Wisconsin Vehicle Bill of Sale: What the DMV Actually Requires

A Wisconsin vehicle bill of sale is a written record of a private car sale — and there is something the sites offering you a template rarely put up front: Wisconsin does not require one. The state’s own Department of Transportation says so plainly about its official form, MV2928.

What Wisconsin does require is a properly assigned title and, in a private sale between two individuals, a report to the DMV within 30 days. This page sets out both obligations, what each document actually accomplishes, and where a bill of sale genuinely earns its place.

What Wisconsin requires from a seller

The Wisconsin DMV sets out the seller’s obligations, and nearly all of them happen on the certificate of title rather than on a separate contract:

1. Sign and date the title in the area for the selling owner’s signature. If the owners’ names are separated by “and”, every owner must sign; if separated by “or”, any one owner may sign.
2. Complete the odometer statement if the vehicle is model year 2011 or newer, marking the mileage as actual, not actual, or in excess of mechanical limits. The DMV notes this is required under federal law, and Wisconsin’s own transfer statute calls for a written mileage disclosure as well.
3. Complete the brand disclosure area if it applies. Brands cover vehicles used as taxis or public transport, salvage vehicles, flood damage above 70% of market value, and former police vehicles.
4. Fill in the selling price. Worth doing accurately: the Wisconsin Department of Revenue reviews titles and investigates suspiciously low sale prices.
5. Fill in the buyer’s name and address on the title.
6. Provide a lien release from the lien holder if the vehicle had a loan against it. (A lien is the lender’s legal claim on the vehicle until the debt is paid.)
7. Remove your license plates — except on a truck registered at 10,000 lbs or more, a farm truck at 16,000 lbs or more, a moped, and a trailer or recreational vehicle trailer, where the plates stay with the vehicle.
8. Report the sale to the DMV within 30 days if it was a private sale from one individual to another.

Required versus optional, side by side

Document or step	Required?	What it actually does
Certificate of title, signed and completed	Required	Transfers ownership, and is what Wis. Stat. 342.15 ties the seller’s release from owner liability to.
Odometer statement (on the title)	Required for model year 2011 and newer	Federal disclosure requirement. Misstating it is a federal offense, not a paperwork slip.
Lien release	Required if a lien exists	Proves the lender no longer has a claim on the vehicle.
Report of sale to the DMV	Required within 30 days, private sales only	A separate statutory duty under Wis. Stat. 342.41. Does not appear on the vehicle record.
Bill of sale (Form MV2928)	Optional	Your private record of the terms: price, date, condition, who was involved.

The one case where a bill of sale does transfer a vehicle

There is an exception worth knowing. Wis. Stat. 342.41 refers to a private seller “transferring a junk vehicle by bill of sale” — so in Wisconsin a junk vehicle can change hands on a bill of sale rather than an assigned title. The 30-day reporting duty still applies. For any roadworthy vehicle, the title remains the transferring document.

When a Wisconsin vehicle bill of sale is worth having

A bill of sale is a receipt for the transfer of personal property. In a private vehicle sale it does four things the title does not:

• It records the agreed price. Useful for the buyer’s sales tax calculation, for your own records, and if the Department of Revenue ever queries the figure.
• It records the date of the sale, which is useful evidence if the timing of the handover is ever disputed. It does not by itself transfer ownership — the assigned title does.
• It documents an “as is” sale. Private sellers are not dealers, and buyers in private sales generally have far less recourse than buyers from a dealership. Writing “sold as is” into the document records that both parties understood that. If a dispute actually arises, the outcome depends on the facts and on Wisconsin law — a question for a licensed attorney, not for a template.
• It identifies both parties. Names, addresses and signatures — the practical proof of who took the vehicle, which is also what the 30-day report asks you to supply.

What the buyer has to do next

The seller’s side ends with the report to the DMV, but the transaction is not finished until the buyer acts. The Wisconsin DMV states that if the vehicle will be operated, the buyer should title and register it within two business days after purchase. Buyers can apply online through the DMV’s eMV Public service, or by mail using form MV1.

What to put in the document

Whether you use the state’s MV2928 or your own version, a bill of sale that is worth anything later contains:

• Full name and address of the seller and of the buyer
• Year, make, model and Vehicle Identification Number (the VIN, a unique 17-character code)
• Odometer reading on the day of sale
• Sale price and date of sale
• A plain statement that the vehicle is sold “as is”
• Signatures of both parties

Neither the DMV’s MV2928 nor its guidance on selling a vehicle asks for notarization. Both parties should keep a signed copy — a document only one side holds is a much weaker record.

Frequently asked questions

Is a bill of sale required to sell a car in Wisconsin?

No. The Wisconsin DMV states that its bill of sale “is provided for your convenience, it is not a required form.” The signed title is what transfers ownership.

Does a Wisconsin vehicle bill of sale need to be notarized?

Neither the MV2928 nor the DMV’s guidance on selling a vehicle asks for notarization. Signatures from both parties are what the document rests on.

What is Form MV2928?

It is the Wisconsin DMV’s “Instructions for Selling a Vehicle”, and it includes a sample bill of sale you can complete. Using it is optional; your own document works as long as it records the same information.

How long do I have to report the sale?

Thirty days. Wis. Stat. 342.41 requires a seller in a private individual-to-individual sale to report the vehicle identification number and the buyer’s identity to the department within 30 days of the sale. The duty applies to private sales between individuals, not to sales involving dealers, businesses, non-profits or public agencies.

Does reporting the sale remove my name from the vehicle record?

No. The DMV states that the seller notification “will not be noted on the vehicle record”, and that it “does not replace other responsibilities of a vehicle seller.” Under Wis. Stat. 342.15, the release from owner liability follows from having delivered the vehicle and complied with the title transfer requirements.

Do I keep my license plates?

You remove them. In Wisconsin plates belong to the owner rather than to the vehicle — but that does not mean you can simply move them to any other car. Unexpired plates may be transferred to a similar vehicle owned by you, your spouse or your domestic partner. If you are not transferring them, the DMV says you should destroy them by cutting them up. The exceptions, where plates stay with the vehicle, are a truck registered at 10,000 lbs or more, a farm truck at 16,000 lbs or more, a moped, and a trailer or recreational vehicle trailer.

Does the odometer reading really matter?

Yes, and not only for the buyer’s peace of mind. For a vehicle of model year 2011 or newer the mileage statement on the title is a federal disclosure requirement, and misstating it is a federal offense. See odometer fraud for background.