Does a Kentucky bill of sale need to be notarized?

The bill of sale is not itself the transfer document, but two things around it are notarised. The seller must sign the back of the title in the presence of a notary, and the affidavit of total consideration that fixes your usage tax must be signed by both buyer and seller with each signature individually notarised. In practice buyer and seller go to the notary together.

How is Kentucky usage tax calculated on a private sale?

From the total consideration given, excluding any trade-in allowance, as attested in a notarised affidavit — with the trade-in allowance disclosed in the same affidavit, and a floor of fifty percent of the difference between the trade-in values of the two vehicles. Where the documentation is unavailable, the department establishes the retail price through the use of the reference manual instead.

How long do I have to transfer a title in Kentucky?

Fifteen days. The Division of Motor Vehicle Licensing states that the title must be transferred to the new owner within fifteen days, and KRS 186A.215(4) is built around the same number: if the buyer has not submitted the documents to the county clerk within fifteen calendar days, the seller may file an affidavit that restricts any registration transaction on that vehicle until the transfer is processed.

What does the Kentucky buyer take to the county clerk?

The signed title, proof of Kentucky insurance, proof of identification, and money for fees and applicable taxes, to the clerk in their own county. Titles issued before 2000 may also require a completed TC 96-182 to complete the transfer. A vehicle coming in from out of state additionally needs a certified inspection, at which the inspector records the odometer reading.

The buyer never registered the car. Am I still on the hook in Kentucky?

You have a remedy. Under KRS 186A.215(4), once you learn the buyer did not submit the necessary documents within fifteen calendar days, you file an affidavit with the clerk in your county of residence stating that you transferred your interest in that specific vehicle; the clerk enters it in AVIS and no registration transaction can occur on the vehicle until the transfer is processed. It does not apply to sales involving licensed Kentucky dealers.

Is this legal advice?

No. Free Contract Generator provides self-help templates and general information, not legal advice, and no attorney-client relationship is created. Vehicle-transfer rules are set by each state and change; confirm the current rule with the agency cited and consult a licensed attorney for advice about your situation.

Kentucky Bill of Sale — Free Template & Generator

Kentucky taxes a private car sale on the price the two of you swear to — or, failing that, on a value from a reference manual. KRS 138.450 defines the retail price of a used vehicle as the total consideration given “as attested to in a notarized affidavit,” and defines that affidavit as one “signed by the buyer and the seller on which the signature of the buyer and the signature of the seller are individually notarized.” Two separate notarisations, on top of the notarised title signature. Get the numbers straight on a bill of sale before anyone goes to the clerk.

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How it works

01
Kentucky is already selected
The governing-law clause names the state; change it only if the sale happens elsewhere.
02
Enter the item and the parties
Vehicle, boat or general item — VIN and odometer, or HIN — plus price, payment method, seller and buyer.
03
Review clause by clause
The as-is terms, the seller’s title warranty and, for vehicles, the federal odometer statement.
04
Download, then file Kentucky’s paperwork
Word & PDF on your device; the state steps and forms are listed below, each cited to the source.

What Kentucky actually requires

Kentucky rules for a private sale

Last verified September 6, 2026

Notarisation The seller signs the title before a notary

For a sale between two Kentucky residents, the Division of Motor Vehicle Licensing states the rule in one line: “the seller must sign the back of the title in the presence of a notary.” The buyer then “takes the signed title, proof of Kentucky Insurance, proof of Identification, and money for fees and applicable taxes to their local County Clerk’s office for transfer.” Plan the meeting around a notary’s opening hours, not the other way round.

Kentucky Transportation Cabinet, Division of Motor Vehicle Licensing — Vehicle Titling
Usage tax A separately notarised affidavit of total consideration

For a used vehicle, retail price means “the total consideration given, excluding any amount allowed as a trade-in allowance by the seller, as attested to in a notarized affidavit,” and the trade-in allowance must be disclosed in that affidavit too. KRS 138.450(22) defines the notarised affidavit as “a dated affidavit signed by the buyer and the seller on which the signature of the buyer and the signature of the seller are individually notarized.” The statute also sets a floor and a fallback: the affidavit price “shall not be less than fifty percent (50%) of the difference between the trade-in value” of the two vehicles, and where documentation is unavailable “retail price shall be established by the department through the use of the reference manual.”

KRS 138.450(16) and (22) (FindLaw, current as of January 01, 2025)
What the seller must do Assignment and warranty of title, delivered with the vehicle

“If an owner transfers his interest in a vehicle, he shall, at the time of the delivery of the vehicle, execute an assignment and warranty of title to the transferee in the space provided therefor on the certificate of title” — unless that space fails Kentucky’s requirements for lawful conveyance, or fails the federal requirements “for the owner to execute an odometer disclosure statement as required by federal law,” in which case the assignment is executed on the Department of Vehicle Regulation application available from the county clerk. The transferor must then cause the application with the certificate attached to be delivered to the transferee.

KRS 186A.215(1)–(3) — Procedures for transfer of vehicle ownership (FindLaw, current as of January 01, 2025)
If the buyer stalls Seller files an affidavit at 15 days

Kentucky gives the seller a way out of a buyer who never files. If a transferor learns that the transferee “did not promptly submit the necessary document within fifteen (15) calendar days to the county clerk as required by law in order to complete the transfer transaction,” the transferor submits an affidavit in their own county of residence that they have transferred their interest in a specific vehicle, and the clerk enters data into AVIS “which shall restrict any registration transaction from occurring on that vehicle until the transfer has been processed.” This does not apply to transactions involving licensed Kentucky dealers. The Division of Motor Vehicle Licensing states the deadline plainly: “the title must be transferred to the new owner within 15 days.”

KRS 186A.215(4) (FindLaw, current as of January 01, 2025); Division of Motor Vehicle Licensing — Vehicle Titling
Odometer Federal disclosure — and read again at inspection

The assignment carries the federal odometer disclosure, and KRS 186A.215(1) treats a title with no space for it as a reason to move the assignment onto the clerk’s application form. For a vehicle brought into Kentucky, the reading is taken a second time: the certified inspector “shall examine the primary odometer of the vehicle and electronically record the reading in the space provided in the inspection section of the application,” certifying the inspection under penalty of forgery in the second degree. A bill of sale that records the same reading on the same date is the cheapest way to keep the two entries consistent.

KRS 186A.115(7)(b) and 186A.215(1) (FindLaw, current as of January 01, 2025)

How this document fits Kentucky’s paperwork

Official form: Kentucky’s transfer runs on the certificate of title, signed by the seller in front of a notary, and — where the price governs the tax — on a notarised affidavit of total consideration. The Division of Motor Vehicle Licensing notes that “Older Titles before 2000 may require a completed TC96-182 to complete the transfer process.” A bill of sale is not itself the transfer document; it is where the price, mileage, date and as-is terms are agreed before the notarised paperwork is signed.

Write the price and the odometer reading on the bill of sale first, then take the same two numbers to the notary. Kentucky’s usage tax is computed from a notarised affidavit of total consideration signed by both of you and notarised on each signature separately; without one, the department falls back to the reference manual value, which is rarely what you paid. The seller signs the back of the title in front of a notary and hands the certificate over when the vehicle changes hands, as KRS 186A.215(1) requires. The buyer files at the county clerk within fifteen days — and if they do not, the seller can protect themselves with the affidavit in KRS 186A.215(4).

FAQ

Kentucky bill of sale questions

Does a Kentucky bill of sale need to be notarized?: The bill of sale is not itself the transfer document, but two things around it are notarised. The seller must sign the back of the title in the presence of a notary, and the affidavit of total consideration that fixes your usage tax must be signed by both buyer and seller with each signature individually notarised. In practice buyer and seller go to the notary together.
How is Kentucky usage tax calculated on a private sale?: From the total consideration given, excluding any trade-in allowance, as attested in a notarised affidavit — with the trade-in allowance disclosed in the same affidavit, and a floor of fifty percent of the difference between the trade-in values of the two vehicles. Where the documentation is unavailable, the department establishes the retail price through the use of the reference manual instead.
How long do I have to transfer a title in Kentucky?: Fifteen days. The Division of Motor Vehicle Licensing states that the title must be transferred to the new owner within fifteen days, and KRS 186A.215(4) is built around the same number: if the buyer has not submitted the documents to the county clerk within fifteen calendar days, the seller may file an affidavit that restricts any registration transaction on that vehicle until the transfer is processed.
What does the Kentucky buyer take to the county clerk?: The signed title, proof of Kentucky insurance, proof of identification, and money for fees and applicable taxes, to the clerk in their own county. Titles issued before 2000 may also require a completed TC 96-182 to complete the transfer. A vehicle coming in from out of state additionally needs a certified inspection, at which the inspector records the odometer reading.
The buyer never registered the car. Am I still on the hook in Kentucky?: You have a remedy. Under KRS 186A.215(4), once you learn the buyer did not submit the necessary documents within fifteen calendar days, you file an affidavit with the clerk in your county of residence stating that you transferred your interest in that specific vehicle; the clerk enters it in AVIS and no registration transaction can occur on the vehicle until the transfer is processed. It does not apply to sales involving licensed Kentucky dealers.
Is this legal advice?: No. Free Contract Generator provides self-help templates and general information, not legal advice, and no attorney-client relationship is created. Vehicle-transfer rules are set by each state and change; confirm the current rule with the agency cited and consult a licensed attorney for advice about your situation.