A Kentucky private sale is finished at the county clerk, and you have 15 days to do it. The seller signs the back of the title in front of a notary, you take that title plus Kentucky insurance and your ID to the clerk in your county, and you pay 6 percent usage tax on the price along with a $9 title fee. The seller keeps the plate, so you also need a plate of your own or a temporary tag before you drive the car anywhere.
The notary is the step that trips people up. A title signed at the kitchen table with no notary present is one the clerk can hand right back. I read the Transportation Cabinet's Vehicle Titling page on October 16, 2026, and it is blunt: the signatures on a signed-over Kentucky title must be notarized. Meet the seller at a bank or a clerk's office that has a notary, and sign there together.
Signatures, and why you sign too
The buyer signs too. The Scott County Clerk's transfer page says Kentucky titles need two seller signatures and two buyer signatures, all notarized, and if two sellers are listed with "AND," both of theirs have to be notarized. That is one county's page and your clerk may word it differently, but Kentucky titles are state-issued, so plan on the same four notarized signatures. Do not use white-out or scratch anything out. DRIVE says a mistake needs a signed, notarized affidavit with the corrected information, which is one more trip.
The clerk also wants proof of Kentucky insurance with an issue date within 45 days and a Kentucky driver's license, ID card or Social Security card. Any delinquent taxes on the car, or owed by you, have to be paid before the transfer goes through, per Scott County. Titles issued before 2000 may also need form TC 96-182.
How the 6 percent usage tax is figured
Kentucky calls it a usage tax, not sales tax, and the Department of Revenue says it is 6 percent, collected by the clerk on transfer. For a used car, the tax is based on the selling price in a notarized Affidavit of Total Consideration (Form 71A100) or on TC 96-182, as long as that price is not less than 50 percent of the car's trade-in value. If no affidavit is available, the clerk uses retail value from the NADA guide. So writing $500 on a car with a $9,000 trade-in value does not get you a $30 tax bill.
Rough math on an $8,000 sale: $480 usage tax, $9 title and the $21 base registration fee Scott County lists, about $510 before notary charges. If you finance, add the $22 lien filing fee. Scott County also adds a 2.75 percent vendor fee if you pay by card, so bring a check. A speed title, mailed the next business day, is $25 at the clerk. Our used car sales tax post compares how other states do it.
Plates stay with the seller now
Since January 2024, Kentuckians keep their plates when they sell, according to DRIVE's Keep Your License Plate page. The seller can move the plate and its unexpired registration to another vehicle of the same class for a one-time $11 fee. That leaves you needing a temporary tag from the clerk, a plate you already own with unexpired registration, or a new plate. Do not plan to borrow the seller's.
The law behind this, KRS 186.190, also makes the seller pay a $2 transfer fee and a $6 clerk fee. That is changing. The version effective January 1, 2027 (amended by 2026 Ky. Acts ch. 135) replaces the fixed $6 clerk fee with one the Cabinet sets by regulation. If you are closing a deal around New Year's, ask the clerk what the fee is that week.
Buying a car titled in another state
If the title is from out of state, bring a completed TC 96-182 and proof of a passed sheriff's inspection. Under KRS 186A.115 that inspection costs an individual $15, plus $20 if the inspector has to travel to the car. Older guides may quote a lower number; the statute was amended in 2024 and 2025, so trust the current text. The inspection checks the VIN against your documents, and our VIN verification for title transfer walkthrough shows how to do the same check yourself before you pay.
If you are the seller and your buyer lives in another state, DRIVE says to tell your clerk the buyer's name and state, file TC 96-3 (Affidavit of Incomplete Transfer) if it is not transferred within 15 days, and return the plate. If you owned the car on January 1, you may still owe property tax on it.
Look for brands before the notary
Kentucky brands rebuilt and water-damaged cars, and a seller in a hurry may not bring it up. Read our Kentucky salvage and rebuilt title rules and the water-damaged title brand post, then search NMVTIS for the VIN. Once both of you have signed in front of a notary, backing out gets messy.
A history report fills in what NMVTIS does not. CarVins sells CARFAX and AutoCheck reports as a licensed reseller with no tie to CARFAX, AutoCheck or Experian. In mid October 2026 that has meant roughly $5.50 per report for guests, $4.50 for members, or about $6.75 for the pair, where retail runs about $39.99 to $44.99. The final price shows at checkout, so check it there. CARFAX's overview lists the sections.
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