How to Title a Private Car Sale in Texas
Last verified: October 2026 against TxDMV and Texas Comptroller sources
When you buy a car from a private seller in Texas, you title it in your name at your county tax assessor-collector’s office.
Here is the order to do it in, what it costs, and what to bring.
Step by step
- 1
Check the title and the vehicle
Make sure the title and registration match the seller’s name and address and that the VIN is intact. TxDMV’s Title Check shows whether the title has issues that affect value. If there is a lien, the lienholder must release it.
- 2
Get the signed title and Form 130-U
The seller gives you a properly signed title with the date of sale and odometer reading, plus a signed Application for Texas Title and/or Registration (Form 130-U) showing the sales price.
- 3
Sort out the plates and insurance
The seller may remove the license plates and registration sticker. You need liability insurance to register the car (you can apply for a title only without it).
- 4
Go to the county tax office within 30 days
Title the car in your name within 30 days of the sale. It helps to bring the seller along, because tax office staff can check the title before you submit it.
Late filing costs $25, plus another $25 for each additional month late, with no waivers. Active-duty military get 60 days.
- 5
Pay the motor vehicle tax and fees
You pay 6.25% motor vehicle tax on the greater of the price or 80% of the vehicle’s Standard Presumptive Value (SPV), a title fee of $33 (nonattainment counties) or $28, and registration ($50.75 plus $1 TexasSure for a car or light truck of 6,000 lbs or less, plus a $7.50 inspection program replacement fee, a processing fee, and county fees).
- 6
Know the inspection rules
Since January 1, 2025, non-commercial vehicles no longer need a safety inspection to register. In Brazoria, Collin, Dallas, Denton, El Paso, Ellis, Fort Bend, Galveston, Harris, Johnson, Kaufman, Montgomery, Parker, Rockwall, Tarrant, Travis, and Williamson counties, the car still needs an emissions inspection.
How the SPV rule works
Texas does not just tax the price you write down:
- The tax is 6.25% of the greater of the price you paid or 80% of the SPV on the day you title the car. Look up SPV with TxDMV’s calculator.
- If you paid less than 80% of SPV, a certified appraisal on Form 14-128 (Texas Used Motor Vehicle Certified Appraisal), obtained within 30 days of the purchase, can lower the taxable value, but not below the price.
- Trade-in credit does not apply to private-party sales.
What to bring
- The title, signed by the seller with the date of sale and odometer reading
- Form 130-U, signed by the seller and showing the sales price
- Release of lien, if there was a lien
- Proof of liability insurance
- Form 14-128 certified appraisal, if you paid below 80% of SPV
- Emissions inspection, if you live in one of the 17 emissions counties
- Payment for the motor vehicle tax, title fee, and registration fees