Selling a Vehicle in Illinois

Establish who can sign the title

Start with the actual ownership document and the vehicle's identification number. The person offering the car should be the owner shown on the title or have documented authority to act for that owner. An unsigned title from a previous sale does not establish a complete chain to a new purchaser. The Secretary of State's title and registration answers require the title's Assignment of Title section to identify the purchaser and contain the appropriate seller and buyer signatures.

Check the vehicle against the title before arranging payment. A mismatched character in the VIN, an omitted co-owner or a missing assignment can interfere with the buyer's application. When ownership is shared, organize the necessary signatures before the meeting. A deceased owner's vehicle, a repossession and a business dissolution require their own supporting authority; possession of the keys does not supply that authority.

If your Illinois title is missing, use the duplicate-title procedure before attempting to sell the vehicle on a promise that the purchaser can replace it. An out-of-state purchaser cannot obtain an Illinois duplicate for a vehicle bought from an Illinois owner without first having it titled in the purchaser's name. The published duplicate charge is $50, checked October 20, 2026; the original owner's application is the practical way to repair the missing-document problem.

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Arrange the loan payoff and release

A sale price and a loan balance answer different questions. Ask the lender how the payoff will be accepted and how its recorded lien will be released. The corrected-title instructions describe acceptable lien-clearance evidence, including a lienholder's release, a paid contract or qualifying court documentation. Do not remove a lender's name yourself or assume that a zero balance visible in an app has already changed the state's title record.

Electronic titles require a different handoff from paper titles kept in a drawer. Under Illinois's Electronic Lien and Title program, the lender transmits satisfaction and mailing instructions, after which a paper title is produced. Participation became mandatory July 1, 2026, for lienholders processing at least five Illinois vehicle liens annually, according to the program page checked October 20, 2026. Coordinate the release and delivery address with the lender before agreeing to an immediate title exchange.

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Complete the assignment without concealing errors

Enter the buyer's legal name, sale date and required odometer information in the designated spaces. The title assignment distinguishes actual mileage, a reading beyond the odometer's mechanical limits and a reading that does not represent actual mileage. Choose the statement that describes the vehicle, rather than selecting whichever box makes the sale easiest. Both sides should review the completed assignment before separating.

The Affirmation of Correction, VSD 393, addresses specific mistakes such as signatures in the wrong space, misspelled names, an incorrect sale date and a purchaser who never took possession. Each correction has its own signature instructions. The form explicitly cannot correct an odometer disclosure. Covering an error with correction fluid, squeezing in a substitute buyer or using the same affidavit for mileage can leave an application unprocessable.

Keep a written sale record with the parties' names, contact information, VIN, agreed consideration and date of delivery. That record supplements the assigned title. It also helps distinguish the vehicle's purchase price from loan payoff, delivery costs or another arrangement if a later question arises. Retain a legible copy of what you signed, while giving the buyer the ownership documents required for the application.

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File the seller's notice separately

Use the Seller's Report of Sale, VSD 703, when selling, transferring or releasing your interest in an Illinois titled or registered vehicle. The September 2026 form directs sellers to complete it as soon as the transfer occurs and mail it to the Secretary of State's Record Inquiry Division; those instructions were checked October 20, 2026. Enter the buyer's address and complete the certification on the second page as well as the vehicle details.

This report and the title assignment serve different purposes. The report tells the state that you disposed of the vehicle, but the form expressly says that it does not transfer ownership. The purchaser still must apply for a new title. Preserve a copy of the completed report and evidence of mailing so you can respond if a later registration, toll or enforcement inquiry concerns a vehicle you already sold.

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Remove your registration plates

Illinois plates remain with the registered owner. Under the plate-transfer instructions, selling the car does not sell its active plates to the buyer. Remove them at delivery, and keep the current registration card if you plan to request a transfer to a replacement vehicle. A buyer's promise to return the plates later leaves unnecessary uncertainty about which vehicle is displaying your registration.

An eligible transfer requires an application connecting the old and replacement vehicles. The published transfer charge is $25, or $190 when combined with the new title transaction, checked October 20, 2026. Ownership changes involving a corporation or different co-owners may require additional documents. A physical plate that fits the replacement vehicle is not proof that its registration class or ownership qualification also fits.

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Give the buyer accurate tax information

The purchaser ordinarily reports an individual-to-individual acquisition on Form RUT-50. Revenue's instructions require filing within 30 days of an Illinois acquisition, or within 30 days of bringing an out-of-state acquisition into Illinois, as checked October 20, 2026. The tax rule applies to gifts and transfers as well as cash sales. An unregistered lending institution or dealer sale may require RUT-25 instead, so identifying the actual seller matters.

For a normal private sale, the 2026 private-party tax chart uses vehicle age below the stated purchase-price threshold and price brackets above it. A gift or even trade uses fair market value when no price is stated, and this tax does not allow a trade-in deduction. The chart has specific family-transfer exceptions; a casual description such as "relative" is not enough to establish eligibility.

Do not agree to understate consideration on the buyer's paperwork. Revenue can seek supporting evidence, and its Vehicle Transaction Affidavit, RUT-49, requires both parties to certify the reported transaction. The local private-party tax reference also identifies applicable Chicago and Cook County amounts. State tax and local tax can therefore produce different totals for otherwise similar purchases at different registration addresses.

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Help complete the handoff

The purchaser can prepare an application using Electronic Registration and Title, then follow its submission instructions with the signed title, tax documentation and payment. ERT produces application documents; entering vehicle information does not itself finish the transfer. The title-application guide explains how the tax payment and Secretary of State charges are handled separately and lists information needed for leased or jointly owned vehicles.

If an emissions notice arrives after the sale, the Illinois Air Team's notice guidance directs the former owner to update Secretary of State ownership information. A sale should not be used to hide an existing emissions problem from the buyer. Provide relevant test and repair records so the buyer can check whether compliance is needed for registration in the covered area.

Finally, discuss the delivery date with your insurer and remove the vehicle from any account in which you personally enrolled it. The Secretary of State's refund instructions allow review of certain registrations renewed before a vehicle was sold, stolen or destroyed before the new registration period began; they do not promise a prorated refund whenever a car is sold. Keep the sticker, sale evidence and last-operation information if your circumstances match that specific refund category.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Does sending the seller's report put the title into my buyer's name?
VSD 703 records your disposal of the vehicle, while the buyer's title application establishes the new title record. Complete the assignment and provide the required ownership papers even when you have already mailed the report.

Can the purchaser borrow my plates for the drive home?
The plates identify your registration and are not part of the car sale. The purchaser should arrange valid registration or an authorized permit for the trip before collecting the vehicle.

What should I do if the buyer backs out after signing the assignment?
The correction form includes a purchaser-who-did-not-take-possession provision with signatures required from the seller and incorrect purchaser. Follow that provision instead of writing the next buyer's name over the first assignment.

Is the report of sale enough when my original title is lost?
A disposal notice cannot supply the missing ownership certificate. Resolve the duplicate-title application in the proper owner's name before relying on the documents for a private transfer.

How should an electronically held lien be handled at closing?
Obtain the lender's payoff and release arrangements before handing over the car. Its electronic satisfaction instructions control production and mailing of the paper ownership certificate needed for the subsequent transaction.

Could a gift to a family member still create a tax filing obligation?
Revenue requires reporting qualifying private acquisitions even when money does not change hands. The recipient must apply the specific exemption or exception for the actual relationship and transaction rather than assume that every family gift is untaxed.

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More Illinois SOS guides

The other Illinois SOS guides, 52 of them:

The records side of the same subject, state by state on SearchSystems: Illinois property records and looking up an Illinois business.