Bill of Sale
Everyone is familiarized with the paperwork one must go through when purchasing a new vehicle, there are a lot of forms to comply. During the last couple of years there have been some incidents when selling/buying a vehicle. Fraud, theft or simply mistakes are around the corner, and have led people to lose more money and waste their time trying to fix things up.
The Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles (DHSMV) highly recommends that, at the moment of buying or selling a vehicle, the owner and the buyer protect themselves by completing the Bill of Sale Document. This paper is not legally required by the DMV officers, and in any case it replaces the Title transfer, but it is a very good backup form, as the Bill of Sale protects both parts of the transaction: The Buyer and the Seller.
The official name is “Notice of Sale and/or Bill of Sale for a Motor Vehicle, Mobile Home, Off-Highway Vehicle or Vessel”, and it can be downloaded from the DHSMV website. This paper is a very good backup to avoid possible problems in the near future.
What is the purpose of this paper?
The Bill of Sale is beneficial for both of the parts. It protects the Seller and the Buyer during a certain period of time. This paper works as a proof of the transaction made and the change of responsibilities form one part to the other one.
At the moment of the sale, it is necessary that the current owner of the vehicle is the first one to complete this paper and sign it, before the buyer.
To correctly complete the form, the seller must include all the Vehicle details, the Certificate of title number, the current kilometer count of the vehicle, the personal information of both parts, the vehicle`s price and the current date.
Benefits for Sellers
The Bill of Sale form protects you as the seller of the vehicle in any case, for example: if any infraction or new ticket arrives to you after you sold the vehicle, you will have no responsibility towards those infractions. This form works as proof of non responsibility over the sold vehicle.
Once the transaction has been completed, the seller should notify the tax collector’s office, to let them know about the sale. After this, the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles will cancel the registration of the vehicle under the Seller’s name and wait for the buyer’s notification to register the vehicle under the new owner’s name.
Benefits for Buyers
The Bill of Sale also protects you as the buyer of the vehicle. After the purchase is completed and from that date forward. For example: if any infraction or old ticket of the vehicle arrives to you, but the date of those infractions are from the time you didn’t own the vehicle, the document will excuse you from the responsibility over those tickets. The Bill of Sale proves that the vehicle at that time was the responsibility of the previous owner.
When the transaction has been completed, the Buyer should notify the purchase to the tax collector’s office. After this, the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles will cancel the registration of the vehicle under the Seller’s name and register the vehicle under the new owner’s name. Bear in mind that in this stage of the purchase it will be required to pay the sales tax. If the Vehicle Registration, under the new owner, takes more than 30 days after the sale, it will be a penalty fee due to the late transfer.
This website is privately owned and is not affiliated with the FLHSMV (Florida Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles). Remember that we are never going to solicit any personal information, ID or credentials. The official FLHSMV website: https://www.flhsmv.gov/
