5 min read
On this page
The short answer
After you sell a car in Nevada, the DMV asks you to report the sale online. The form is the Vehicle Resale Notification, it is for individuals and businesses, and the DMV says the information should be submitted within five days after the sale.
In the order you will do it:
- Keep signed copies of the sale. A photo of the signed title and a copy of the bill of sale, before they leave your hands.
- File the resale notification within five days.
- Cancel your Nevada registration. You can do it while you file or separately.
- Take your plates off. Move them to another car or turn them in, using the DMV's 30-day guidance below.
- Cancel your insurance last. The DMV says to cancel your registration before you cancel your insurance.
Our Nevada paperwork guide has the whole seller checklist, and our private-sale bill of sale guide covers the VP-104.
Is it a release of liability?
People search for a "release of liability" or a "notice of sale." In Nevada the form is called the Vehicle Resale Notification, and the DMV's list of online services files it under Report Vehicle Sale. The DMV describes it with the line "Notify the DMV and receive your registration fee credit for your next vehicle." On its plate page it adds that you submit it "to show you no longer own the vehicle and protect yourself from future liability."
Who can file it online
The DMV's resale notification page has two options:
- An individual. You must have a Nevada driver's license, and the vehicle must be registered in Nevada.
- A business. The business must have a FEIN, and the vehicle must be registered in Nevada.
Before any of this, the sale itself has to be valid: if the title isn't in your name, read selling a car that isn't in your name first. Vehicles registered with the Motor Carrier Division are not eligible on that page. The DMV lists (775) 684-4711 for them.
If you have an out-of-state license, or the car was not registered in Nevada, the online form is not open to you. The page's contact block gives these DMV numbers: Las Vegas area (702) 486-8696, Reno, Sparks and Carson City (775) 684-4850, and rural toll-free (800) 344-0483.
When to file: within five days
The DMV page says the information "should be submitted within five days after the sale." The statute behind it, NRS 482.400, says the person transferring a title may submit a notice of the transfer electronically within five days.
The simplest plan is to file the same day, while the buyer's details and the sale date are in front of you.
If you missed the window, the DMV's page does not give a late penalty or say the form stops working. It is written for a recent sale, so file as soon as you can, keep proof of the sale date, and call the DMV if the online form will not take it.
Why it matters
The DMV says it will provide this information "to vehicle wreckers, tow car operators, or other interested parties upon request." That is the reason the notice matters if a car you sold ends up somewhere it should not be.
Nevada law has a specific rule about it. Under NRS 706.4477, when a vehicle is towed at the request of someone other than its owner, such as a property owner, the owner of the vehicle is presumed to have left it there and to be responsible for the cost of removal and storage. The DMV's resale page repeats this: the registered owner is presumed solely responsible if the vehicle is abandoned.
The statute also says how to rebut that presumption. You can show that you transferred your interest in the vehicle under NRS 482.399 to 482.420, or with a bill of sale for the vehicle that you signed. That is why a signed bill of sale and a filed notice are worth the few minutes.
Cancel the registration, then the insurance
Under NRS 482.399, a registration expires when the owner transfers ownership of the vehicle. The DMV's plate and cancellation page explains how to cancel through MyDMV and says you can complete the resale notification during the cancellation or file it separately.
Two details from the DMV:
- Cancel the registration first. The resale page says "You must cancel your Nevada registration before you cancel your insurance." The DMV's salvage page adds that if it sees an active plate with no insurance, it will mail you a fine starting at $250.
- You get a credit for unused fees. The DMV says the unused portion of your registration fees comes back as a credit you can put toward another vehicle in your name, and the credit expires on the original registration's expiration date.
Your plates stay with you
The DMV's resale page says the license plates "do not stay with the vehicle." It also says to take the plates and surrender them to the DMV yourself "even if a dealer offers to do this for you."
On timing, the DMV's page says NRS 482.399 requires you to keep your plates and either use them on another vehicle or turn them in for cancellation within 30 days of the sale. The statute text itself, in subsection 7, uses a 60-day outer limit. Follow the DMV's shorter 30 days and you meet both.
A cash refund of fees is allowed only in limited cases under NRS 482.399: you must ask at the time you cancel and surrender the plates, be a Nevada resident, have more than $100 to get back, and show extenuating circumstances. Otherwise you receive the credit.
What to keep
Keep these until you are sure the sale is fully settled:
- A photo of the signed title before you hand it over.
- Your copy of the bill of sale. The VP-104 has no notary line, but the signatures must be originals.
- The resale notification confirmation once you submit it.
- The buyer's name, the date and the odometer reading from the day of the sale.
If you sell to a car buyer
A business buyer changes who does the title work, not what you owe the DMV. When you sell to us, we handle the title transfer at no cost, the tow is free, you pick a pickup time from the windows offered when you accept, and you are paid at pickup. We buy only cars you fully own.
You still file your own resale notification and handle your own plates. After pickup we email you a confirmation of the sale that you can use as proof of the sale for your DMV notice. Our cash for junk cars Las Vegas quote takes about two minutes.
Common questions
- What is the Nevada vehicle resale notification?
- It is the online notice the Nevada DMV asks sellers to submit after selling a vehicle. The DMV's page says to use it to report when you recently sold your motor vehicle, and that the information should be submitted within five days after the sale.
- Is it the same as a release of liability in Nevada?
- Other states use the phrase release of liability, and people search it that way. Nevada's DMV calls the form the Vehicle Resale Notification, and lists it under Report Vehicle Sale. It does the same job: it puts the sale on the DMV's record.
- How long do I have to file the Nevada resale notification?
- The DMV says the information should be submitted within five days after the sale. NRS 482.400 gives the person transferring a title five days to submit a notice of the transfer electronically.
- Where do I file it?
- On the DMV's online Vehicle Resale Notification page. An individual selects the individual option and a business selects the business option.
- Who can file the resale notification online?
- The DMV says an individual must have a Nevada driver's license and a business must have a FEIN, and in both cases the vehicle must be registered in Nevada. Vehicles registered with the Motor Carrier Division are not eligible online; the DMV page lists (775) 684-4711 for them.
- Do I still need to file if I sold the car to a business?
- Yes, the notice is for any sale of your vehicle. If a dealer offers to handle your plates, the DMV says to take the plates and surrender them yourself. If you traded the car in while buying from a Nevada dealer, the DMV says not to use its registration cancellation transaction and points to its dealer-sale information.
- What if my sold car is towed after I sell it?
- Under NRS 706.4477, when a vehicle is towed at the request of someone other than its owner, the owner is presumed to be responsible for the cost of removal and storage. You can rebut that by showing you transferred your interest under NRS 482.399 to 482.420, or with a bill of sale you signed.
- When you sell a car in Nevada, do you keep the plates?
- Yes. The DMV's resale page says the license plates do not stay with the vehicle. Take them off, then use them on another vehicle or surrender them for cancellation.
- Do I need an appointment to surrender plates in Nevada?
- The DMV's plate and cancellation page says no appointment is necessary for in-person cancellation. You can also cancel online through MyDMV.
- What if I missed the five-day window?
- The DMV's page does not give a late penalty or say the form stops working after five days. File as soon as you can, keep proof of the sale date, and call the DMV if the online form will not accept it.
