Indiana Vehicle Bill of Sale — What It Needs & Check First
Everything you need to complete a bill of sale in Indiana: what information goes on it, which transfer documents change hands, and how it all flows to the Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles. 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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Indiana Vehicle Sale Data at a Glance
- Indiana registered vehicles
- 5.7M
- Indiana population
- 6.8M
- Indiana titling authority
- IN
- VIN check before signing
- Free
Indiana Bill of Sale Rules
The specifics for Indiana, taken from the Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles and Indiana law. Every source is linked at the bottom of this page.
State Form 44237
Indiana publishes its own vehicle bill of sale, Bill of Sale (State Form 44237). Using the state's form is the safest option — it already contains every field the Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles looks for.
Not required
Indiana does not require a bill of sale to transfer a vehicle — the assigned title does that. One is still worth signing: it is the seller's only dated proof of when the car stopped being theirs.
Not required
Indiana does not require a bill of sale to be notarized. Signatures from the buyer and seller are enough.
45 days
The BMV counts the 45 days from when the vehicle is 'purchased or otherwise acquired', and applying late triggers an administrative penalty; the purchaser, not the seller, carries this obligation.
Bill of Sale (State Form 44237)
This is the form Indiana issues for a vehicle bill of sale. It already contains every field the Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles looks for, which is why it is worth using instead of a generic template.
Get State Form 44237 from forms.in.govIndiana Against the National Picture
Knowing the Indiana 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 Indiana 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
No bill of sale is needed to move the title here, as in 10 other states. Sign one anyway. The Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles does not want it; the person disputing a parking ticket, an insurance claim or a tax assessment eight months from now very much does.
Notarization
Indiana does not require notarization, which is the majority position — 23 of 35 of the 50 states with a published rule say the same. 2 require it and 10 require it in some transfers. Two signatures are enough here, and a notary adds nothing the state is looking for.
The buyer's deadline to apply for title
45 days is more generous than most: of the 34 states with a calendar-day deadline, 29 give buyers less time, 3 give more, and one other runs exactly the same clock. The range across the country is 10 to 60 days.
What Goes on an Indiana Bill of Sale
Indiana issues State Form 44237, 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 Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles 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 Indiana requires it.
How a Private Sale Transfer Works in Indiana
Titling in Indiana is handled by the Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles. 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 Indiana's own form, State Form 44237 — it already has every field the Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles checks. Both parties sign.
- 2Sign over the titleThe seller signs the existing Indiana 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 Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles to transfer the title, pay any tax due, and register the vehicle. In Indiana the buyer has 45 days from the date of sale to do this.
Indiana Vehicle Transfer Documents
The bill of sale is one of several papers that change hands when a car is sold in Indiana. These are the documents a private transfer usually involves:
Bill of sale
Proof of purchase the Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles uses to calculate sales tax: who, what, when, how much, and the VIN.
Signed-over title
The primary ownership document. The seller assigns the Indiana 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.
Indiana titling authority
Vehicle titles and transfers in Indiana are handled by the Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles. About 5.7M 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 Indiana vehicle title guide for the title side of the transfer.
Why Check the VIN Before You Sign in Indiana
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 Indiana 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 Indiana 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 Indiana bill of sale is signed.
Six Ways an Indiana Paperwork Trail Breaks
Almost none of these are legal problems. They are clerical ones — and they cost the same afternoon at the Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles either way, usually after the seller has already gone home and stopped answering the phone.
- 1
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.
- 2
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. Indiana 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.
- 3
The date is missing, or moved
The date of sale is what every subsequent clock runs from. In Indiana the buyer has 45 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.
- 4
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 Indiana 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 Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles has a defined process — and it is not a private bill of sale.
- 5
The odometer box is empty
The mileage is a legal disclosure, not a courtesy, and "as is" or a dash in that box is the commonest reason a bill of sale gets handed back. Write the exact number showing on the dashboard, not a rounded one, and write the same number on the title assignment. If the two documents disagree the transfer stalls, and the version the Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles believes is the one that makes the buyer's car worth less.
- 6
Something has been crossed out
Alterations are read as tampering, especially on the title. A struck-through VIN, a corrected mileage figure or a whited-out name is usually enough for a clerk to reject the document outright, and on an Indiana title it can mean applying for a duplicate before the transfer can go ahead at all. Start a fresh sheet instead. A bill of sale costs nothing to reprint and a duplicate title costs a fee and a wait.
The Rest of the Indiana 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 Indiana 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 Indiana, 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 Indiana 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 Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicleswill 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 an Indiana 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 Indiana 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 Indiana whichever state applied it. No bill of sale can remove it, and no verbal assurance survives contact with the title. The Indiana 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 Indiana 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 Indiana VIN check runs them together, before the bill of sale is signed rather than after.
Check an Indiana 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 Indiana with these guides, or run any VIN nationwide.
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Indiana Bill of Sale FAQ
The questions Indiana 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 Indiana?+
An Indiana 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. Indiana publishes an official form, Bill of Sale (State Form 44237); using it is the safest option because it already has every field the Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles 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 Indiana?+
Not to complete the transfer itself. Indiana does not require a bill of sale to transfer a vehicle — the assigned title does that. One is still worth signing: it is the seller's only dated proof of when the car stopped being theirs. The signed-over title remains the primary ownership document; the bill of sale is the dated proof of purchase the Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles uses to confirm the sale and calculate any tax due.
Does an Indiana bill of sale need to be notarized?+
No. Indiana does not require a bill of sale to be notarized. Signatures from the buyer and seller are enough.
How long do I have to transfer a title in Indiana?+
45 days from the date of sale. The BMV counts the 45 days from when the vehicle is 'purchased or otherwise acquired', and applying late triggers an administrative penalty; the purchaser, not the seller, carries this obligation. 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 Indiana unusual about bills of sale?+
Indiana 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. Indiana 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 45 days a long time to transfer a title?+
It is on the generous 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. 29 states give buyers less time than Indiana does and 3 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 Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles's deadline.
Can I use an out-of-state bill of sale in Indiana?+
Usually yes for the document itself — a bill of sale is a record of a transaction, and Indiana 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 Indiana?+
Besides the bill of sale, you'll typically need the Indiana 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 Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles. 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 Indiana?+
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 Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles. It's free and takes seconds.
Are there any specific titling rules in Indiana?+
Indiana uses a 'Disclosed Damage' brand to flag vehicles with significant past damage that may not meet salvage thresholds.
Sources for the Indiana Rules on This Page
The Indiana-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.
Buying or Selling a Car in Indiana? 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 Indiana bill of sale.
Or get the full VIN history reportVerificaciones VIN relacionadas
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