Sell your car in West Virginia: keep your plates, file the sold notice
West Virginia's paperwork is friendlier than its terrain: the plates stay in your hands, the 6% tax is the buyer's bill at titling time, and a notarized bill of sale only comes into it when the price is under half the car's book value. Whether yours is a Kanawha Valley survivor with a quarter-million honest miles or an Eastern Panhandle commuter worn young on I-81, here's exactly how a private sale works — and where we pick up.
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Charleston draws the most car-selling searches in West Virginia, and our Charleston page covers selling there. The other cities we cover are in the list above.
How to sell a car in West Virginia
- 01Make sure the title is in your name and the lien is off the record. The Division tells buyers never to buy unless the seller holds a title printed in their own name, so fix the paper before you list. Lost, destroyed or defaced? File the Affidavit of Duplicate Title, Form DMV-4-TR, with a copy of your photo ID and the $15 fee. If the loan is paid, get the lender's Release of Lien (DMV-12-A-TR): a paper release doesn't update the DMV database, so the lien stays active until a clear title is processed.
- 02Check your price against NADA Clean Loan Book. West Virginia taxes the buyer on book value when a private price fails its checks. Sell for less than half the NADA Clean Loan Book value and the buyer needs the notarized West Virginia bill of sale, Form DMV-7-TR, signed by both of you with copies of both driver's licenses. Without it, tax is charged on full book value. A car two years old or newer is taxed on book value whatever you charge.
- 03Fill in the back, then do what your signature line prints. Enter the buyer's name and address, the date, the price and, on a model year 2011 or newer car, the exact mileage. Model year 2010 and older cars are exempt, and the separate DMV-TM-1 is only for a title with no odometer section. Owners joined by AND on the face both sign; OR means either one can. The buyer signs the back too. State code (§17A-4-2) has you verify the lien statement in the assignment under oath, and the Division's pages don't say whether that needs a notary, so do exactly what your certificate prints beside its signature line. Never mark out, white out or erase: the Division says that voids the title and a duplicate is needed.
- 04Deliver the title; lend your registration only in writing. Code §17A-4-2 gives you 60 days from the sale to deliver the title, but handing it over at the sale is simplest. Under §17A-4-1 the registration expires the moment the title transfers, and keeping the plates is your duty. The one exception is short: the buyer may use your registration for up to 10 days, and only with your written consent. If you agree, date it and keep a copy.
- 05Mail the DMV-1-S to DMV Insurance right away. State code (§17A-4-1) says to notify the DMV immediately, with no day count. Send the Sold Vehicle or Watercraft Notice, Form DMV-1-S, to DMV Insurance, PO Box 17020, Charleston. Fill in every line, because it isn't accepted with blanks, and both sellers sign if the title says AND. Until it arrives, the state's insurance check still sees an active title and plate in your name.
- 06Move or return the plate, then cancel the insurance. To put the plate on another car titled and registered in your name, file Form DMV-44-A-TR with the $10.50 fee by check or money order. Otherwise surrender it; a lost or stolen plate gets the WV-4S statement instead. Don't drop the insurance while the plate is still out: the DMV says that can lead to suspension of your driving privileges.
- 07Your buyer files DMV-1-TR and pays the 6% tax. The West Virginia title transfer is the buyer's job, and they need it done before driving the car on their own account. They bring your signed title, Form DMV-1-TR, proof of insurance, the 6% tax (a flat $30 under $500) and the $15 title fee to a DMV Regional Office, mail it to Charleston, or use an authorized private license service. At a Regional Office, plates issue in the same transaction. A car without a valid inspection sticker must be inspected within 10 days at a station licensed by the State Police; a current sticker carries over with the car. The WV DMV titles page has the rest.
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Checked against the West Virginia Division of Motor Vehicles in August 2026.
What West Virginia requires when you sell
| Notary | The DMV's pages don't say whether the title's own signature line needs a notary, and state code (§17A-4-2) has the owner verify the lien statement in the assignment under oath, so follow whatever your certificate prints beside its signature line. Where the DMV does name a notary is price-based: sell for less than 50% of the car's NADA Clean Loan Book value and the buyer needs a notarized bill of sale (Form DMV-7-TR), signed by both of you, with legible copies of both driver's licenses. Without it, they're taxed on the full book value. |
|---|---|
| The title form | It's on the back of the title itself: you and the buyer sign the assignment, and on a model year 2011 or newer car you record the exact mileage (2010 and older are exempt; Form DMV-TM-1 covers titles without a disclosure section). The buyer then applies for their own title on Form DMV-1-TR and pays the $15 title fee. |
| Bill of sale | Only for a cheap sale. In an ordinary West Virginia sale the price you write on the title does the job, so no separate bill of sale is required. Sell for less than half the NADA Clean Loan Book value and the notarized Form DMV-7-TR becomes a must, or the buyer is taxed on full book value. See our DMV-7-TR page or the Division's form. |
| Lost your title? | File an Affidavit of Duplicate Title (Form DMV-4-TR) with the WV DMV. The replacement costs $15 — same as an original — so a missing title is a delay, not a crisis. |
| Protect yourself after the sale | West Virginia's seller notification is the Sold Vehicle or Watercraft Notice, Form DMV-1-S, mailed to DMV Insurance, PO Box 17020, Charleston. It isn't optional: Code §17A-4-1 makes it the seller's duty to notify the DMV immediately, though no day count is set. Until it's filed, the state's insurance check still sees an active title and plate in your name, and the letters come to you. |
| License plates | They stay with you. Under WV Code §17A-4-1 the registration expires the moment the vehicle transfers, and keeping the plates is your duty. They can move to another vehicle of the same class titled and registered in your name: apply within 60 days on Form DMV-44-A-TR and pay $10.50. |
| Sales tax | The buyer's bill, not yours: West Virginia collects a 6% titling tax when the new owner applies for their title, or a flat $30 when the net price is under $500. A notarized bill of sale is what lets a buyer be taxed on a genuinely low price instead of book value. |
| Inspections | A safety inspection every 24 months — extended from annual on January 1, 2024, under HB 2310 — with the sticker capped at $19 for the full two years. No emissions testing anywhere in the state, and a vehicle acquired in-state without a valid sticker has 10 days to get inspected; a current sticker carries over with the car. |
Checked August 2026 against the WV DMV's official title pages — fees and forms drift, so confirm anything load-bearing before you sign.
No notary needed here, unlike a handful of states; a replacement title runs $15 — compare all fifty; what protects you after handoff; selling when the title is gone; or price the West Virginia transfer in the fee calculator.
Asked by West Virginia sellers
Do I need a notary to sell a car in West Virginia?
The DMV's pages don't say whether the title's own signature line needs one, and state code (§17A-4-2) has the owner verify the lien statement in the assignment under oath, so follow whatever your certificate prints beside its signature line. The notary the DMV does name is for the DMV-7-TR bill of sale: if the price is below half the NADA Clean Loan Book value, the buyer needs it signed by both of you and notarized, with copies of both licenses, or they're taxed on full book value.
Who pays the sales tax when a car sells in West Virginia?
The buyer, when they apply for their new title: 6% of the purchase price, or a flat $30 if the car went for under $500. Two cases put the tax on NADA Clean Loan Book value instead: a price below half of book without a notarized bill of sale, and any car two years old or newer. Nothing is collected from the seller.
What happens to my license plates after I sell?
You keep them. WV registration ends with the transfer under state code §17A-4-1, which makes keeping the plates your duty. You can move them to another vehicle of the same class within 60 days on Form DMV-44-A-TR for $10.50, or surrender them. Don't leave them in a drawer and cancel the insurance: the DMV says that can lead to suspension of your driving privileges.
How do I make sure the buyer's tickets don't come back to me?
File Form DMV-1-S, the Sold Vehicle or Watercraft Notice, by mail to DMV Insurance, PO Box 17020, Charleston. It isn't voluntary: §17A-4-1 says the seller must notify the DMV immediately, though no day count is set. The notice puts the buyer, the sale date and the price on record, and it takes the car out of the state's insurance check, which otherwise keeps writing to the name on an active title and plate.