Paperwork When Selling a Car in Nebraska
Paperwork When Selling a Car in Nebraska
Selling a car in Nebraska involves the usual procedures of evaluating your vehicle's condition and value; setting a reasonable price; and, of course, dealing with potential buyers and their questions and offers. You can read more in our comprehensive guide to selling your car.
The actual transfer of ownership, meanwhile, requires you, the seller, to provide particular documentation and sign off on the title.
Required Documents to Sell Your Vehicle
To sell a car in Nebraska, you'll need to produce:
- The original vehicle title, OR a duplicate title if you cannot find the original (see "Replacing a Nebraska Title" below).
- Either:
- A State of Nebraska Department of Motor Vehicles Bill of Sale.
OR
- A completed Nebraska Sales/Use Tax and Tire Fee Statement for Motor Vehicle and Trailer Sales (Form 6MB).
- A State of Nebraska Department of Motor Vehicles Bill of Sale.
Transferring Your NE Title
To sign over the Nebraska vehicle title, you and the buyer will do the following:
- Any person whose name appears on the title must provide an original signature in the Seller's section of the document. (Unlike for an Application for Duplicate Title, a husband or wife can't sign as an agent for the other when transferring ownership.)
- You, the seller, need to make sure the Odometer Certification portion of the title is completed.
- If any open liens exist, the lienholder and a County Official need to release them on the title.
- The buyer will have to supply a name, address, and signature to the Purchaser's section on the title—and this needs to be done when the vehicle is being purchased and ownership is being transferred. If the Purchaser's section isn't filled out at the moment of purchase, the title's officially considered “open" and therefore illegal, and it can be confiscated.
Remember, too, that a signature in the wrong place or any other mistake or alteration to a title renders it “mutilated," and you'll need to go through the process to apply for a duplicate title (see below).
For more details, visit our Title Transfer in Nebraska page.
Vehicle Inspections in Nebraska
In Nebraska, if you're selling a properly registered car, you don't need to provide a smog certificate or a vehicle inspection.
If you have questions about the procedure for selling your vehicle, please call the Nebraska Department of Motor Vehicles at (402) 471-3918.
For further information on vehicle inspections, please see our page on Smog & Emissions Checks in Nebraska.
Replacing a Nebraska Title
If you're missing the title for the vehicle you're intending to sell, or if that title has been invalidated by a misplaced mark or some other alteration, you'll need to obtain a Duplicate Certificate of Title.
To do so:
- Download an Application for Duplicate Certificate of Title (Form RV-707a).
- Every person with his or her name on the title has to sign the application; if the names of both a husband and wife appear on a title, however, the signature of one or the other will suffice.
- Bring it to a County Treasurer's office.
- Pay a $14 fee for the new title.
Registration Replacement in Nebraska
Lost registration materials happen. If you've misplaced the registration for your car, you'll have to get in touch with the Nebraska Department of Motor Vehicles office serving the county in which the vehicle was originally registered and ask for a replacement. The fee for a replacement registration is $1.
For details, visit our page on Replacing a Lost NE Registration.
Notice of Transfer and Release of Liability
There is no law requiring sale notification. However, if you want to apply for a registration refund, you'll need to surrender the sold vehicle's license plates to your county treasurer within 60 days of the sale.
Forms for Easy Download
Nebraska Department of Motor Vehicles Bill of Sale
Application for Duplicate Certificate of Title (Form RV-707a)
Nebraska Sales/Use Tax and Tire Fee Statement for Motor Vehicle and Trailer Sales (Form 6MB)
