California paperwork guides
Signing the title doesn't end your connection to the car — this five-minute filing does. Here is how, and what happens if you skip it.
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Signing the title and handing over the keys doesn't end your connection to a car you sold — in the DMV's records, you're still the owner until you say otherwise. The Notice of Transfer and Release of Liability (REG 138) is how you say otherwise, and California law gives you 5 days from the sale to file it. When the form is properly completed and recorded, liability for parking and traffic violations — and civil litigation resulting from operation of the vehicle after the date of sale — becomes the responsibility of the new owner.
One thing it does not do: transfer the title. The REG 138 is a notice, not an application for transfer of ownership — your name comes off the vehicle's record when the new owner completes the transfer using the signed title you gave them.
You will need the license plate number, the VIN, the year and make, the date of sale, the odometer reading, the selling price, and the new owner's name and address — plus your own name and address. Missing or illegible information means the DMV will not update the record.
The DMV's own form points you to online filing because it is faster. Open the Notice of Transfer and Release of Liability filing at dmv.ca.gov/nrl and start the submission.
Enter the date of sale, the odometer reading, and the selling price — enter 0 if the vehicle was a gift. Use the new owner's name and address exactly as they appear on their identification.
Print or save the confirmation page for your records. If a parking ticket or toll notice from after the sale ever lands in your mailbox, that confirmation is your proof the car was no longer yours.
Until your filing is recorded, the DMV's record still ties the vehicle to you. Parking tickets and toll violations the new driver collects keep coming to you; registration renewal and collection notices can arrive months or even years after the sale; and if the vehicle is in an accident or abandoned while still in your name, you can be left proving the sale after the fact. The responsibility to notify the DMV rests with the seller — even if the buyer offers to "handle the paperwork." When you sell to us, we complete the transfer paperwork with you at pickup, and this five-minute filing is the one step we will always remind you to finish yourself.
Five days. California law requires the seller to notify the DMV within 5 days of the date you sell or otherwise dispose of the vehicle. The REG 138 form puts it bluntly: "Protect Yourself – Submit this form within FIVE days!"
No. The Release of Liability notifies the DMV of the sale and protects you from liability after the sale date, but it is not an application for transfer of ownership. The buyer still has to complete the title transfer using the signed title you gave them.
The DMV's records keep showing you as the owner. Parking tickets, toll violations, and renewal or collection notices for a car you no longer own keep coming to you, and the DMV warns they should never be ignored.
Yes — complete the REG 138, or the Notice of Transfer and Release of Liability section printed on the vehicle title itself, and mail it to the address shown on the form. The DMV provides no notification that a mailed form was received, so keep a copy for your records.
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