Selling a Car in Colorado
To sell your car in Colorado, you’ll need to complete an emissions inspection in some areas, sign the title, and keep the license plates.
Written by Jason Tushinski
Reviewed by Carrie Adkins
Table of Contents
- What you need to sell a car in Colorado
- Getting a pre-sale inspection
- Documenting the sale
- Signing the title over
- Reporting the sale
- FAQs
Load full table of contents
If you want to sell your car in
Colorado
, you’ll need to provide the Colorado Certificate of Title and fill out a bill of sale. Sellers in some areas may also need to get an emissions inspection
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What you need to sell a car in Colorado
To sell your car privately in Colorado, you’ll need to gather some important forms and information. Make sure you have all of the following:
- Colorado Certificate of Title (if you don’t have one, fill outform DR 2539Aand pay $8.20 for a duplicate)
- Your signature
- Buyer’s signature
- Emissions inspection certificate insome areas
- Valid odometer reading for cars less than 10 years old
If there is a
lien
on your title, you will need to pay the loan in full before selling your vehicle. You can either pay the loan yourself, have the buyer pay it on your behalf, or use an escrow service to complete the transaction. If you’re selling a car with a rebuilt title, make sure you complete a
Rebuilt From Salvage Disclosure
form. Getting a pre-sale inspection
If your buyer lives in Boulder, Broomfield, Denver, Douglas, and Jefferson counties, you’ll need to complete an emissions test before you can sell the vehicle. Portions of Adams, Arapahoe, Larimer, and Weld counties also require emissions inspections. For more information on where to get an inspection,
check the Colorado DMV website
. The seller is responsible for the emissions test. Depending on the age of your vehicle, the test will cost from $15 to $25.
Documenting the sale
You will need to complete a bill of sale to document the car’s sale. Be sure to include the following information:
- Full name of seller and buyer
- Address of seller and buyer
- Phone number of seller and buyer
- Driver’s license number of seller and buyer
- The car’s make, model, and year
- The car’s vehicle identification number (VIN)
- Color of the car
- Odometer readout at time of sale
- Date of sale
- Signatures of seller and buyer
Signing the title over
To
transfer a Colorado car title
, both you and the buyer will need to fill out and sign the Colorado Certificate of Title. This legally certifies the buyer’s ownership of the car and releases you from liability. Both parties should print and sign their names and include the purchase price and date. If there is more than one owner listed on the front of the title, every owner needs to print and sign their name on the back of the document.
Once you’ve filled out the title, the buyer will keep it—but you’ll remove and keep the car’s license plates. The buyer will get a new set of plates when they
register the vehicle in Colorado
.Reporting the sale
Once you’ve completed the sale, you have the option to report the transfer of ownership to the DMV within 5 days. Report the transfer online using the
Report Release of Liabilit
y option or go to your local DMV office. Be ready to provide your license number and the vehicle identification number (VIN) or the verification code from your registration receipt. Reporting the sale is optional in Colorado, but it’s an easy way to shield yourself from any liability for the buyer’s actions after they drive away. Failure to report the transfer of ownership could result in an unexpected hike in your insurance rate if the new owner commits a violation while driving your old vehicle.
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FAQs
How do I know how much my car is worth?
Your car’s value depends on your vehicle’s make, model, year, and condition. Resources like
Edmunds
and Kelley Blue Book
are a good place to start when deciding how much to charge your buyer.
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