In a Delaware private sale the seller fills out the Assignment of Certificate of Title on the back (buyer name and address, date, purchase price, odometer), both of you sign, and the seller also files a Seller's Report of Sale with the Division of Motor Vehicles. You then title and register at a DMV office within 30 days. Delaware has no general sales tax, but you will pay a motor vehicle document fee of 5.25 percent on the higher of the sale price or the NADA average trade-in value, plus a $35 title fee ($55 if a lien is recorded) and passenger registration at $40 per year.
I checked the Delaware DMV titling page, the September 30, 2025 fee-increase notice, Title 21 of the Delaware Code on title transfers, and the registration fee schedule on October 16, 2026. The document fee jump from 4.25 percent to 5.25 percent took effect October 1, 2025, so older blog posts and calculator sites that still say 4.25 percent are stale.
What the seller has to put on the title
Per the DMV transfer instructions, Section 1 on the back needs the buyer's name and address, the date of sale, the purchase price and the odometer disclosure. If ownership on the front reads "AND," every seller signs and prints a name. If it reads "AND/OR," one seller can complete that section. You as buyer also sign Section 1 and complete the Purchaser's Application (Section 4) exactly as you want the new title to read, with driver's license number and date of birth. Financed cars need the Lien Section filled in too. Delaware titles do not need a notary.
Separately, the seller must send the Seller's Report of Sale to the DMV with the buyer's name and address, the date and hour of the sale, and the seller's signature. That tear-off lives at the bottom of a new Delaware title. If the seller "forgot" to do it, you still need a clean assignment in hand before you go to the counter.
The 30-day clock and the no-drive rule
Title 21, Chapter 25 says the transferee must apply for a new certificate of title immediately after purchase and in no case more than 30 days later. The same chapter sets the transfer fee at $35 and a matching $35 penalty when the application arrives after day 30. The DMV page is blunt about driving: the vehicle may not be operated until a new title is issued in the buyer's name. Plan a trailer, a ride, or a temporary arrangement rather than rolling home on the seller's plates and hoping nobody notices.
Bring proof of liability insurance and either a Delaware driver's license or two accepted proofs of residency. The DMV recommends that seller and buyer both show up. If the reverse of the title has no purchase price and you have no bill of sale, the document fee defaults to the current NADA average trade-in. You can also bring an appraisal from a licensed Delaware dealer for the DMV to consider.
Document fee, not sales tax
Delaware does not levy a general retail sales tax. What hits a private-sale buyer is the motor vehicle document fee. The state news release from September 30, 2025 raised that rate from 4.25 percent to 5.25 percent effective October 1, 2025. The DMV bases it on the sale price or the current NADA average trade-in, whichever is higher. So writing $1,000 on a car that books at $8,000 does not save you money. On a $10,000 deal that clears NADA, budget about $525 for the document fee alone, then the title fee and registration. Our used car sales tax guide shows how other states handle the same moment.
Title fees for most passenger vehicles at or under 5,000 pounds are $35 without a lien or $55 with a lien. Passenger registration under Title 21, Section 2151 is $40 per year. Electric and plug-in hybrids carry extra alternative-fuel registration fees on top of that. Confirm the counter total on the DMV fees page, because the online tables sometimes load amounts through scripts that do not print cleanly.
Out-of-state titles, salvage and VIN checks
If the car was titled elsewhere and no sales or similar titling tax was paid in that state within the last 90 days, Delaware still uses NADA to set the document fee. Salvage and rebuilt brands follow a different path entirely; read our Delaware salvage and rebuilt title rules before you hand over cash. A VIN mismatch at the counter is a bad day. Our VIN verification for title transfer post covers what inspectors compare.
Pull the history before the meetup
A clean Delaware title only speaks for Delaware. Brands wash when cars cross borders. Search the VIN on NMVTIS and run your own report instead of trusting a PDF from the seller's inbox. Our private-party CARFAX guide walks through the fields that matter first. CarVins resells official CARFAX and AutoCheck reports under license and is not affiliated with CARFAX, AutoCheck or Experian. In mid October 2026 a single report is usually about $5.50 for guests or $4.50 for members, with the two-report bundle near $6.75, while buying direct often lands around $39.99 to $44.99; check the checkout line before you pay. CARFAX summarizes what its reports include.
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