Does the title for the car I am buying or selling need to be notarized?

Written by ASC Title & Tags Monday January 18, 2021

50 States, 50 sets of Department of Motor Vehicle rules. We don't profess to know all the nuances from every State, but we do have some pretty cool books (it's a thing with paper and printing on it that doesn't need electricity to work) that list quite a bit of the information we need to know to accept or decline work that is brought into our office.

One of the most common questions we get is “Does my title need notarized”. With several different types of titles (vehicle, salvage, ATV, boat) in 50 different States, sometimes it can be a bit trying to answer your seemingly simple question properly and accurately. Follow that with the fact that some States don't even REQUIRE a title depending upon the year or the type of vehicle, and that simple question becomes downright complicated.

So while we cannot answer all potential variances in this article, here is a simple chart that will tell you if your title DOES NOT REQUIRE notarization to transfer to a buyer. Guam, American Samoa, Puerto Rico, US Virgin Islands, and the Northern Mariana Islands are territories and therefore not listed.

These States DO NOT REQUIRE title notarization.