Sell your car in Texas, the easy way.
Texas makes selling simpler than most states — no notary, cheap duplicate titles, and one free online form that protects you from tickets after the car is gone. Here's everything that matters, plus instant offers with free pickup anywhere from El Paso to Beaumont.
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
Not near one of these? Pickup covers the whole state — small towns and county roads included.
How to sell a car in Texas
- 01Check the lien record before you list. A loan paid off years ago stays on the TxDMV record until someone files to remove it. If a lender still shows, the buyer's county will want a release of lien in original ink; a copy is refused. The VTR-266 release of lien is one of three accepted ways.
- 02No title? Order the certified copy first. Form VTR-34 costs $2 by mail or $5.45 in person, and it goes to a TxDMV Regional Service Center, not to the county. With no proof of ownership at all, the route is a bonded title (VTR-130-SOF).
- 03Sign the title over, no notary. Every owner on the title signs the assignment and writes the date of sale. Mileage goes on it for a 2011 or newer model until it turns twenty; a 2010 or older is exempt.
- 04Sign the Form 130-U and write the price. The TxDMV asks you to hand the buyer a signed Form 130-U with the sales price clearly shown. Harris County's MV-466 checklist says it does not need the seller's signature on a private sale, but sign anyway: your signature may be faxed or copied, while the buyer's must be original.
- 05Take the plates and the sticker. They are yours. Move them to a car you are buying in the same class, keep them, or deface the front of each plate if you do neither. Sell on a weekend with the plates off and the buyer needs a five-day Vehicle Transit Permit to reach the tax office.
- 06Go with the buyer for the Texas title transfer. The TxDMV's first instruction to sellers is to go along to the county tax assessor-collector's office so the title application really gets filed. The buyer has 30 days and pays the 6.25% sales tax and the $28 or $33 title fee there.
- 07File the VTR-346 within 30 days. The Vehicle Transfer Notification is free at TxDMV.gov/VTN. Filed in time, it means you cannot be held responsible for the buyer's parking tickets and toll violations. File it after a dealer sale too: a dealer need not title the car in its own name, so it can stay in yours for months. Keep the buyer's details, the date and the VIN.
Checked against the TxDMV in August 2026 and Harris County's MV-466 in September 2026.
What Texas requires when you sell
| Notary | Not required. Unlike Ohio or Louisiana, Texas titles are signed by seller and buyer — no notarization. One less trip. |
|---|---|
| The title form | You sign the back of the title and the seller's line of Form 130-U (Application for Texas Title), with the price shown; the buyer signs it too and files it. Professional buyers bring this and handle it at pickup. |
| Bill of sale | Not required in an ordinary sale: the assigned title and the 130-U carry the price and both signatures. The TxDMV's own bill-of-sale form, VTR-203, is only for dealers and licensed recyclers taking junk vehicles. A written receipt still helps you keep the records the TxDMV asks sellers to keep; here is what goes on one. |
| Lost your title? | Apply for a certified copy with Form VTR-34 — $2 by mail or $5.45 in person at a TxDMV regional office. Among the cheapest in the country. |
| Protect yourself after the sale | File the free online Vehicle Transfer Notification (VTR-346) with TxDMV within 30 days. It puts on record that you sold the car, so tolls, tickets, and impound fees after the sale aren't yours. |
| License plates | Plates belong to you, not the car — take them off before the truck leaves. You can transfer them to your next vehicle. |
| Sales tax | The buyer pays Texas motor vehicle sales tax (6.25%). Selling costs you nothing. |
| Inspections | Texas ended annual safety inspections for personal vehicles in 2025. Emissions testing still applies when the buyer registers in one of 17 counties: Brazoria, Collin, Dallas, Denton, El Paso, Ellis, Fort Bend, Galveston, Harris, Johnson, Kaufman, Montgomery, Parker, Rockwall, Tarrant, Travis and Williamson, and Bexar County joins on November 1, 2026 — but you can sell a car that won't pass. That's often exactly the car worth selling. |
Rules current as of mid-2026 — confirm details at the official TxDMV buying & selling guide. More paperwork situations (liens, inherited cars, salvage titles) are covered in our paperwork guide.
Texas asks for no notary, unlike the seven states that do; the $2 certified copy is near the bottom of the fifty-state table; what protects you after handoff; or price the Texas transfer in the fee calculator.
Asked by Texas sellers
Can I sell a car in Texas without the title?
Usually the fastest fix is a certified copy — Form VTR-34, $2 by mail, and it comes to the registered owner. Some buyers can also complete a purchase with your registration and ID in limited situations. Start the duplicate anyway; it never hurts.
I inherited a car in Texas. Can I sell it?
Yes. If the estate didn't go through probate, Texas accepts an Affidavit of Heirship for a Motor Vehicle (Form VTR-262) so heirs can transfer and sell. If there's a will being probated, the executor signs. Either way it's a form, not a wall — call us if you're unsure which applies.
The car still has a loan on it. Can I sell?
Yes — the buyer pays the lienholder first and you get what's left. If the car is worth less than the payoff, you'd cover the difference. Have your lender's payoff quote handy and the rest is routine.
My car won't pass emissions. Is it still sellable?
Completely. Emissions testing is a registration requirement in metro counties — it has nothing to do with selling. Cars that would cost more to fix than they're worth are a huge share of what gets sold this way.