Selling/Trading Your Vehicle to Another Individual
1. Remove the license plates and keep your plates and registration receipt.
2. If the person buying your vehicle is an Iowa resident, give the buyer:
- Completed odometer statement on the back of the title for motor vehicles 11 model years old and newer.
- Completed separate Damage Disclosure statement for motor vehicles 8 model years old and newer indicating if the vehicle has sustained damage more than 70% of the value of the vehicle at the time the vehicle was wrecked. Click for Damage Disclosure statement form.
- The certificate of title properly completing the assignment on the back of the title
- The name of the county where your vehicle was last registered and the date your license plates expire.
- A Bill of Sale (Bill of Sale - see attached to Motor Vehicle page)
If possible (when the purchaser is a Scott County resident), go with the buyer to the Scott County Treasurer's Office to complete the title transfer. If you are unable to accompany the purchaser, get a receipt from the buyer which states that the individual has purchased the vehicle and accepted delivery of the vehicle and title.
If the buyer does not have plates to put on the vehicle, the buyer can use it for 30 days if the vehicle is currently registered and as long as either the bill of sale (describing the vehicle and signed by the seller and buyer) or title assigned to the buyer, or photocopy of both sides of the title is carried in the vehicle. A vehicle that is not currently registered cannot legally be operated on the road until the registration fees are paid.
3. If the buyer is from another state, after removing the license plates, give the buyer:
- Your completed Odometer and Damage Disclosure Statements
- Certificate of Title with completed assignment portion
If the out of state buyer does not have valid plates for the vehicle and your vehicle is currently registered, the Scott County Treasurer may issue a 30-day transit plate for $3.00.