Signing Over A Car
ORS 803.112 and ORS 803.092 — the seller tells the department within 10 days; the buyer applies within 30
The seller: notice within 10 days. The person transferring an interest in a vehicle with an Oregon title notifies the Department of Transportation of the transfer within 10 days of the date of transfer, in the form the department sets by rule. The notice is informational and does not itself assign or release anyone's interest.
The seller also releases or assigns the interest shown on the title in the way the department specifies, completes any odometer disclosure required, and gives the buyer the title certificate, if one has been issued and the seller has it, along with the release or assignment.
The buyer: an application within 30 days. The person receiving an interest in a vehicle covered by an Oregon title submits an application for title to the department within 30 days of the transfer, with the title transfer fees and an odometer disclosure. That section is in force until January 1, 2027, when a version already enacted takes its place.
Once the seller has delivered the vehicle, notified the department and assigned the title, the seller is not civilly or criminally liable under the Vehicle Code for anyone else's parking, abandoning or driving of it.
A buyer who presents the title more than 30 days after a sale pays a late presentation fee unless the delay was in good faith or beyond the buyer's control, and failing to deliver vehicle documents on a transfer is a Class D traffic violation. Transfers to dealers, transfers at death and transfers out of state follow rules not on this page. Questions about a particular sale are for a licensed Oregon attorney.
Sources for this section (5)
- ORS 803.112 — Notice of transfer of interest in vehicle
- ORS 803.092 — Application for title upon transfer of interest
- ORS 803.094 — Release or assignment of title interest
- ORS 803.117 — Effect of notice of transfer on civil and criminal liability
- ORS 803.105 — Failure to deliver documents on transfer
Legal information, not legal advice. Verified as of October 2026. Applying it to a particular situation is the work of a licensed Oregon attorney.