How to Title a Private Car Sale in Kentucky
Last verified: November 2026 against Kentucky Transportation Cabinet and DOR sources
When you buy a car from a private seller in Kentucky, the title must be transferred to you within 15 days at your county clerk’s office, where you also pay the 6% motor vehicle usage tax.
Here is the order to do it in, what it costs, and what to bring.
Step by step
- 1
Get the title signed and notarized
The seller signs the Kentucky title over to you. The signatures must be notarized. Do not use white-out or cross anything out on the title.
- 2
Get Kentucky insurance
Bring proof of Kentucky insurance with an issue date within 45 days.
- 3
Go to the county clerk within 15 days
Bring the title, the insurance, and your Kentucky driver’s license, Kentucky ID card, or Social Security card. If the transfer is late, you also complete the Affidavit of Incomplete Transfer (TC96-3).
- 4
Pay the 6% usage tax
The tax is 6% of the total price on the notarized affidavit of total consideration, less any trade-in allowance. It cannot be less than 50% of the trade-in value of the vehicle you buy minus the trade-in value of any vehicle traded.
- 5
Pay the title and registration fees
The title is $9 and recording a lien is $12. Registration is $20.50 a year for a car and $18 for a motorcycle. Electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids also pay an ownership fee with a $120 statutory base that the Department of Revenue adjusts each year.
What to bring
- The Kentucky title, signed over to you with notarized signatures
- Proof of Kentucky insurance issued within 45 days
- Your Kentucky driver’s license, Kentucky ID card, or Social Security card
- Form TC96-3, if more than 15 days have passed
- Payment for the usage tax, $9 title, and $20.50 registration