How to sell a car that's sitting in another state

Most of the work comes down to two questions: what the agency that issued your title asks of a seller, and whether you will sign yourself or let someone sign in your place.

Read the back of your title first

The title is the one document that has to change hands, and you can sign it from anywhere. What you can't do is skip the steps the issuing agency puts on it. Pull up that agency's seller page before you sign, because the rules swing hard from state to state.

Some states want a notary to watch the seller sign:

• Ohio: the BMV says the seller signs the ownership assignment printed on the reverse, and those signatures get notarized (Ohio BMV).
• Pennsylvania: the vehicle code has the assignment "sworn to before a notary public or other officer empowered to administer oaths" (75 Pa. C.S. ch. 11).
• North Carolina, Kentucky, Louisiana, Oklahoma and Wyoming also list a notary step for the seller (see the table below).

Others don't. California's private-sale instructions have no notary step for the title itself, and Montana struck its notary requirement for the person transferring a title, effective October 1, 2025 (Montana SOS).

Never send a title with the buyer left blank

When the car is far away, it's tempting to sign and mail an open title so whoever shows up can fill it in. Two states call that out by name. Kansas says passing along a title whose buyer line is empty breaks state law (Kansas DOR), and Mississippi says the same (Mississippi DOR). Wait until you know who is buying, write them in, then send it.

Match the name and the mileage

A title signed at a distance gets no second chance at the counter, so get the small things right. Colorado wants the seller's signature to match the owner name printed on the front exactly. Alabama wants the mileage on the assignment to match the buyer's application exactly. If two owners are on the title, check whether it reads "AND" or "OR": in Delaware, Nevada, Utah, West Virginia and Wisconsin, "AND" means every owner signs.

Letting someone near the car sign for you

If a friend or relative lives close to the car, they can handle the hand-off with a power of attorney. New York's DMV page is the clearest public example of how these work:

• The power of attorney must be notarized; an embossed seal isn't needed.
• The DMV does not supply a form, so you write one yourself.
• Your agent can do only what the document describes. A general power of attorney covers several or all transactions.
• The agent writes "P.O.A." next to their signature on every form that needs one.
• A car dealer or dealer employee can't use a general power of attorney to transfer a vehicle.

Those points come from New York DMV. Other states set their own terms, so read the rules from the state that issued your title. Texas, for one, lists a power of attorney among the supporting papers a seller may hand the buyer for titling (TxDMV).

One trap: don't assume a husband or wife can sign for the other. Nebraska bars one spouse from signing as the other's agent (Nebraska DMV).

If the car is in a relative's name rather than yours, the rules change again; our guide to selling for a relative and the one on a car not in your name cover those cases.

What about an online notary?

Texas commissions online notaries: a Texas notary who notarizes by audio-video call, without you in the room (Texas SOS). That sounds made for this problem. But we have not confirmed that any title office accepts a remotely notarized vehicle title, and the Texas page speaks only for Texas notaries. Call the agency that issued your title and ask before you pay for one.

Protect yourself once the car is gone

Selling from far away means you won't be standing at the counter when the buyer files. That leaves a gap where the car can still be tied to you.

Texas spells out the risk. The buyer has 30 days from the sale date to title the car, and if they skip it, the seller may answer for the buyer's tickets, tolls, or even crimes committed with the car. The fix is the Vehicle Transfer Notification: sent in within 30 days of the sale, it shields you from parking tickets and tolls the buyer runs up later (TxDMV).

Ohio puts the buyer on a 30-day clock to apply for title after the assignment or delivery (ORC 4505.06). Florida, Idaho and Oregon also give the buyer 30 days; Indiana gives 45. Michigan's Secretary of State points out that you stay listed as owner until your buyer completes the paperwork.

Keep copies of everything you signed, bill of sale included. Our page on after you sell lists each state's plate rule and sale notice, and the junk car bill of sale guide covers what to write down.

If a lender still holds the title

A loan adds a step, and it doesn't care where the car is parked. In Texas, when there's a lien on the vehicle, the lienholder receives the title. Maryland says the lien must be released before the sale. Minnesota asks for proof the loan is cleared, on its official card or a notarized letter, along with the transfer. See still owe on the loan and lien release for the order of steps.

If the car is headed for scrap

Ohio has a rule worth knowing if the car will be crushed rather than driven. Every owner named on the last title must surrender it to the clerk of the court of common pleas for cancellation when the vehicle is dismantled or destroyed (ORC 4505.11). Ask the buyer how they will handle the title if the car will never be driven again.

On tax: in a Texas private sale, the buyer pays the 6.25 percent motor vehicle sales tax when the car is titled, on the price or the standard presumptive value, whichever is higher. That lands on the buyer, not you, but it's one more reason a buyer will want clean paperwork.

What to get right when signing from afar, by state

Each row is the step most likely to trip up a seller who isn't there in person, taken from that state's own page or statute.

Vermont's exemption covers cars from model year 2009 or earlier that are registered in Vermont to the owner; the DMV still recommends a title when the buyer will register out of state.

Fix it there, or sell it where it sits?

Repairing a car you can't see means finding a shop by phone, approving work you can't inspect, and paying to get the car to and from that shop. If the car already needs more than it's worth, that math gets worse from a distance, not better. Our guide on when repair costs more than the value walks through the numbers to weigh.

A repair is worth doing when the job is minor, someone you trust is nearby to oversee it, and you plan to drive the car again. If none of that is true, selling it as it sits is usually simpler.

Selling it to us from another state

We buy whole non-running and junk cars, and you can sell the whole car as it sits, with free pickup anywhere in the US. Before we quote, we'll need to know:

• where the car is parked, and the state on the title
• who the titled owner is, and any loan still open
• who has the keys, and who can be reached near the car
• the model year, maker, model, odometer reading and the fault

Questions about your paperwork before you start? Call (877) 421-6008.