Does a car title need a notary?
In most states, no — but in seven, yes, and in four more, sometimes. We checked the titling rules of all 50 states plus Washington DC against each state’s DMV pages and statutes (July 2026), and the split is: 7 states require a notary for a car title transfer (Kentucky, Louisiana, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Wyoming), 4 impose it conditionally (Delaware, Idaho, Tennessee, Washington), and 40 jurisdictions don’t require one at all for the title assignment itself. Titling is handled by each state’s motor-vehicle agency, so the requirement — and exactly whose signature must be notarized — is set at the state level, not federally.
The full state-by-state table is below, with each row linked to the state source it came from. Per-state citations are in the table itself; the source list at the end of this post carries the most load-bearing ones.
Compiled from state DMV and statute sources, July 2026.
States that require a notary for a car title
These eleven states either require notarization of the title transfer outright or impose it in specific, common situations. If your state is here, read the detail column carefully — whose signature gets notarized varies.
| State | Notarization required? | Detail | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Delaware | Conditional | Delaware’s own titles “do not require notary.” But an out-of-state title being titled in Delaware must be notarized if the issuing state’s title form calls for a notary seal (DMV checklist MV558). | state DMV |
| Idaho | Conditional | The ordinary title assignment needs only “proper signatures releasing interest” — no notary. But duplicate-title applications (ITD 3367, 3369, 3371) and any power of attorney for one “will NOT be processed” unless notarized (mailed applications) or signed in person at a county DMV office. | state DMV |
| Kentucky | Yes | ”The seller must sign the back of the title in the presence of a notary,” and the title-application checklist says “signatures must be notarized” (plural — county clerks commonly notarize both parties on the title/TC96-182). | state DMV |
| Louisiana | Yes | The title must be “assigned before a notary by seller to purchaser.” Narrow exception: an agent of a federally insured financial institution may witness instead when a lien is recorded at transfer. Acts of Donation must always be notarized. | state OMV |
| North Carolina | Yes | The assignment on the back of a North Carolina title, completed by both the seller and the buyer, “must also be notarized.” Out-of-state titles follow the issuing state’s requirements. Co-owned vehicles: all signatures on required documents must be notarized. | state DMV |
| Ohio | Yes | Paper title: the seller completes the assignment of ownership and has their signature(s) notarized. Electronic title (casual sale, form BMV 3770): both seller and buyer signatures must be notarized. Titles are issued by county Clerk of Courts offices. | state BMV |
| Oklahoma | Yes | A transfer requires “a properly assigned and notarized Oklahoma certificate of title.” Titles issue electronically by default since July 1, 2025, and e-titles transfer via Form 718 (Electronic Title Bill of Sale), which must be notarized — Service Oklahoma confirms the notary requirement was not eliminated. | Service Oklahoma |
| Pennsylvania | Yes | ”The seller’s signature is required to be notarized or verified” on a Pennsylvania title. PennDOT advises the buyer and seller to “meet at a notary, tag service, or motor vehicle dealer to ensure the title application is completed correctly.” | state DMV |
| Tennessee | Conditional | Tennessee’s own titles need no notary — but Tennessee “complies with the notary requirements for out of state titles”: an incoming title from a notary state (e.g., Pennsylvania) must be notarized to title in TN. The sole exception is Kentucky. | state DOR |
| Washington | Conditional | The notary falls on the buyer’s side: all new registered owners must sign the Vehicle Title Application either before a notary public or in person at a vehicle licensing office. The seller signs over the current title with no notary stated. | state DOL |
| Wyoming | Yes | All persons named on a Wyoming title “must sign in the presence of a notary to sell a vehicle.” For titles issued on or after Jan 1, 2020, one notarized signature suffices when owners are joined by “or” (non-JTWROS). Titling is county-run, and some county treasurers also require a notarized bill of sale. | county clerk · Natrona Co. |
States where a car title doesn’t need a notary
The remaining 40 jurisdictions — 39 states plus Washington DC — do not require notarization of the title assignment for a standard private-party transfer. Signatures alone complete the assignment. The detail column notes the adjacent documents that do take a notary in each state (gift affidavits, lien releases, out-of-state edge cases), because those are the situations that catch people off guard.
| State | Notarization required? | Detail | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | No | The Department of Revenue states flatly that assignment of an MSO or title need not be notarized. Salvage-rebuild titling can require notarized bills of sale for major replaced parts. | state DOR |
| Alaska | No | Seller(s) sign the title assignment; a bill of sale is not valid for ownership transfer at all (recommended for records only). A notarized power of attorney is needed only when someone signs on the owner’s behalf. | state DMV |
| Arizona | No | The MVD checklist requires only “a signed vehicle title”; most AZ titles are now electronic. The Form 38-1306 bill of sale — used in lieu of the title — must be notarized or acknowledged by an MVD agent. Older paper AZ titles still carry a printed notary block.* | state DOT |
| Arkansas | No | The DFA registration checklist (title, bill of sale, odometer statement, proof of assessment/taxes/insurance) contains no notary requirement, and the official forms carry signature lines only. | state DFA |
| California | No | No notarization for seller or buyer; the DMV’s registration manual says a bill of sale is “not required to be notarized or witnessed” and can even substitute for the owner’s release signature. | state DMV |
| Colorado | No | Seller and buyer sign and print in the assignment on the back of the title. Exception: titling an off-highway vehicle 25+ years old with no proof of ownership requires a notarized bill of sale and certified VIN inspection.* | state DMV |
| Connecticut | No | Seller completes and signs the reverse of the title and provides a bill of sale (Form H-31) — seller’s signature only, no notary. Vehicles over 20 model years old are title-exempt and transfer by bill of sale. | state DMV |
| District of Columbia | No | The DC DMV titling checklist (title/MCO, application “complete with appropriate signatures,” bill of sale, odometer verification) lists no notarization anywhere. A bill of sale is required — just not notarized. | DC DMV |
| Florida | No | The seller completes the Transfer of Title by Seller section; no notary step in FLHSMV’s process. FLHSMV recommends (does not require) notarizing the bill of sale you keep as a receipt. Electronic titles require buyer and seller in person at a service center — ID verification, not notarization. | state HSMV |
| Georgia | No | Seller(s) and buyer print and sign the title assignment in blue or black ink; no notary or witness in the DOR’s instructions. Delivering or accepting a title assigned in blank is a misdemeanor (O.C.G.A. 40-3-91(c)). | state DOR |
| Hawaii | No | Honolulu County: notarizing the seller’s title signature is optional but recommended (“will prevent rejection for irregular signature(s)”); a notarized bill of sale is mandatory when the title isn’t released by the recorded owner. Titling is county-run — confirm with your county.* | county DMV |
| Illinois | No | No notary step appears in the Secretary of State’s transfer process: the seller signs the title over on the back, and the buyer files the VSD 190 application and tax form RUT-50. | state SOS |
| Indiana | No | Seller and purchaser complete the title sections in their entirety; no notary step in the BMV process. The bill of sale (State Form 44237) “is not required to be notarized or signed under penalties for perjury.” | state BMV |
| Iowa | No | Seller assigns the title by “signing the reverse side as seller” with odometer and damage disclosures; no notary step in the DOT checklist. Older Iowa title stock without a Transfer/Sale Date section requires a separate (un-notarized) bill of sale. | state DOT |
| Kansas | No | Explicit: Kansas “does not require most title assignments, title applications and bills of sale completed within Kansas to be notarized” (the Division reserves the right in unusual circumstances). Lien releases and TR-42 lienholder consents DO require notarization. | state DOR |
| Maine | No | A private sale requires a signed title (vehicles 25 model years and newer) and a signed bill of sale; the official bill-of-sale form has no notary block. | state BMV |
| Maryland | No | The title assignment needs signatures, sale price, odometer, and date only. A notarized bill of sale (VR-181) is required only when the stated purchase price is used to compute the 6.5% excise tax instead of book value.* | state MVA · excise tax |
| Massachusetts | No | Buyer(s) and seller(s) sign and hand-print their names on the transfer document; no notary. The application is instead completed, stamped, and signed by a licensed MA insurance agent. | state RMV |
| Michigan | No | Title is “filled out and signed by the purchasers and sellers” — no notary; Michigan even offers a fully online private-party title transfer. | state SOS |
| Minnesota | No | Seller and buyer complete the title’s assignment and application portions with signatures only. The one notarized document: a notarized lien release (or lien release card) when a lien is listed on the title. | state DVS |
| Mississippi | No | Seller completes all title-assignment sections except the buyer’s printed name and signature; buyer prints and signs. A notarized bill of sale is required only when titling a vehicle imported from a foreign country. | state DOR |
| Missouri | No | Explicit: title signatures “do not need to be notarized.” Notarized bills of sale apply only when titling a rebuilt (prior-salvage) vehicle — for its major component parts. | state DOR |
| Montana | No | Requirement eliminated effective October 1, 2025: HB 165 struck MCA 61-3-220(2), which had required the transferor’s title signature to be acknowledged before a notary. Sources published before late 2025 saying Montana requires a notarized title are outdated.* | state SOS |
| Nebraska | No | All owners on the title sign the seller’s section; buyer signs the purchaser’s section. The required bill of sale (or Revenue Form 6) is not notarized. The one notarized form: the decedent’s-vehicle transfer affidavit. | state DMV |
| Nevada | No | A properly signed-off title (all listed owners) transfers the vehicle; the bill of sale (VP 104) is a record only. Only a power of attorney must be notarized. | state DMV |
| New Hampshire | No | The title “shall be signed over to the buyer at the time of the sale”; title-exempt older vehicles use a bill of sale whose statutory contents (RSA 261:148, III) include no notarization element. | state DMV |
| New Jersey | No | Seller signs the seller’s section of the title, buyer signs the buyer’s section; plain bill of sale. Exception: titling a vehicle from a state that doesn’t issue titles requires a notarized statement signed by both parties. | state MVC |
| New Mexico | No | The former owner signs the Assignment of Title; no notary. A gifted vehicle instead uses the Affidavit of Gift, which must be notarized by both donor and recipient.* | state MVD |
| New York | No | Buyer and seller complete the transfer section on the back of the title; the required bill of sale (MV-912) needs names and signatures only. | state DMV |
| North Dakota | No | The title assignment (SFN 2875) carries no notary block — signatures, dates, price, and odometer only. Titling an untitled vehicle uses SFN 2888, which must be signed before a notary. | state DOT |
| Oregon | No | Seller and buyer simply “sign and date either the back of the title or a Bill of Sale”; no notary anywhere in the DMV’s private-sale process. | state DMV |
| Rhode Island | No | Seller signs the back of the title as “seller,” buyer as “buyer,” with mileage recorded; the required bill of sale is not notarized. Notarized documents: a gift letter from a non-immediate family member, and an absent co-owner’s signature on the TR-1 registration form. | state DMV |
| South Carolina | No | The title assignment lists exactly what’s needed — signatures, price, odometer, date — with no notary. A signed (not notarized) bill of sale accompanies the paperwork when the title has no sales-price field. | state DMV |
| South Dakota | No | Ownership transfers “by an assignment on the reverse side of the certificate of title”; no notary step in the DOR procedures manual. A separate bill of sale cannot substitute for the assigned title. | state DOR |
| Texas | No | A properly signed title plus signed Form 130-U — no notary. The gift affidavit (Form 14-317) requires notarization unless signed before a county tax office employee; the heirship affidavit (VTR-262) must always be notarized.* | state DMV |
| Utah | No | The seller signs where necessary to release ownership; no notary anywhere in the transfer requirements, and Utah offers a fully online person-to-person transfer. | state DMV |
| Vermont | No | The assigned title plus form VD-119 completes the transfer; no notary. The one notarized document: the VT-025 Affidavit of Non-Titled Vehicle, for vehicles with no NMVTIS record. | state DMV |
| Virginia | No | Seller(s) and buyer sign Section A of the title with odometer, date, and price; no notary, and Virginia offers fully online e-title transfer between individuals. | state DMV |
| West Virginia | No | Both parties sign the back of the title; no notary. A notarized bill of sale (DMV-7-TR) is required when the price is below 50% of NADA Clean Loan value, and the gift affidavit (DMV-5-TR) is always sworn before a notary. Older WV titles still carry printed notary blocks.* | state DMV |
| Wisconsin | No | Seller(s) sign and date the title with odometer, brand, and price disclosures; the bill of sale form (MV2928) “is provided for your convenience, it is not a required form.” | state DOT |
* Legacy and local nuances worth knowing. Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, and West Virginia titles printed before rule changes still carry notary blocks — current agency pages don’t require completing them, but confirm with your titling office if your title stock shows one. Hawaii titling is county-run; the row above reflects the City & County of Honolulu. Maryland’s notarized-VR-181 trigger (vehicle age vs. price-below-book) is worth confirming with the MVA before relying on it. Montana’s change is recent enough that most older guides still get it wrong. New Mexico gifts and Texas gift/heirship transfers use notarized affidavits even though the sale itself needs no notary — those affidavits are among the most common car-related notarizations we see.
Montana’s 2025 change: a live example of why you check
Montana is a useful reminder that these rules are not fixed. The 69th Montana Legislature passed House Bill 165, amending 61-3-220(2), MCA, which had required a transferor’s title signature to be “acknowledged before the county treasurer… an employee or authorized agent of the department, or a notary public.” Per the Montana Secretary of State, that subsection “has been stricken, subsequently eliminating the need to notarize a title transfer,” effective October 1, 2025. A guide that assumed Montana still required a notary would now be wrong — which is exactly why this table cites the current state source in every row, not a copy of last year’s advice.
The staleness problem is not hypothetical. As of July 2026, the car-title page of a major online-notarization platform still lists Montana — and even Arizona, whose MVD checklist asks only for “a signed vehicle title” — among the states that require title notarization. Checking your own state’s current DMV page (or the linked row above) beats trusting any aggregated list, including this one, a year from now.
Who signs, and what the notary actually does
Where notarization is required, it’s usually the seller (the person releasing the title) — that’s the rule in Kentucky, Louisiana, Pennsylvania, Wyoming, and on Ohio paper titles. Ohio’s electronic-title form (BMV 3770) and North Carolina’s title assignment involve both parties, and Washington runs the other direction entirely: it’s the buyer’s title application that gets notarized there. Everyone whose signature is being notarized must personally appear before the notary — there is no notarizing a title for someone who isn’t there.
The notary’s job is narrow but important: confirm the identity of each signer and perform the notarial act the form calls for. The notary does not verify the odometer reading, the sale price, or that the vehicle is as described. Those facts are the signer’s responsibility; the notary certifies the act of signing, not the truth of the sale.
Can you notarize a title without the buyer there?
Usually, yes — the notary requirement attaches to specific signatures, not to the transaction as a whole. In Kentucky, Pennsylvania, and Wyoming, and on Ohio paper titles, the notarized signature is the seller’s assignment, so the buyer has no role at the notarization at all. Even where both parties’ signatures are notarized, the sessions can be separate: on Ohio’s electronic-title form BMV 3770, the seller completes and notarizes page 1, then hands both pages to the buyer, who has page 2 notarized before presenting the form at a Clerk of Courts title office. Washington runs the opposite direction — it’s the buyer’s title application that gets notarized, not the seller’s title. Louisiana is the one to double-check: the title is “assigned before a notary by seller to purchaser,” so ask your notary or the OMV whether both parties must attend your specific transfer. And when buyer and seller are in different cities, an online notarization session sidesteps the scheduling problem entirely — each signer appears on live video from wherever they are, where the state’s title office accepts an online-notarized transfer.
How much does it cost to notarize a car title?
The stamp itself is cheap — state law caps what a notary may charge per notarial act. The National Notary Association’s 2026 fees-by-state chart lists maximum acknowledgment fees of $15 in California and Colorado, $10 in Connecticut, and $5 in Delaware, and most states sit in that single-digit-to-$15 band. What varies is everything around the stamp: travel fees for a mobile notary, service fees at tag agencies, and your time finding someone during business hours.
| Option | Typical cost | When it fits |
|---|---|---|
| Walk-in notary | State-capped per-signature fee (e.g., $15 maximum in California, per the NNA chart) | You’re near one during business hours and the required signer can attend |
| Tag service / titling agent (common in PA, LA, OK) | Notary fee plus the agency’s own service fees | You want the notarization and the whole transfer filed in one stop |
| State counter (WA licensing office; ID county DMV office) | No notary fee — a licensing agent or county staffer handles the signature | Washington buyers signing the title application; Idaho duplicate-title applicants signing in person |
| Online notarization (RON) | $25 per document on USA Notary | Signers in different places, evenings and weekends, or no notary nearby — where your title office accepts it |
Acknowledgment vs. verification: which act your title uses
This is the detail most guides skip, and it changes what happens at the appointment. There are two common notarial acts on title paperwork:
- Acknowledgment — the signer acknowledges signing the title. You can sign beforehand and then confirm to the notary that the signature is yours.
- Verification on oath or affirmation (a jurat) — the signer swears the contents are true and signs in front of the notary. You cannot pre-sign; you sign during the session, under oath.
Which one applies is set by the wording on the form. The Pennsylvania Association of Notaries reports that “the notarial act required most often on motor vehicle forms is the verification on oath or affirmation,” because the transfer and title-application statements are written as sworn statements. Its guidance: the customer “must appear in person, be properly identified, swear or affirm that the statement he or she is signing is true, and sign the statement in your presence.” Practical upshot — don’t sign the title until the notary tells you to, because a jurat requires signing in the notary’s presence.
Can you notarize a car title online?
Two things both have to be true. Your state must authorize remote online notarization, and your motor-vehicle agency must accept a remotely notarized title. The notary can be remote — but the state titling rules in the tables above still govern the document itself. Consumer-side, remote online notarization is available to signers in all 50 states, and federal law backs the electronic format: under the ESIGN Act (15 U.S.C. § 7001), a record or signature may not be denied legal effect solely because it is electronic. Most state RON statutes follow the Revised Uniform Law on Notarial Acts model.
The catch is acceptance, not validity. A title office can decline a format even when the notarization itself is valid, so DMV acceptance of an online-notarized title is the one variable people miss. Confirm your state’s title office accepts it before you rely on it. If it does, you can notarize your title over live video instead of driving to an office — sessions run $25 per document, typically take 15–30 minutes, and are available 24/7. If you’re unsure it’s permitted, our is online notarization legal explainer walks through the state-by-state picture. Dealerships, fleet operators, and title services handling transfer volume can use our automotive notary services instead of sending customers to hunt for a notary.
What you need to notarize a title
- Check your state’s row in the tables above — is notarization required, and for whose signature?
- Identify the act — acknowledgment or verification? If it’s a verification, don’t pre-sign.
- Bring a valid government photo ID — the notary must positively identify every signer.
- Have the title ready (unsigned if the notary will witness the signature).
- Confirm online acceptance with your DMV first if you plan to use RON, then have a camera-equipped device.
New to notarization generally? The steps to get any document notarized apply to titles too, and how the online process works covers the video session step-by-step. Selling privately? A bill of sale for a used vehicle is often signed alongside the title — several states in the tables above notarize the bill of sale rather than the title — and if the transaction also moves real estate, the same appear-in-person rules apply when you notarize a property deed.