Washington Vehicle Bill of Sale — What It Needs & Check First
Everything you need to complete a bill of sale in Washington: what information goes on it, which transfer documents change hands, and how it all flows to the Washington Department of Licensing. Before you sign, run the 17-character VIN — it confirms the title is clean and the odometer reading checks out. It's free.
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Washington Vehicle Sale Data at a Glance
- Washington registered vehicles
- 6.6M
- Washington population
- 7.8M
- Washington titling authority
- WA
- VIN check before signing
- Free
Washington Bill of Sale Rules
The specifics for Washington, taken from the Washington Department of Licensing and Washington law. Every source is linked at the bottom of this page.
TD-420-065
Washington publishes its own vehicle bill of sale, Vehicle/Vessel Bill of Sale (TD-420-065). Using the state's form is the safest option — it already contains every field the Washington Department of Licensing looks for.
Sometimes
The Department of Licensing tells private-party sellers that 'before the buyer can apply for a new title and pay fees or taxes on the vehicle, you'll both need to sign a Bill of Sale, unless the sale price and date are included on the title.'
Not required
The Vehicle/Vessel Bill of Sale itself has no notary block and needs only the buyer's and seller's signatures - it is the separate Vehicle Title Application that must be notarized, which DOL warns about: 'Do not sign this document until you are in front of a licensing agent at a vehicle licensing office who can notarize it.'
15 days
RCW 46.12.650(8) counts the buyer's window in '15 calendar days of delivery of the vehicle'; penalties are $50 on the 16th day plus $2 per day up to $125, and failing to apply within 45 days is a misdemeanour. Do not confuse this with the SELLER's Report of Sale, which RCW 46.12.650(2) requires within five BUSINESS days - a different party, a different filing and a different way of counting days.
Vehicle/Vessel Bill of Sale (TD-420-065)
This is the form Washington issues for a vehicle bill of sale. It already contains every field the Washington Department of Licensing looks for, which is why it is worth using instead of a generic template.
Get TD-420-065 from dol.wa.govHow Washington Compares With the Other 49 States
Knowing the Washington rule is half the answer. The other half is whether it is the normal rule or an unusual one — that is what tells you whether to trust a template you found online, or the friend who sold a car in a different state last year.
The official form
Publishing an official form puts Washington with 24 other states; 15 states issue nothing and accept any written record. We can link straight to the PDF for 22 of the 25, and where we cannot it is because the agency serves the file from somewhere that has no stable address, not because the form does not exist.
Whether the document is required
Here the answer genuinely is "it depends", and 23 states are in the same position. That is not a hedge on our part: the Washington Department of Licensing requires the document for certain transfers only. Since signing one costs nothing and being sent home for the want of it costs an afternoon, the sensible default is to sign one regardless.
Notarization
Not required — as in 22 other states. If someone has told you a vehicle bill of sale must always be notarized, they are describing one of the 2 states where that is true, or one of the 10 where it is sometimes true. It is not true in Washington.
The buyer's deadline to apply for title
Washington gives the buyer 15 days — 2 states are tighter, 28 looser, and 3 run exactly the same clock as Washington, out of the 34 that publish a calendar-day figure. What the number does not tell you is how long a lien release takes to arrive from a lender, so treat 15 days as the outside limit rather than the plan.
What Goes on a Washington Bill of Sale
Washington issues TD-420-065, so start there — but whichever form you use, a complete bill of sale always captures these four things:
Buyer & seller details
Full legal names and addresses of both parties, so the Washington Department of Licensing can tie the sale to real people.
Odometer reading
The exact mileage at the moment of sale — a legal disclosure that protects against rollback fraud.
Vehicle description & VIN
Year, make, model, body style, and the full 17-character VIN that ties everything to the car.
Price, date & signatures
The agreed price, the date of sale, and both signatures — notarized if Washington requires it.
How a Private Sale Transfer Works in Washington
Titling in Washington is handled by the Washington Department of Licensing. Fees depend on the vehicle, but the paperwork flow in a private sale is always the same — here is how the bill of sale and the title move together.
- 1Complete the bill of saleFill in the buyer and seller details, sale price, date, odometer reading, and the full VIN. Use Washington's own form, TD-420-065 — it already has every field the Washington Department of Licensing checks. Both parties sign.
- 2Sign over the titleThe seller signs the existing Washington title over to the buyer in the assignment section, recording the same sale price, date, and odometer reading shown on the bill of sale.
- 3File with the DMVThe buyer brings the bill of sale, signed title, odometer disclosure, and proof of identity to the Washington Department of Licensing to transfer the title, pay any tax due, and register the vehicle. In Washington the buyer has 15 days from the date of sale to do this.
Washington Vehicle Transfer Documents
The bill of sale is one of several papers that change hands when a car is sold in Washington. These are the documents a private transfer usually involves:
Bill of sale
Proof of purchase the Washington Department of Licensing uses to calculate sales tax: who, what, when, how much, and the VIN.
Signed-over title
The primary ownership document. The seller assigns the Washington title to the buyer in its assignment section.
Odometer disclosure
A required mileage statement, often built into the title or bill of sale, guarding against rollback fraud.
Lien release
If the car had a loan, the lender's release proving the lien is paid so a clean title can transfer.
Washington titling authority
Vehicle titles and transfers in Washington are handled by the Washington Department of Licensing. About 6.6M vehicles are registered across the state, and every transfer is recorded against the VIN — so the documents you sign should always match the VIN on the car. See the Washington vehicle title guide for the title side of the transfer.
Why Check the VIN Before You Sign in Washington
The bill of sale records what the seller claims. A free VIN check shows what actually happened to the car — before you put it in writing.
Confirm the odometer reading. The mileage you write on the Washington bill of sale is a legal disclosure. An odometer rollback means the figure the seller gave you is wrong — and the car is worth less.
Make sure the title is clean. A bill of sale can't undo a salvage brand. Check that the title has no hidden brand before you agree on a price.
Rule out an open lien. If a previous owner's loan was never paid off, the title can't pass to you cleanly. A Washington lien check surfaces it before money changes hands.
Check before you sign
Enter the 17-character VIN to confirm the title is clean, lien-free, and the mileage checks out — everything you want verified before the Washington bill of sale is signed.
Mistakes Worth Avoiding on a Washington Bill of Sale
Almost none of these are legal problems. They are clerical ones — and they cost the same afternoon at the Washington Department of Licensing either way, usually after the seller has already gone home and stopped answering the phone.
- 1
The VIN was copied from the advert
A VIN is 17 characters and there is no way to tell a correct one from a wrong one by looking at it — which is exactly why transcription errors survive all the way to the Washington Department of Licensing. Read it off the car, not off the listing: the plate at the base of the windscreen on the driver's side, and again on the sticker in the driver's door jamb. If those two disagree with each other, stop. That is not a typing mistake, and no bill of sale can fix it.
- 2
The price is a placeholder
Writing "$1" or "gift" on a sale that was neither is a bad idea in every state. The price on the bill of sale is what a tax assessment is calculated from, so an understated figure is not a clever saving — it is a document that contradicts the money that actually moved, signed by both of you. If the car genuinely was a gift, record it as one; that is a different transaction with its own paperwork, and the Washington Department of Licensing handles it as such.
- 3
Only one copy exists
Both parties need one, and the seller needs theirs more. The buyer has the car; the seller has nothing but a document proving when they stopped being responsible for it — which is what answers a parking ticket, a toll bill, or a police enquiry six months later. Make two copies, sign both, and keep yours somewhere you will still be able to find it. Photographing it on the spot takes five seconds and has saved a great many arguments.
- 4
The two signatures were made at different times
A bill of sale is a record of a moment, and both parties are meant to be at it. Washington does not require a notary, but the same logic applies — a document one party signed and posted is far weaker evidence than one both parties signed together. Sign the same piece of paper, at the same time, and make the second copy before you part.
- 5
The date is missing, or moved
The date of sale is what every subsequent clock runs from. In Washington the buyer has 15 days from it to apply for title, so backdating the document to cover a delay does not buy time — it spends it. It is also the line either party points at when a ticket, a toll or an insurance claim arrives for a day neither of them owned the car. Leave it blank and there is nothing to point at.
- 6
The seller's name is not the name on the title
If the person selling the car is not the registered owner, a bill of sale between the two of you transfers nothing. This is what an unrecorded middle owner looks like, and it leaves the buyer holding a car they cannot title. Ask to see the Washington title and check the name on it against the identification of the person in front of you. Where the owner has died or the car is being sold by a dealer on someone's behalf, the Washington Department of Licensing has a defined process — and it is not a private bill of sale.
The Rest of the Washington Paper Trail
A bill of sale records a transaction; it does not clear a lien, correct an odometer reading, or put plates on the car. Those are the Washington records that come next, and the order matters.
The title is the transfer; the bill of sale only records it. This is the single most expensive misunderstanding in a private sale — a signed receipt and a set of keys do not make you the owner in Washington, and a buyer who never completes the assignment finds out when they try to sell the car on. What the seller has to sign, where the odometer statement goes, and what to do when the title is lost are all covered in the Washington vehicle title guide.
Nothing moves while a lien is open. If the seller still owes money on the car, the lender holds the security interest and the Washington Department of Licensingwill not print a clean title in your name until it is released. That release usually comes by post from the lender, which is why the buyer's deadline is rarely the real constraint. Establish whether a lender is on the record with a Washington lien check before you hand over cash, not after.
The mileage you write down is a legal statement. The odometer figure on the bill of sale and the one on the title have to agree, and both have to be true — a reading that is lower than a previously reported one is the signature of a rollback, and it is the buyer who carries the loss. Compare every reading ever filed against the VIN in the Washington odometer check.
A brand travels with the car, not with the seller. If the vehicle was written off at any point in its life, the brand is attached to the VIN and it follows the car into Washington whichever state applied it. No bill of sale can remove it, and no verbal assurance survives contact with the title. The Washington salvage title check shows what is recorded against it.
Then the plates. Titling and registering are two different transactions, and the second one is what puts the car legally on the road — with its own proofs, its own fees and, in some counties, its own inspection. The requirements are set out in the Washington vehicle registration guide.
Or do all of it at once. Title brands, reported mileage, theft records and open liens are all keyed to the same 17 characters, so there is no reason to check them one at a time. The Washington VIN check runs them together, before the bill of sale is signed rather than after.
Check a Washington Car Before You Sign
Confirm the title is clean, lien-free, and the mileage matches before money changes hands. Free, in seconds.
Bill of Sale in Other States
Titling and transfer rules are run state by state, with different agencies and forms. Compare Washington with these guides, or run any VIN nationwide.
Always check the VIN before you buy
The free preview shows title brands, theft status and open recalls in seconds, and flags whether accident and odometer records exist. The full history is $14.99 — one-time, no subscription.
Washington Bill of Sale FAQ
The questions Washington buyers and sellers ask most about the bill of sale and the documents a private car sale needs.
What goes on a bill of sale in Washington?+
A Washington bill of sale records the full names and addresses of the buyer and seller, the sale date, the purchase price, the vehicle's year, make, model, and body style, the exact odometer reading, and the 17-character VIN. Both parties sign it. Washington publishes an official form, Vehicle/Vessel Bill of Sale (TD-420-065); using it is the safest option because it already has every field the Washington Department of Licensing checks. Confirm the VIN on the bill of sale matches the title and the dashboard before signing — and run a free VIN check first to verify the title is clean and lien-free.
Do I need a bill of sale to transfer a car in Washington?+
In some transfers, yes. The Department of Licensing tells private-party sellers that 'before the buyer can apply for a new title and pay fees or taxes on the vehicle, you'll both need to sign a Bill of Sale, unless the sale price and date are included on the title.' The signed-over title remains the primary ownership document; the bill of sale is the dated proof of purchase the Washington Department of Licensing uses to confirm the sale and calculate any tax due.
Does a Washington bill of sale need to be notarized?+
No. The Vehicle/Vessel Bill of Sale itself has no notary block and needs only the buyer's and seller's signatures - it is the separate Vehicle Title Application that must be notarized, which DOL warns about: 'Do not sign this document until you are in front of a licensing agent at a vehicle licensing office who can notarize it.'
How long do I have to transfer a title in Washington?+
15 days from the date of sale. RCW 46.12.650(8) counts the buyer's window in '15 calendar days of delivery of the vehicle'; penalties are $50 on the 16th day plus $2 per day up to $125, and failing to apply within 45 days is a misdemeanour. Do not confuse this with the SELLER's Report of Sale, which RCW 46.12.650(2) requires within five BUSINESS days - a different party, a different filing and a different way of counting days. This is the buyer's deadline to apply for title — a seller's duty to report the sale, where one exists, runs on a separate clock.
Is Washington unusual about bills of sale?+
Washington publishes its own form, which 25 states do and 15 do not. On whether the document is required at all, the country splits 8 always, 23 sometimes and 11 never, out of the 42 states publishing a rule. Notarization is the real outlier: 23 states say it is not needed, 10 require it in certain transfers, and 2 require it every time (Louisiana and West Virginia).
Does a car bill of sale have to be notarized?+
Not in most of the country. Of the 35 states where the rule is published, 23 do not require notarization, 10 require it for particular transfers, and 2 require it on every one — Louisiana and West Virginia. Washington is in the majority: signatures from buyer and seller are enough. The advice that "a bill of sale must always be notarized" is a rule from somewhere else, repeated without its state attached.
Is 15 days a long time to transfer a title?+
It is on the tight side. Across the 34 states that publish a calendar-day deadline for the buyer, the figure runs from 10 days to 60, and 30 days is the commonest single answer — 18 states use it. 2 states give buyers less time than Washington does and 28 give more. The clock starts on the date written on the bill of sale, so do not backdate it to cover a delay: that shortens your own deadline. Where the car had a loan, the real constraint is usually how long the lender takes to send a lien release, not the Washington Department of Licensing's deadline.
Can I use an out-of-state bill of sale in Washington?+
Usually yes for the document itself — a bill of sale is a record of a transaction, and Washington does not reject one because it was typed on another state's template. What does not travel is the procedure around it: 2 states require notarization and the rest largely do not, deadlines to apply for title range from 10 to 60 days, and 25 states publish a form with fields the other 25 never ask for. If you are buying across a state line, the rules that bind you are the ones where the car will be titled, not the ones where it was sold. Run the VIN before you cross the line either way — a brand applied in one state follows the car into the next.
What documents do I need to buy a used car in Washington?+
Besides the bill of sale, you'll typically need the Washington title signed over by the seller, an odometer disclosure (often part of the title or bill of sale), a lien release if the car had a loan, and your own proof of identity and insurance to register it with the Washington Department of Licensing. A free VIN history check isn't legally required, but it's the smartest document to add — it confirms the title is clean before money changes hands.
Why check the VIN before signing a bill of sale in Washington?+
The bill of sale records what the seller claims; a VIN check shows what actually happened to the car. Running the 17-character VIN before you sign confirms the title is clean, the odometer reading is consistent with the car's history, and there's no open lien that would block the transfer at the Washington Department of Licensing. It's free and takes seconds.
Are there any specific titling rules in Washington?+
Washington brands a vehicle 'Destroyed' when it cannot be returned to roadworthy condition, providing strong buyer warnings.
Sources for the Washington Rules on This Page
The Washington-specific rules above come from the following official government pages. Last checked 2026-08-22. Rules change — if you are relying on one for a sale, confirm it at the source before you sign.
- dol.wa.gov — https://www.dol.wa.gov/forms/420065.pdf
- dol.wa.gov — https://dol.wa.gov/vehicles-and-boats/vehicles/buying-and-selling-vehicle/buy-and-register-vehicle
- dol.wa.gov — https://dol.wa.gov/vehicles-and-boats/vehicles/buying-and-selling-vehicle/sell-vehicle
- app.leg.wa.gov — https://app.leg.wa.gov/rcw/default.aspx?cite=46.12.650
Buying or Selling a Car in Washington? Check the VIN First.
Enter a 17-character VIN to confirm a clean, lien-free title and an honest odometer reading before you complete the Washington bill of sale.
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