New York Title Transfer for a Private Sale: MV-912, DTF-802 and MV-82

For a New York private-party car sale, the seller signs the transfer section on the back of the title and both people sign a Vehicle Bill of Sale (MV-912). Buyer and seller each fill in their part of the Statement of Transaction (DTF-802), and then the buyer takes the title, bill of sale, DTF-802, a completed MV-82 and New York insurance cards to a DMV office. The DMV works out and collects the sales tax right there. The seller keeps the plates.

I went through the NY DMV ownership-transfer, sales-tax and registration-transfer pages on the morning of Friday, October 16, 2026. dmv.ny.gov refuses our automated link checker, so those pages are named below without links. The tax department's DTF-802 PDF loads fine, so that one is linked. Most New York deals go smoothly. The ones that don't usually involve a photocopied title, a "gift" that is really a cheap sale, or an older car that never had a title in the first place.

Seller paperwork: the title back and the MV-912

The DMV's buy-and-sell page tells the seller to complete and sign the transfer-of-ownership section of the title and sign an MV-912 bill of sale, even when no money changes hands. The buyer signs the MV-912 too. An acceptable bill of sale has the year and make, the VIN, the sale date, the price, and the names and signatures of both parties. You can each keep a photocopy, but the original bill of sale goes to the DMV with the rest of the proofs.

Check the title against the car before anyone signs. The VIN on the title should match the dash plate and the door-jamb label, and the seller's name should match their ID. Our VIN verification for title transfer walkthrough shows where to look. A title with erasures, or a seller who "just has a copy," should stop the deal until the seller orders a proper replacement. The DMV's registration pages say outright that photocopies are not accepted.

DTF-802 and how New York collects sales tax

On a private sale, the DMV's sales-tax page says buyer and seller both complete the Statement of Transaction (DTF-802). The buyer brings it to a DMV office, and the DMV calculates the sales tax, collects it, and gives you a sales tax receipt. The same page warns that county use tax may also apply at registration, so budget for more than the state rate. You need a sales tax receipt from the DMV even when your transaction is exempt.

Gifts and below-market sales get looked at more closely. The DMV says to mark a gift on the bill of sale with a $0 price and say so on the DTF-802. The seller or donor must also fill in Section 6 on page 2 when the car is a gift, or is sold for less than fair market value, to anyone other than a spouse, parent, child, stepparent or stepchild. So if a buddy is "selling" you his Accord for a dollar, expect Section 6 to come up. Write down the real price. A fake low number on a form the seller signs too is a bad idea.

What the buyer brings to the DMV office

The registration-transfer page lists the full stack. You need the original title with the seller's section completed (for model year 1973 and newer), New York insurance ID cards, ID, a completed Application for Registration/Title (MV-82), the DTF-802, and payment. Insurance trips people up. Your insurer gives you two barcoded New York insurance ID cards (or a digital one) and also sends an electronic notice to the DMV, and the DMV needs both. You have to register within 180 days of the effective date on that insurance card. A New York license, permit or non-driver ID counts as proof of identity if it is current or expired less than two years.

The page lists a $50 title fee when the title is not already in your name. Registration fees and county use tax come on top of that and depend on the vehicle and where you live, so use the DMV's fee estimator rather than a number from a forum. For comparison, a New York dealer can charge $175 to send your title and registration paperwork to the DMV for you. That is the dealer document fee you skip in a private sale, but you do all the legwork yourself.

Plates, pre-1973 cars and missing titles

Plates follow the seller, not the car. The DMV says that after you sell a vehicle you can transfer the registration and plates to another vehicle you own, or you must surrender the plates, and you may get a refund if you turn them in before the registration expires. Buyers, plan on new plates or a transfer from your own old car.

Model year 1972 and older works differently. New York accepts a New York Transferable Registration (original or certified copy) plus an MV-912 in place of a title. When even that is missing, the DMV's ownership-proof pages point to form MV-51, a certification of sale for non-titled vehicles. If you are buying a classic, have the seller find that transferable registration before you hand over cash.

Brands, salvage and a history report first

A clean-looking New York title can still hide a messy past. Cars that were rebuilt after a salvage certificate have their own inspection rules, which we cover in New York salvage and rebuilt title rules and what a New York salvage certificate means. The DMV's own page sends buyers to a national insurance-crime database for flood and theft checks. I would add a federal NMVTIS title-brand search and a free NHTSA vPIC decode to confirm the VIN belongs to the car the seller described.

Then pull the full history before the meetup. Sellers sometimes text a "CARFAX" screenshot that turns out to belong to a different VIN, so run your own. CarVins is a licensed CARFAX and AutoCheck reseller and is not affiliated with CARFAX, AutoCheck or Experian. In mid-October 2026 our guest CARFAX price sits around $5.50, members pay roughly $4.50, and the AutoCheck bundle is near $6.75. Buying direct usually costs $39.99 to $44.99. Prices move, so confirm at checkout. Our CARFAX for private-party sales post covers what to look for on the report, and CARFAX describes its report sections here.

Sources

• NY DMV: Buy, Sell, or Transfer Vehicle Ownership (dmv.ny.gov, cited unlinked; blocks automated checks)
• NY DMV: Sales Tax Information (dmv.ny.gov, cited unlinked)
• NY DMV: How to Transfer a Registration to Another Vehicle (dmv.ny.gov, cited unlinked)
• NYS Department of Taxation: DTF-802 Statement of Transaction
• NMVTIS (U.S. Department of Justice)
• NHTSA vPIC VIN decoder
• CARFAX vehicle history reports