Texas car title guide for selling or junking a car

Selling or junking a car in Texas, step by step

1. Find your title (or replace it). If the title is lost or damaged, request a duplicate from the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles (TxDMV) using Application for a Certified Copy of Title (Form VTR-34).
2. Pay off any loan. If a lender is listed on the title, it must release the lien before the car can change hands. See our guide to junking a car with a lien.
3. Sign the title over at pickup. The seller signs over the title with the sale date and odometer reading and gives the buyer a signed Form 130-U showing the sales price. TxDMV recommends making sure the buyer titles the vehicle within 30 days, ideally by going with them to the county tax office, and filing a Vehicle Transfer Notification.
4. Deal with your plates. Sellers remove their plates and may move them to another vehicle of the same type, keep them, or deface and dispose of them.
5. File the Vehicle Transfer Notification. Filing the notification within 30 days of the sale protects the seller from responsibility for parking tickets and toll violations incurred by the buyer.

How to sign over a title in Texas

The seller signs over the title with the sale date and odometer reading and gives the buyer a signed Form 130-U showing the sales price. TxDMV recommends making sure the buyer titles the vehicle within 30 days, ideally by going with them to the county tax office, and filing a Vehicle Transfer Notification.

Official page: txdmv.gov. For general tips on avoiding mistakes, see how to sign over a car title.

Lost title? Getting a duplicate in Texas

A certified copy of a lost or destroyed title is requested by mail or in person with Form VTR-34, signed by all owners with photo ID; a lien release is needed if a lien is still recorded.

• Form: Application for a Certified Copy of Title (Form VTR-34) — download
• Available online: no
• Official page: txdmv.gov

More background: how to get a duplicate title before junking.

Vehicle Transfer Notification

Filing the notification within 30 days of the sale protects the seller from responsibility for parking tickets and toll violations incurred by the buyer.

• Can be filed online: yes
• Official page: webdealer.txdmv.gov

Why it matters: release of liability when selling a car.

License plates after you sell

Plates stay with you, the seller, not the car. Sellers remove their plates and may move them to another vehicle of the same type, keep them, or deface and dispose of them.

Source: txdmv.gov

Junk and salvage titles in Texas

TxDMV's manual explains that a nonrepairable title marks a vehicle good only for parts or scrap that can never be retitled, and that ownership evidence for a vehicle sold to be dismantled, scrapped or destroyed is surrendered on Form VTR-340.

Official page: txdmv.gov. Background: salvage vs. rebuilt vs. junk titles.

Selling a car without a title in Texas

Owners without a title can seek a bonded title by getting TxDMV approval, buying a surety bond, and applying at the county tax office, but the vehicle must be complete and not junked or nonrepairable; a court order is another option.

Official page: txdmv.gov

Official sources

• Texas Department of Motor Vehicles (TxDMV) — hometxdmv.gov
• Selling or transferring a vehicle titletxdmv.gov
• Duplicate or replacement title (Application for a Certified Copy of Title (Form VTR-34))txdmv.gov
• Application for a Certified Copy of Title (Form VTR-34) formtxdmv.gov
• Vehicle Transfer Notificationwebdealer.txdmv.gov
• Junk and salvage vehiclestxdmv.gov
• Selling without a titletxdmv.gov

Summarized from official Texas government websites in October 2026. Fees and procedures change; always confirm with the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles (TxDMV) before you sell. This guide is general information, not legal advice.