Selling a Vehicle to a Private Party

Selling a Vehicle to a Private Party


When selling your vehicle to another private party you must provide the purchaser:

1. A bill of sale stating your name(s), a description of the vehicle including model year, make, model, color, and vehicle identification number. Also state the date of sale, the dollar amount of the sale.

2. Depending upon the model year, and residential location of the buyer, you might need to provide an emission test.

It is the buyer’s responsibility to take the bill of sale from you to the Department of Motor Vehicles in the county in which they reside to obtain a temporary permit. Remove the license plates from the vehicle. You may transfer them to your new vehicle, at the appropriate time.



Payment from buyer to you.
To protect yourself against a scam, do not take a personal check
Also, do not take a bank check or cashier’s check unless you go into the buyer’s bank with them to have a check payable to you.


In Colorado, if you have a lien (loan) on the vehicle, your financial institution should have possession of the title. In order for your bank to release the lien/title of the vehicle, the loan must be paid in full.

There are two methods to achieve this:
1. Have the buyer wire transfer funds directly to your bank or credit union for the FULL AMOUNT of the sale price. You will need to contact your bank to inform them of your plans to sell the vehicle and to get the bank’s wire transfer information to include, but not limited to: Bank’s Name, Physical Address, Telephone, ABA Routing Number, Account Number. VERY IMPORTANT: remember to request your bank (upon receipt of the buyer’s funds) to pay off the lien, and place the remaining funds in your checking account. Provide to your bank the buyer’s name and address. Your bank will send the title to the buyer when the loan account is closed.

2. Go with the buyer (and his cash) into your bank. Have the bank receipt the necessary funds to payoff the lien and you receive the difference (between the selling price and the payoff amount) in cash.

Release the vehicle to buyer ONLY AFTER you have verified your loan has been paid and receipt of any additional funds.