Form Guide · Texas · 130-U

Form 130-U, and why a bill of sale still matters.

Last updated April 21, 2026

Form 130-U is the Texas DMV's Application for Texas Title and/or Registration. If you are buying or selling in Texas, it is the form the buyer takes to the county tax assessor-collector office to register the vehicle and pay sales tax. It is not a bill of sale, and it is not a form we fill out — we flag that up front so nobody wastes time expecting to generate it here.

What we do is the other half of the paperwork: the bill of sale that sits alongside 130-U and saves you when something goes sideways after cash has changed hands. Skip ahead to the Texas Bill of Sale wizard — $9.99 one-time, no subscription.

What Form 130-U actually does

130-U is a two-page application the buyer signs and submits to the county tax office. It captures owner info, vehicle info (VIN, year, make, body style, odometer), the sales price, gift status, trade-in, and lienholder. Texas uses it to:

Issue a new title in the buyer's name.
Register the vehicle and issue plates.
Collect the 6.25% motor vehicle sales tax (or $10 gift tax on qualifying transfers).

Why Texas does not require a separate bill of sale

Because 130-U captures the sale price and transfer details, Texas treats the signed title plus 130-U as sufficient paperwork. On paper, you can skip the bill of sale. In practice, you should not.

Why a bill of sale still matters in Texas

Cash changes hands before the DMV does. 130-U gets filed after the sale — sometimes days or weeks later. During that window there is no written record of the transaction except whatever you scribbled down. A proper bill of sale gives you:

A receipt for the cash."Paid in full" on a signed document stops a buyer from later claiming they owe you money, or that you owe them a refund.
A paper trail for the date of sale.That date drives the seller's 30-day VTR-346 deadline and the buyer's tax clock.
Evidence of vehicle condition. An as-is disclosure heads off the phone call three weeks later about the transmission. Texas has no implied warranty on private-party sales, but you want the disclosure on paper.
A record if the buyer disappears. Combined with a VTR-346 filing, it keeps you clear of what the buyer does next.

Odometer disclosure — Form VTR-40

Federal law (49 CFR Part 580) requires a written odometer disclosure for vehicles under 10 model years old and under 16,000 lbs GVWR. Texas uses Form VTR-40. Our Texas bill of sale bakes the federal disclosure into the document in a format most counties accept in place of VTR-40.

VTR-346 — the 30-day transfer notification

The seller must file a Vehicle Transfer Notification (VTR-346) with the Texas DMV within 30 daysof sale. Free, five minutes online, and it releases you from liability if the buyer drives off and gets into trouble before finishing registration. The buyer's 130-U and your VTR-346 are independent filings — neither substitutes for the other.

Texas sales tax — 6.25% on whichever is higher

Texas charges a 6.25% motor vehicle sales tax. The buyer pays it at the county office when filing 130-U. Tax is calculated on whichever is higher: the actual sale price on 130-U and the bill of sale, or the Standard Presumptive Value (SPV). If the sale price is more than 20% below SPV, the county will tax on SPV unless the buyer provides a certified appraisal. A truthful bill of sale matching the 130-U price is your best defense against a contested SPV calculation.

Gift transfers and family exemptions

A vehicle gifted to an immediate family member (spouse, parent, child, sibling, grandparent, grandchild, legal guardian) is taxed at a flat $10. The gift must be reported on Form 14-317, signed by both parties in front of a notary. Keep a bill of sale for your records.

How we fit in — the paperwork we actually do

We do not touch 130-U. What our Texas wizard produces is the bill of sale that goes in the folder alongside it:

VIN auto-decoded via the free NHTSA vPIC API — year, make, model, body class fill automatically.
A DMV-compatible Texas bill of sale with the federal odometer disclosure baked in.
Buyer and seller fields formatted to match 130-U, so the two documents line up at the county office.
An as-is condition addendum — the part 130-U does not address at all.
Both signatures captured on phone (E-SIGN Act valid), emailed as a finished PDF to both parties.

$9.99 one-time. No subscription. No account. Start the Texas wizard.

Frequently asked

Is a bill of sale required in Texas?

Not by law — 130-U and the assigned title are sufficient for the TxDMV. Experienced Texas sellers keep one anyway.

Does Form 130-U need to be notarized?

No. 130-U requires a signature but not a notary. Form 14-317 (gift affidavit) does require notarization.

Where does the buyer file 130-U?

At their county tax assessor-collector office, in person or by mail, within 30 days of sale.

What if the buyer never files 130-U?

File VTR-346 within 30 days and keep your bill of sale. VTR-346 releases you from ownership on DMV records regardless of what the buyer does.

Ready for the bill of sale half?

130-U is the buyer's homework. The bill of sale is yours, and you want it done before the cash changes hands. Start the Texas Bill of Sale wizard. $9.99 one-time, auto-filled, emailed to both parties. And don't forget VTR-346 within 30 days.