Minnesota Bill of Sale — Free Template & Generator
Minnesota gives the seller a job most states do not: § 168A.10 subd. 1 requires the owner to complete, detach and return the “Notice of Sale” portion of the certificate — with the buyer’s name, address, driver’s licence number and the date of sale — within ten days of the sale, or transmit the same information electronically. The buyer’s own clock is twenty calendar days. Both deadlines run from facts a bill of sale records, which is why you should generate one before you sign the title.
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- Minnesota pre-selected
How it works
- 01 Minnesota 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 Minnesota’s paperwork
Word & PDF on your device; the state steps and forms are listed below, each cited to the source.
What Minnesota actually requires
Minnesota rules for a private sale
Last verified September 6, 2026- What the seller must do Assign, warrant, and state the actual selling price
“If an owner transfers interest in a vehicle other than by the creation of a security interest, the owner shall at the time of the delivery of the vehicle execute an assignment and warranty of title to the transferee and shall state the actual selling price in the space provided on the certificate.” The certificate and assignment must then be caused “to be delivered to the transferee immediately” — not posted the following week.
- Notice of Sale Within 10 days of the sale
Within ten days of the date of sale, other than a sale by or to a licensed dealer, the owner must either “complete, detach, and return to the department the form on the certificate entitled ‘Notice of Sale,’ if one is provided, including the transferee’s name, address, and driver’s license number, if any, and the date of sale,” or transmit that information electronically in a form acceptable to the commissioner. Copy the buyer’s licence number onto the bill of sale at the meeting; you will need it for this filing.
- Buyer’s deadline 20 calendar days · registration suspended if missed
“Except as provided in section 168A.11, the transferee must, within 20 calendar days after assignment to the transferee of the vehicle title certificate, execute the application for a new certificate of title in the space provided on the certificate, and cause the certificate of title to be mailed or delivered to the department. Failure of the transferee to comply with this subdivision results in the suspension of the vehicle’s registration under section 168.17.” Twenty days is shorter than most states allow, and the sanction lands on the plates, not on a fee line.
- Seller’s liability cutoff 48 hours after handing over the vehicle
Subdivision 5 says a transfer is not effective until the section has been complied with — but then protects the seller who acts fast: an owner “who has delivered possession of the vehicle to the transferee and has complied, or within 48 hours after such delivery does comply, with the provisions of this section requiring action by the owner is not liable as owner for any damages resulting from operation of the vehicle after the delivery.” The forty-eight hours are counted from delivery, so do the paperwork the same day.
- Odometer State duty that adopts the federal rule
Minnesota writes the mileage duty into its own consumer statute: “No person shall transfer a motor vehicle without disclosing to the transferee the true mileage registered on the odometer reading or that the actual mileage is unknown if the odometer reading is known by the transferor to be different from the true mileage.” It then adopts 49 CFR §§ 580.1 to 580.17 by reference, so the federal form of the disclosure — reading without tenths, date, both printed names and addresses, and the vehicle description — is Minnesota law too.
How this document fits Minnesota’s paperwork
Official form: Minnesota transfers ownership on the certificate itself: the owner executes an assignment and warranty of title to the transferee and states the actual selling price in the space provided. There is no separate state bill-of-sale form in that chain, and the Notice of Sale is a detachable part of the certificate rather than a document you download.
Generate the bill of sale at the meeting and put the buyer’s driver’s licence number on it — § 168A.10 subd. 1 asks for that number in the Notice of Sale, and it is the field sellers most often go home without. The seller executes the assignment and warranty of title, writes the actual selling price in the space provided, and hands the certificate over immediately. Then file the Notice of Sale within ten days, and inside forty-eight hours if you want the liability protection in subdivision 5. The buyer applies within twenty calendar days or the registration is suspended under § 168.17.
FAQ
Minnesota bill of sale questions
- Does Minnesota require a bill of sale?
- No — the transfer runs on the certificate of title, where the owner executes the assignment and warranty of title and states the actual selling price. A bill of sale is still worth generating, because § 168A.10 subd. 1 asks the seller to report the buyer’s name, address and driver’s licence number within ten days, and § 325E.15 requires a mileage disclosure. Both are easier to file from a document you already wrote down.
- Does a Minnesota bill of sale need to be notarized?
- Section 168A.10 sets out the whole transfer sequence — assignment and warranty of title, selling price stated, certificate delivered immediately, Notice of Sale within ten days, buyer’s application within twenty — without requiring an oath or a notarial acknowledgment anywhere in it. Notarising is optional.
- How long do I have to transfer a title in Minnesota?
- The buyer has twenty calendar days after the title certificate is assigned to them to execute the application and get the certificate to the department. Missing that suspends the vehicle’s registration under § 168.17. The seller separately has ten days to return the Notice of Sale, and forty-eight hours if they want the liability cutoff in subdivision 5.
- What is the Minnesota Notice of Sale?
- It is the detachable part of the certificate of title the seller completes and returns to the department after a private sale, carrying the buyer’s name, address and driver’s licence number and the date of sale. The seller may transmit the same information electronically instead, in a form acceptable to the commissioner. It is what tells the state the car is no longer yours.
- When does a Minnesota seller stop being responsible for the car?
- On delivery, provided the paperwork is done. Subdivision 5 protects an owner who has delivered possession and has complied — or complies within forty-eight hours of that delivery — with the steps the section requires of the owner: they are not liable as owner for damages resulting from operation of the vehicle after delivery.
- 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.