Car sale receipt for a private sale (free PDF)
Selling a car, truck or motorcycle to a private buyer? Record the vehicle, the price and the payment, and download a PDF with the sold-as-is sentence and a signature line for the seller and the buyer. The receipt records the payment; the title transfer and the registration still go through your state’s motor vehicle office.
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Receipt · Private sale
Private sale – sold as is, no warranty, no returns, no VAT/sales tax charged.
Created with Receipt Maker · receiptmakerapp.com
Example — your information will appear here.
Use it for: a car, truck, motorcycle, RV or trailer that you sold privately and were actually paid for — in cash, by cashier’s check or by transfer.
Not for: a sale by a dealer, the title or registration paperwork, a sale where no money changed hands, or a price written lower or higher than the one really paid.
What to write on a car sale receipt
Buyers and sellers of used cars look for the same few details. The form above asks for them in this order:
- the seller’s and the buyer’s names as they appear on their IDs, and their addresses if you want them on the receipt;
- the year, make and model;
- the VIN — copy it from the title or the dashboard plate, not from memory;
- the license plate, if you want it on record;
- the odometer reading on the day of the sale;
- anything else that changes hands, such as spare keys or winter tires, in the item description;
- the price, the date and how it was paid;
- the seller’s and the buyer’s signatures, each with a date.
The vehicle fields are optional, and only the ones you fill in are printed. The sold-as-is sentence is always on the receipt. Titles, odometer statements and registration are separate paperwork handled through your state; this receipt does not replace them.
Receipt · Private sale
Private sale – sold as is, no warranty, no returns, no VAT/sales tax charged.
Created with Receipt Maker · receiptmakerapp.com
Car sale receipt template: fill it in at the handover
This car sale receipt template has separate fields for the year, make, model, VIN, license plate and odometer reading, so the car on the receipt can’t be mistaken for another one. Fill it in together when the money and the keys change hands, check the preview, then download the PDF on US Letter or A4 paper.
Print two copies and sign both, or sign the PDF on a phone. Each of you keeps one. Nothing you type is uploaded: the PDF is made in your browser.
Vehicle sale receipt for trucks, motorcycles and trailers
The same vehicle sale receipt works for a pickup truck, a motorcycle, a camper or a trailer. For a trailer or a boat, put its serial or hull number in the VIN field. Describe anything that is part of the deal — a hitch, a second set of wheels, a cover — so the buyer knows what the price included.
Bill of sale or receipt?
Many states call the document that records the transfer of a vehicle a bill of sale, and some motor vehicle offices publish their own form or ask for a notarized signature. A receipt confirms that the price was paid. Sellers often do both: fill in whatever form the state asks for and hand over a signed receipt for the money.
Before the sale, check your state’s motor vehicle office website for what the buyer needs to register the car and what the seller should do with the plates and the title.
Sold as is: the sentence on every private sale receipt
Every private sale receipt carries a fixed sentence: sold as is, no warranty, no returns, no sales tax charged. It cannot be removed, because that is how most private car sales work. In many states the buyer pays any tax on a private purchase when registering the car; the receipt makes no statement about your state’s tax rules.
Deposit to hold the car until pick-up
If the buyer pays a deposit and comes back later with the rest, use the Partial payment type for the deposit: it shows the full price, the deposit and the balance still due, and you can add the date by which the rest must be paid. When the buyer pays the balance, write the final receipt here.
Paid in cash: count it, then write the receipt
For a cash sale, count the money together before you sign anything, then write the receipt with the exact amount and today’s date. A cash receipt for a vehicle sale is the only record of that payment, so both of you should keep a signed copy.
Selling more than one?
When the app is better
Signed before the buyer drives off
Sign with your finger on the phone, then text or email the PDF to the buyer on the spot.
Amount in words, done for you
$9,800.00 becomes “Nine thousand eight hundred dollars” automatically — no spelling out long numbers by hand.
Copy it for the next sale
Duplicate this receipt, change the vehicle and the buyer, and the receipt number continues in order.
The Android app is coming soon. You can create receipts on this website in the meantime.
Questions people ask
How do I write a receipt for a car I sold?
Write the seller and the buyer, the year, make and model, the VIN, the odometer reading, the price, the date and how it was paid, then add the sold-as-is sentence and two signatures. The form on this page does all of that; the vehicle fields you leave empty are simply left off.
Is a car sale receipt the same as a bill of sale?
Not always. A bill of sale records that ownership of the vehicle passes to the buyer, and some states have their own form for it. A receipt confirms that the price was paid. Many private sellers hand over both; your state’s motor vehicle office says which document it asks for.
Who keeps the receipt, the seller or the buyer?
Both. The buyer keeps it as proof of what was paid and when; the seller keeps a copy as proof of when the car was sold, which helps if a parking ticket or toll for the car turns up afterwards. Sign two copies, or send the signed PDF to each other.
What if the buyer pays a deposit first?
Write a receipt for the deposit with the Partial payment type: full price, deposit and balance due, plus the date by which the rest is due if you agreed on one. When the buyer pays the balance, write a final receipt for the sale.