What documents do I need to sell my car in Texas?

Selling a car in Texas is not just handing someone keys for cash. The state wants a clean paper trail showing the vehicle changed hands, so the new owner can register it and so you are no longer legally tied to it for tickets, tolls, or accidents that happen after the sale.

Buyers who are paying cash (whether that is a private buyer or a dealer-style buyer like VendacarUSA) will also want to see your documents are in order before they hand over payment. Missing paperwork is one of the most common reasons a sale gets delayed at the last minute, whether you are meeting a private buyer in a parking lot or bringing the car to the Arlington appraisal location on Pecan St.

Below is the full list, in the order you will typically need it.

The Texas title is the single most important document in the sale. It proves you legally own the car and it is the document you sign over to transfer ownership.

On the back of the title you will find the assignment section, where you print and sign your name exactly as it appears on the front, list the odometer reading, the sale date, and the sale price, and have the buyer fill in their name and address. Any cross-outs or mismatched names can cause the county tax office to reject the transfer later, so write carefully and use blue or black ink.

If you financed the vehicle and it has been paid off, your lender should have already sent you the title or a lien release letter. If it has not arrived, contact the lender directly and ask them to send a lien release or an original title.

If you still owe money on the car, you will need to pay off the remaining balance, often at the time of sale, before the title can be transferred free and clear. Some buyers, including VendacarUSA, can work through this process with you as part of the online offer form and appraisal, but you should still confirm your exact payoff amount with your lender before you agree on a price.

Form 130-U, the Application for Texas Title and/or Registration, is the official state form the buyer files with the county tax office to register the car in their name. As the seller, you typically fill in your portion (seller information, odometer reading, and sale price) and sign it alongside the buyer.

This form is separate from the title itself, and both the signed title and the completed 130-U are usually needed together for the transfer to go through cleanly.

A bill of sale documents the sale price, date, vehicle identification number, and both parties' names and signatures. Texas provides an optional bill of sale form, VTR-901, but a simple written bill of sale covering the same details is generally accepted.

Keep a copy for your own records. If a dispute ever comes up about the sale date or price, this document is your backup, separate from what you submit to the county.

Federal and Texas law require an odometer disclosure at the time of sale for most vehicles. This is usually built into the title assignment section and the 130-U form, so as long as you fill those out completely, you have satisfied this requirement.

In Texas, license plates stay with the seller, not the car. Remove your plates before the buyer drives off, since you can typically transfer them to your next vehicle or need to surrender them. The registration sticker and any leftover registration paperwork can stay with the car, but the plates should come off.

After the sale, Texas allows sellers to file Form VTR-346, Vehicle Transfer Notification, with the Texas DMV. This tells the state you sold the vehicle on a specific date to a specific buyer, which helps protect you from liability for parking tickets, toll violations, or other issues tied to the car after it left your hands.

Filing a VTR-346 is not the same as officially transferring the title, that responsibility falls to the buyer, but it is a smart, low-cost safety step for you as the seller. You can file it online through the Texas DMV website shortly after the sale.

If gathering every form sounds like a lot, you are not wrong, and it is one of the biggest reasons DFW sellers choose a straightforward cash sale instead of a private-party listing. When you start with the online offer form, VendacarUSA will walk you through exactly which documents your specific situation needs, whether that is a paid-off title, an active lien, an out-of-state title, or a joint-owner scenario.

You can complete much of the process from home, then finish at the Arlington appraisal location on Pecan St, or check other convenient spots on the locations page. Once your offer is finalized, you can also use the Track my offer page to follow the status of your sale in real time.