If you sell a car in Florida, state law requires you to file HSMV 82050, Notice of Sale, with a tax collector office. It removes your registration from the vehicle and helps protect you from civil liability for how the car is used after the sale. The same form can also be used as a bill of sale.
Why it matters
Until the buyer applies for a new title, the car is still yours on paper. FLHSMV warns that if the buyer never transfers the title and you didn’t file a Notice of Sale, you can still be held responsible. Filing it makes the buyer responsible for titling and registering the car before driving it.
What to fill in
HSMV 82050 is a one-page fillable PDF.
- Section 1, vehicle description: year, make, body type, model, color, title number, title issue date and VIN
- Buyer details: name(s) and address of the purchaser
- Date of sale and selling price
- Section 2, odometer disclosure: required for a motor vehicle when used as a bill of sale
- Section 3, certification: seller signs, prints their name, dates and adds their address
For a Notice of Sale only, the seller completes Sections 1 and 3; the buyer’s signature is optional. For a bill of sale, both seller and buyer complete Sections 1, 2 (when it applies) and 3.
Filing it
Submit it to your local tax collector office or license plate agency (find one). FLHSMV’s procedures say to notify the department within 30 days of the sale. Keep a copy for yourself. FLHSMV calls the form “the legal receipt” for the sale, and recommends having a bill of sale notarized.
Also on sale day
- Fill in the “Transfer of Title by Seller” section on the title (buyer’s name and address, odometer, price, date).
- Remove your license plate. It stays with you, not the car.
- Better still, complete the sale with the buyer at a motor vehicle service center.
See the full process in Florida title transfer after a private sale.