the mileage blank on a 2010 or older car. Model year 2010 and older has nothing to disclose, so the odometer block stays empty. A 2011 or newer car gets the reading in whole miles, and a 2011 stays covered until January 1, 2031. On an honest reading, leave both tick boxes alone: ticking "not the actual mileage" puts WARNING - ODOMETER DISCREPANCY on the buyer's title and every title after it. If a county clerk wants the Tennessee odometer disclosure on a separate sheet, that's the Odometer Disclosure Statement (RV-F1317001).
- 05Made a mistake? Don't erase it. White-out or an erasure voids the whole certificate, not just the line. The fix is a duplicate title applied for by you, the current owner, with the spoiled title enclosed. A misspelling is the one exception: draw one line through it, write the right words beside it, and attach a notarized statement from whoever made the error.
- 06Move your plate to your next car for $1. Tennessee plates follow the owner, not the car, so take yours off before the buyer drives away and move it to your next vehicle for $1 at the county clerk. Your registration ends by itself when you sign the title over. If the plate did leave on the car, send the Vehicle License Plates Cancellation (VS-09162021). The buyer's legal way home is a 30-day, $10 temporary operation permit from a county clerk.
- 07Photograph the signed title. There's nothing to file. Tennessee has no notice of sale and no release of liability, so your photo of the completed title, front and back, is your proof of who took the car and when. Don't drop your policy while your plate is still on the car. If you later need to know whether the buyer titled it, the Vehicle Information Request (RV-F1313801) is how you ask.
- 08The buyer titles it at their county clerk before driving it. Tennessee sets no number of days: the buyer must title and register the car before driving it on a public road. What people call the Tennessee DMV is the Department of Revenue's Vehicle Services Division, and the buyer deals with it through their county clerk's office, not a state counter. They bring the signed title, ID and proof of residency, and pay the $14.00 title fee plus county fees. Tennessee car sales tax is theirs too: 7% state tax on the price plus local and single-article tax, collected by the clerk. You owe none of it.
Checked against the Tennessee Department of Revenue in August 2026.
What Tennessee requires when you sell
| Notary | No. Tennessee titles are not notarized — sign the back exactly as your name reads on the front, and if two owners are joined by "AND," both must sign. Some out-of-state titles do require a notarized seller signature, so check yours if the car was titled elsewhere. |
|---|---|
| The title form | There isn't a separate one. The assignment is printed on the back of the Tennessee Certificate of Title: sign it over, with the odometer reading where the model year requires it, and the buyer takes it to a county clerk to title and register. Gifts, lineal-relative transfers, and below-market sales also need the Affidavit of Non-Dealer Transfers (RV-F1301201), signed by both parties under penalty of perjury. It goes in with the signed title; it doesn't replace it. |
| Bill of sale | Not required for an ordinary sale. Tennessee puts the price in the assignment on the back of the title, so a Tennessee bill of sale is optional in a normal private sale. A notarized one comes in only in narrow cases, such as a title that's missing or still held by a lienholder, and it never stands in for signing a title you have. It's still worth writing one for your own paper trail. Department of Revenue · What to put in a bill of sale. |
| Lost your title? | A duplicate costs $14 plus any county fees, through your county clerk, on the Multi-purpose application (form RV-F1315201). Every lien must be discharged first — if one remains, the lienholder has to make the request — and if you've left the state, you apply through your last Tennessee county of residence. Details. |
| Protect yourself after the sale | Tennessee has no release-of-liability or notice-of-sale filing for private sellers — the transfer completes when the buyer titles the vehicle at a county clerk. Your paper trail is a dated copy of the signed-over title plus a bill of sale, and your plate leaves with you, not the car. |
| License plates | Plates follow the owner, not the vehicle. Remove yours when the car sells; moving it to your next vehicle costs $1 at the county clerk's office. Plate rules. |
| Sales tax | Paid by the buyer at titling: 7% state tax on the price, local option tax on the first $1,600 (capped by county), and the 2.75% state single-article tax on the portion between $1,600 and $3,200 (maximum $44). Transfers between spouses, siblings, parents and children — and bona fide gifts — are exempt. Tax details. |
| Inspections | None, anywhere in the state. The Tennessee emissions test ended statewide in January 2022 under Public Chapter 953 of 2018. Before that, testing applied only in Hamilton, Davidson, Rutherford, Sumner, Williamson, and Wilson counties, and there's no safety inspection program either. |
Verified against the Tennessee Department of Revenue's vehicle titling pages as of August 2026. Fees and procedures can change — your county clerk has the final word.
No notary needed here, unlike a handful of states; a replacement title runs $14 — compare all fifty; what protects you after handoff; selling with a loan still on it; or price the Tennessee transfer in the fee calculator.
Asked by Tennessee sellers
Do I need a notary to sell my car in Tennessee?
No. Tennessee titles are not notarized — you sign the assignment on the back exactly as your name appears on the front, and if two owners are listed with "AND," both sign. The only wrinkle is out-of-state titles, some of which do require a notarized seller signature.
Who pays the sales tax on a private car sale in Tennessee?
The buyer, when they title and register at the county clerk: 7% state tax plus capped local and single-article taxes. As the seller you collect nothing and owe nothing — and transfers between spouses, siblings, parents and children, plus genuine gifts, are exempt entirely.
What do I do with my license plate after selling?
Take it off the car — Tennessee plates follow the owner, not the vehicle. You can move it to your next car for a $1 transfer fee at the county clerk, or surrender it if you're done driving.
How do I protect myself after the sale if Tennessee has no release-of-liability form?
Keep your own record: a copy of the title showing the date and both signatures, plus a bill of sale with the price and the buyer's information. The transfer becomes official when the buyer titles the car at a county clerk, so your dated paperwork is what proves the moment the car stopped being yours.