Selling your car to a private buyer in Florida: sign the title right and end your liability

Two things protect you as a seller: filling the title section correctly so the buyer can transfer it, and filing the Notice of Sale so the car stops being yours the day you hand over the keys. Neither needs a notary.

✓ Verified against FLHSMV & Florida DOR · 2026-09-06
HSMV 82050Notice of Sale
NoNotary needed
Stays with youYour plate
Federal disclosureOdometer

Step by step

  1. Pay off any lien first. A title showing a lienholder cannot be transferred until the lien is released; electronic liens are released electronically by the lender.
  2. If your title is electronic, decide how to hand it over. Either order a paper title ($2.50 mailed, $10 fast title at the tax collector) or meet the buyer at a tax collector office with both IDs and reassign it there with HSMV 82994.
  3. Complete "Transfer of Title by Seller" on the front of the paper title: buyer's full name and address, odometer reading with no tenths, date of sale, sale price, your printed name and signature. If the title lists two owners joined by "AND", both sign.
  4. Odometer disclosure. Check "actual mileage" unless you know it is not; a false statement is a federal offense. Exempt vehicles (older than the federal 20-year rule) still need the section completed as required by FLHSMV.
  5. Fill HSMV 82050 with the buyer and keep a copy. The top part is the Notice of Sale; file it with the tax collector (or submit it as FLHSMV allows) so the record shows you sold the car on that date. The bottom part is the bill of sale.
  6. Remove your license plate. In Florida the plate belongs to you, not the car. Transfer it to your next vehicle or return it; do not let the buyer drive on it.
  7. Cancel insurance only after you have filed the Notice of Sale and taken the plate.

What to bring to the tax collector

What gets applications rejected

Official forms for this situation

HSMV 82050Notice of Sale and/or Bill of Sale for a Motor Vehicle, Mobile Home, Off-Highway Vehicle or Vessel (HSMV 82050)
Official PDF ↗
HSMV 82994Motor Vehicle Title Reassignment Supplement (HSMV 82994)
Official PDF ↗
HSMV 82040Application for Certificate of Motor Vehicle Title (HSMV 82040 MV)
Official PDF ↗

Everything filled in, ready to sign

The kit for this exact situation: the right HSMV forms pre-filled with your details, the bill of sale ready to print, the counter checklist with the things that get applications rejected, and the fee total for your county.

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Answer five short steps; the official forms come back filled in.

Money-back guarantee if the tax collector rejects the paperwork because of an error in the kit. Verified 2026-09-06.

Fees in Florida (electronic title)

Fee schedule: FLHSMV FEES-01 Rev. 04/26 · source

Questions

Do I have to notarize a car title to sell it in Florida?

No. The "Transfer of Title by Seller" section does not require notarization (FLHSMV procedure TL-11).

What is the Florida Notice of Sale?

The top part of HSMV 82050. Filing it records that you transferred the vehicle on a given date, so you are not held responsible for what the buyer does with it afterward.

Does the license plate go with the car in Florida?

No. Plates stay with the seller. Remove it and transfer it to your next vehicle or return it.

What if I only have an electronic title?

Order a paper title ($2.50 by mail or $10 fast title), or go with the buyer to a tax collector office and reassign it there with HSMV 82994 and both photo IDs.

Other Florida situations

Buying a car from a private sellerReceiving or giving a car as a giftTransferring a car to a spouse, parent or childTransferring a car after the owner diedBringing a car from another state (new Florida resident)Selling or transferring when the title is lostCar still has a loan (lien on the title)Seller has an electronic title (no paper)

Sources read on 2026-09-06: FLHSMV Schedule of Title and Lien Fees, Rev. 04/26; FLHSMV Procedure TL-11 Transfer of Florida Certificate of Title, Rev. 06/26; HSMV 82040 MV form; FLHSMV Buying from a Private Sale. Florida rules change; we re-check these pages against the official documents and update the date above.