Free Virginia Trailer Bill of Sale Template

A Virginia trailer bill of sale records a private trailer sale. The department titles trailers on the same application it uses for cars, trucks, motor homes and motorcycles.

Three things, according to the licensing guide. A preformatted or handwritten statement signed by seller and purchaser containing the required information counts.

So does a vehicle price certification form signed by either party, or simply the sale price written on the title by the seller.

The department’s trailer titling page puts it plainly: bring the bill of sale, and if it is not available, a completed and signed price certification identifying the trailer by identification number, make and year.

One choice here is unusual and worth making deliberately.

Permanent plates exist

All trailers may be issued permanent or annual plates. Choose permanent and you never renew the registration for as long as you own the trailer.

But they never move

Permanent plates cannot be transferred, and registration fees cannot be refunded, so the decision binds you to that trailer.

Braked trailers get inspected

Vehicles registered in Virginia require safety inspection every 12 months, and trailers with separate braking systems must also be inspected.

Weight receipts are not a barrier

No customer should be turned away for lack of a weight receipt where the empty weight is written on the ownership document.

Lighter trailers skip a signature

A signature is not required on the certificate of origin for trailers weighing less than 3,000 pounds, or for trailer kits bought from a retail outlet.

Homemade trailers get a number

The department will assign an identification number and issue a plate for installation on a homemade trailer, on application by its owner.

Where no title survives

Where a title is lost, unlawfully held by someone else, or otherwise unavailable, an affidavit in lieu of a title certificate can be filed instead. It is certified under penalty of perjury, and a knowingly false statement on it is a criminal violation.

Tax has a floor

Sales and use tax runs at 4.15 percent of the purchase price, subject to a minimum of seventy-five dollars however little you paid.

No post office boxes

The owner’s address on the application cannot be a post office box, so a physical address is needed even where post goes elsewhere.

The application handles titling and registration in one pass.

1. Have the seller complete the assignment section on the front of the title.
2. Complete the bill of sale, or a price certification if none is available.
3. Fill in the title and registration application in full, including the odometer section.
4. Decide between permanent and annual plates before you file.
5. Visit a customer service center or a DMV Select, or send the title by post.

Tax and fees are set by the state and change from time to time, so confirm current figures before you go.

Cover the identification number, make and year, the sale price, the date, and the printed names and signatures of both seller and purchaser.

Write the empty weight on it too. That figure can save you producing a separate weight receipt at the counter.

Add the odometer reading if one applies, because the buyer has to carry that figure across onto the application anyway.

Both parties keep a copy.