Virginia treats the sale price written by the seller on the assigned title as a bill of sale for tax purposes in a normal private transaction. A separate bill of sale becomes important when the title does not contain an acceptable purchase price or when DMV requires additional price certification.

Virginia charges 4.15% Motor Vehicle Sales and Use Tax when ownership changes, with a minimum tax of $75. The buyer also pays a $15 title fee and must register and insure the vehicle before normal road use.

Download the free KarKiosk vehicle bill of sale PDF to record the actual purchase price, VIN, mileage, payment method, and vehicle condition. Keep it with the assigned Virginia title in case DMV requires separate evidence of the private-sale price.

In Virginia, the Title Itself Can Be the Bill of Sale

For a Virginia-titled vehicle, the seller completes Section A on the title.

The seller enters:

• Buyer’s name and address.

• Odometer reading.

• Sale date.

• Sale price.

• Seller signature or signatures.

The buyer checks the entries, signs the buyer section, and uses the assigned title to apply for the new title and registration.

Virginia DMV states that the sales price entered by the seller on the title certificate is a bill of sale for Motor Vehicle Sales and Use Tax purposes.

Government source: Virginia DMV — Buying and Selling a Vehicle

This is different from KarKiosk’s New Jersey Bill of Sale guide, where the bill of sale accompanies an in-person MVC ownership-transfer process.

Virginia Private Vehicle Sale Rules

A Separate Bill of Sale Matters When the Price on the Title Is Not Enough

Virginia separates older and newer vehicles when DMV questions or lacks the purchase price.

Vehicle More Than Five Years Old

When the seller did not enter the sale price, entered it incorrectly, or additional certification is required, the buyer can use:

• Form SUT-1, Vehicle Price Certification; or

• A qualifying handwritten or preformatted bill of sale.

The bill of sale should include the purchase price, year, make, model, VIN, sale date, and required signatures.

Vehicle Five Years Old or Less

A different rule can apply to a newer vehicle when the declared sale price falls more than $1,500 below the current NADA trade-in value.

Virginia requires Form SUT-1A, Affidavit of Vehicle Purchase Price, in that situation. The form must be notarized.

Do not substitute the older-vehicle SUT-1 procedure for a newer vehicle that requires SUT-1A.

Virginia Sales and Use Tax Is 4.15% With a $75 Floor

Virginia collects Motor Vehicle Sales and Use Tax when a vehicle is sold or its ownership changes.

The rate is 4.15% of gross sales price or $75, whichever is greater.

Government source: Virginia DMV — Motor Vehicle Sales and Use Tax

The minimum matters on inexpensive vehicles.

Examples:

• $500 purchase: 4.15% = $20.75 → $75 tax.

• $1,000 purchase: 4.15% = $41.50 → $75 tax.

• $1,800 purchase: 4.15% = $74.70 → $75 tax.

• $2,000 purchase: tax = $83.

• $10,000 purchase: tax = $415.

• $20,000 purchase: tax = $830.

The minimum-tax crossover occurs at approximately $1,807.23.

Virginia Offers Electronic Titling for Eligible Private Sales

Virginia residents can complete some private title transfers completely online.

Electronic titling is available when both buyer and seller qualify and the vehicle:

• Already has a Virginia title.

• Is an eligible passenger vehicle.

• Has no lien.

• Has no vehicle or title hold preventing transfer.

• Has not been reported sold more than 15 days earlier.

Both parties must be Virginia residents, private individuals, and have active myDMV accounts.

Transactions involving businesses, powers of attorney, survivorship, divorce decrees, out-of-state titling, or tax exemptions do not qualify for the standard electronic process.

The resulting title is held electronically unless the owner later requests a paper title.

KarKiosk’s New Mexico Bill of Sale guide covers a different transfer system where MVD-10009 supplies transaction information missing from the title.

The Seller Removes the Virginia Plates Before Handover

The seller should remove the Virginia plates before giving possession of the vehicle to the buyer.

The seller can then:

• Transfer the plates to a replacement vehicle.

• Surrender the plates.

• Deactivate the plates and registration when keeping the physical plates temporarily.

The insurance sequence matters.

When the plates and registration remain active, the seller should not cancel liability insurance first. Virginia warns that cancelling coverage while active plates remain on record can result in suspension of driving and registration privileges.

A Three-Day Trip Permit Can Cover the Drive After Purchase

Virginia does not give a private buyer an unrestricted grace period simply because the vehicle was just purchased.

A Virginia resident planning to buy a vehicle can obtain a Prospective Purchaser’s Trip Permit.

The permit:

• Costs $5.

• Is valid for three consecutive days beginning on the date of purchase.

• Requires insurance certification.

• Requires an original bill of sale containing the vehicle description and sale date.

If the vehicle is not purchased within 15 days after the permit is printed, another permit is required.

This is a temporary movement permit, not a replacement for title and registration.

Virginia Title and Registration Charges

Virginia’s standard title fee is $15.

Current annual base passenger registration amounts include:

• Passenger vehicle 4,000 pounds or less: $40.75.

• Passenger vehicle 4,001–6,500 pounds: $45.75.

• Motorcycle: $28.75.

• Standard trip permit: $5.

Additional charges can apply for:

• Highway Use Fee.

• Electric vehicles.

• Local registration programs.

• Special plates.

• Emissions-program administration.

Registration fees are separate from the 4.15% Sales and Use Tax.

Virginia Requires an Annual Safety Inspection

Before operating a vehicle in Virginia, it must comply with the state safety-inspection requirement and display a valid inspection sticker.

Virginia State Police sets the maximum inspection fee for an ordinary passenger vehicle, trailer, or motor home at $20. Motorcycle and autocycle inspections have a $12 maximum.

When a vehicle fails, all defects must be corrected and the vehicle reinspected within the rejection period, which includes 15 days after the inspection date.

Government source: Virginia State Police — Vehicle Safety Inspection

Northern Virginia Also Has Emissions Testing

A separate emissions program applies to qualifying vehicles garaged in:

• Arlington County.

• Fairfax County.

• Loudoun County.

• Prince William County.

• Stafford County.

• Alexandria.

• Fairfax City.

• Falls Church.

• Manassas.

• Manassas Park.

Emissions inspections are generally valid for two years.

Virginia DEQ caps the standard emissions inspection charge at $30. A failed vehicle can receive one free retest at the original station when retested within 14 calendar days.

New vehicles and qualifying recent-model used vehicles can receive temporary age-based exemptions.

Gifts Require the Correct Tax Exemption

Writing “gift” on the Virginia title does not automatically make the transaction tax-free.

The transfer must satisfy one of Virginia’s statutory exemptions, and the recipient uses SUT-3, Purchaser’s Statement of Tax Exemption, when the exemption requires it.

When the transfer does not qualify, proof of purchase price is required and the normal Sales and Use Tax rules apply.

Do not enter a false gift or nominal price solely to reduce tax.

Odometer Information Goes on the Title and Application

The seller records the current mileage in the assignment section of the title.

The buyer also records the odometer reading on the Application for Title and Registration.

When an out-of-state title lacks the required assignment section, a separate Odometer Disclosure Statement may be used.

Mileage should be read directly from the vehicle rather than copied from an advertisement or repair record.

How to Complete a Virginia Private Vehicle Sale

• Confirm that the seller is listed on the Virginia title.

• Compare the vehicle VIN with the ownership document.

• Resolve every lien.

• Complete Section A with buyer information, mileage, date, and actual sale price.

• Complete a separate bill of sale when additional purchase-price proof is useful or required.

• Use SUT-1 or SUT-1A when the applicable price-certification rule requires it.

• Have the seller remove the Virginia plates.

• Arrange insurance before registration.

• Complete electronic titling when eligible or submit the title application through DMV.

• Obtain a trip permit before limited unregistered operation when necessary.

• Maintain a valid Virginia safety inspection.

• Complete Northern Virginia emissions testing when applicable.

Common Virginia Private-Sale Mistakes

• Assuming every transaction needs a separate generic bill of sale.

• Omitting the sale price from the title.

• Using SUT-1 for a newer vehicle when notarized SUT-1A is required.

• Reporting an artificial low sale price.

• Cancelling the seller’s insurance while active plates remain on record.

• Letting the buyer drive using the seller’s plates.

• Treating the three-day trip permit as registration.

• Assuming the annual safety inspection and biennial emissions inspection are the same requirement.