Where to get a bill of sale form.
Customize, sign, and share your own bill of sale for motor vehicles, boats, aircraft, and more.
A bill of sale legally transfers ownership of motor vehicles, boats, airplanes, or other personal property from one person to another. Finding out where to get a bill of sale form is easy. You can find bill of sale templates online or create custom ones with versatile document software — but whether you’re buying or selling, it’s important to know what information should be included.
What should be on a bill of sale form?
There are several bill of sale types, and each serves a different purpose, depending on the specifics and the transaction location. One of the most common is an “absolute bill of sale,” traditionally used for private motor vehicle sales. Details may differ from state to state, but more often than not, each bill of sale should include at least the following:
- Contact info for the buyer and seller, including first and last names and physical addresses.
- Description of the property purchased. For a motor vehicle, this may include an odometer reading and vehicle identification number (VIN).
- Purchase/sale price and taxes, if appropriate.
- Transaction location and date.
- Legally binding signatures or e-signatures from both buyer and seller. A notary’s signature may be required for the sale of certain items.
In general, once all parties sign the bill of sale form, the seller is freed of liability, and the buyer becomes the legal owner.
Where can I get a bill of sale form?
You’ll discover that figuring out where to get a bill of sale form is simple. You can access a variety of templates online, or a handwritten bill of sale will do. When you need a bill of sale, any of the following methods will serve you well:
- Find a bill of sale template online. A quick online search will reveal a wealth of easy-to-use bill of sale templates. Be sure that you find a template customized to the state where the sale is taking place since some state governments have unique requirements that must be included in the form.
- Handwrite a bill of sale. Some states do not require a bill of sale for purchases. However, it’s a smart legal practice to have one in case disputes arise in the future. You can quickly handwrite a bill of sale that both the buyer and the seller sign that states the transaction date and price, a description of what is being sold, and contact information for both parties.
- Get a bill of sale from a regulatory agency. Many government agencies, like the Department of Motor Vehicles, for instance, offer bill of sale forms for public use. Using a form directly from a government agency ensures that you have all of the information required for your state. If your state requires that bills of sale be notarized, a government agency can also point you in the right direction.
- Create a bill of sale template yourself. If you want to create your own bill of sale template but desire a more official-looking document than a handwritten version, use a tool like Adobe Acrobat to create and fill in your own custom bill of sale form PDF.
Bill of sale printable vs digital version.
A bill of sale can be stored as a printed physical version or in digital format. If your bill of sale was originally printed or handwritten, scanning and storing a bill of sale form PDF ensures that your documents are safe and accessible from anywhere in case of an emergency.
Create your own electronic bill of sale form template.
After checking local laws, you can create a custom, electronic bill of sale form in just a few clicks with an e-signature software like Adobe Acrobat. Not only can you easily scan, upload, or update forms, add or remove PDF signature fields, and share documents online, but your buyers and sellers can also sign from anywhere and from nearly any device.
To make all your transactions even easier, explore what more you can do with Acrobat today.
