Selling a car in San Diego County: the papers, line by line
To sell a car in San Diego County you sign the California title over to the buyer, add the odometer reading when the car needs one, get a smog certificate when one is required, and report the sale to the DMV within 5 calendar days. A bill of sale on REG 135 records the price. If the title is lost, a REG 227 takes its place. The buyer then has 10 days to file the transfer and pay the fees. Below: each form in the DMV's words, the county's DMV offices, and a checklist.
Sources re-checked .
Short answer
Sign line 1 of the California title and print your name by hand in ink, enter the odometer reading if the car is a 2011 or newer model, give the buyer a smog report unless the car is exempt, fill in a REG 135 bill of sale, and file the release of liability within 5 calendar days. The buyer files the transfer within 10 days.
DMV: How to Change Vehicle Ownership (HTVR 32); DMV standard title transfer checklist
Your lines on the California title
Your part of a California Certificate of Title is line 1, where each registered owner signs to release interest. The DMV's registration manual lets the word between the names decide who signs: owners joined by AND, or by a slash, each sign; owners joined by OR, or AND/OR, need one signature. A lender still on the title releases on line 2 or on a separate REG 166.
On the odometer statement, print your name as well as signing it. The manual says: "The printed name and signature of an individual buyer or seller must be completed by hand in ink." A power of attorney signature is not accepted for the odometer statement, and a photocopy of the disclosure is not accepted either.
The title also takes the odometer reading, each new owner's name, address and driver's license or ID number, and the price, or Gift or Trade with a value on a REG 256. A title error is explained on a REG 101, and a wrong odometer figure also needs a REG 262 signed by both of you. Your side is done when the buyer holds every required document and the DMV has your release of liability.
Source: DMV Registration Manual 11.015, basic transfer requirements; DMV Registration Manual 5.025, odometer disclosure; DMV: How to Change Vehicle Ownership (HTVR 32).
No title in hand, or no room on it: REG 227 and REG 262
When the title is lost, stolen or damaged, use REG 227, the Application for Replacement or Transfer of Title: the seller completes Sections 1 to 4 and the new owner Sections 6 and 7. A replacement cancels the original title.
An address that differs from the DMV's record means filing in person with your registration card or renewal notice and your license or ID. A title replaced within the last 90 days needs a CHP vehicle verification. Only a lienholder's release in Section 5 is notarized. On a car 2 model years old or less with a lienholder, a REG 227 cannot be used at all; the replacement title has to come through the lender.
REG 262, the Vehicle/Vessel Transfer and Reassignment form, cannot be downloaded. The DMV's title page says to call 1-800-777-0133 to have one mailed; its checklist says to request it by mail or in person. You need it when the car is resold on the same title, when the title has no space for the mileage, or when odometer disclosure is required and the transfer runs on a REG 227, which has no odometer box.
Source: DMV REG 227 (REV. 9/2024); DMV: Title Transfers and Changes; DMV: How to Change Vehicle Ownership (HTVR 32); DMV standard title transfer checklist.
The REG 135 bill of sale and what it records
The DMV's standard transfer checklist names the Bill of Sale, REG 135, as the record of the price and the date. The form lists the vehicle's identification number, year, make and plate, the seller and buyer, the sale date and the price, or a gift's value and the relationship. The seller signs under penalty of perjury.
The registration manual says "any bill of sale that identifies the vehicle/vessel is acceptable," with no notary or witness.
REG 135 has two matching halves, and the lower one is marked to cut off and save. Give the buyer one and keep yours with the release of liability confirmation. Never mail it with a paper REG 138: the DMV disregards attachments to that form.
Source: DMV REG 135 bill of sale; DMV Registration Manual 1, bill of sale; DMV standard title transfer checklist; DMV: How to Change Vehicle Ownership (HTVR 32).
Odometer, smog certificate and the 5-day notice
Not every DMV page prints the current mileage rule; the standard checklist still says vehicles under 10 years old. The federal exemption in 49 CFR 580.17 turns on model year: "A vehicle manufactured in or before the 2010 model year" is exempt, while a 2011 or newer model is covered until 20 years after January 1 of its model year. For a 2026 sale, every 2011 or newer car needs the reading.
The smog certificate is the seller's to get. BAR says it is valid for 90 days, and gasoline, hybrid and alternative-fuel cars four model years old and newer skip the test for a sale, with a smog transfer fee paid instead. A passing certificate goes to the DMV electronically; BAR tells you to give the buyer a copy of the inspection report. The smog check guide covers the exemptions.
Within 5 calendar days, send the Notice of Transfer and Release of Liability online or on a mailed REG 138, and save the confirmation. It is not the transfer itself; the release of liability page explains what it covers.
Source: eCFR 49 CFR 580.17; DMV standard title transfer checklist; BAR: Smog Check; DMV: Notice of Transfer and Release of Liability.
What the buyer files at the DMV, and by when
The DMV says all transfer fees are the buyer's and are due within 10 days of the sale. As of November 8, 2026, the DMV's fee table lists the transfer fee at $15, plus a $15 penalty when payment comes more than 30 days after the sale. Its checklist puts transfer fees at typically $15 to $28, and registration fees are added if the registration has expired or nearly has.
Use tax is charged on the price at the rate for the new owner's city and county, not yours, so put the real price on the title and the bill of sale. The guide to where to sell covers what a buyer pays.
The buyer takes the signed title and any REG 227 or REG 262 to a DMV office, or mails them with the fees to DMV, PO Box 942869, Sacramento, CA 94269. The checklist says the new title usually arrives by mail within 30 to 60 days.
Source: DMV: How to Change Vehicle Ownership (HTVR 32); DMV standard title transfer checklist; DMV: Title Transfers and Changes; DMV: Registration Fees.
DMV offices in San Diego County and near Temecula
Eight DMV field offices in San Diego County list title transfers among their services:
- Central San Diego: San Diego, 3960 Normal Street. San Diego Clairemont, 4375 Derrick Drive, has been closed since 5 p.m. on November 3, 2026, "until further notice due to damage from a water leak," and the DMV is sending its customers to Normal Street, Chula Vista, Poway and El Cajon.
- North County: Oceanside, 4005 Plaza Drive; San Marcos, 590 Rancheros Dr (92069); Poway, 13461 Community Road.
- East County: El Cajon, 1450 Graves Avenue.
- South Bay: Chula Vista, 30 N Glover Avenue; San Ysidro, 6111 Business Center Court, San Diego 92154.
- Southwest Riverside County: Temecula, 27851 Diaz Road, lists title transfers. Murrieta Express, 27890 Clinton Keith Road, Suite F, lists duplicate titles but not transfers.
The San Marcos IBC (same street number, ZIP 92078) and the Rancho San Diego IBC on Hilton Head Rd in El Cajon serve industry customers, not private sellers. Kiosk services vary by location; the kiosk at Ralphs, 101 G St. San Diego, lists renewals, stickers and records but no title transfer or release of liability. DMV partners are private businesses that may add fees.
Source: DMV San Diego (Normal Street); DMV San Diego Clairemont; DMV news release, Nov. 3, 2026; DMV Oceanside; DMV San Marcos; DMV Poway; DMV El Cajon; DMV Chula Vista; DMV San Ysidro; DMV Temecula; DMV Murrieta Express; DMV Service Centers; DMV kiosk, Ralphs G St..
A San Diego County sale in seven steps
- Find the title, or fill in a REG 227. On a car 2 model years old or less with a lender, the replacement comes through the lender.
- Get the smog test unless the car is exempt, and keep a copy of the inspection report for the buyer.
- With the buyer there, complete line 1, the odometer reading and your printed name in ink.
- Fill in both halves of a REG 135 and keep the cut-off half.
- Hand over the title, the inspection report copy and the bill of sale. Ordinary plates remain with the car, while any personalized, special interest or disabled person plates leave with you.
- File the release of liability online within 5 calendar days.
- The buyer has 10 days to pay the transfer fees.
When the papers are the sticking point, such as a title nobody can find or a co-owner who cannot sign, send a request on the request page that spells out what the title shows, and a person from Sell My Car SoCali calls back. You can also call (657) 699-0008.
Source: DMV: How to Change Vehicle Ownership (HTVR 32); DMV: Title Transfers and Changes; DMV: Notice of Transfer and Release of Liability; BAR: Smog Check.
Two paperwork questions from San Diego County sellers
Does a bill of sale for a San Diego private sale need a notary?
No. The DMV registration manual says a bill of sale does not need to be notarized or witnessed, and any bill of sale that identifies the vehicle is acceptable. Where a notary does come in is the REG 227: a lienholder's release in Section 5 must be notarized and registered owners sign without one.
Can I finish a title transfer at the Murrieta DMV office?
Not according to its own page. The Murrieta Express office lists duplicate titles but no title transfers, takes only credit and debit cards, and does not take appointments. The Temecula field office on Diaz Road lists title transfers among its services, and the buyer can also mail the paperwork to the DMV in Sacramento.
Before the buyer drives away
A title with a problem has its own page: lost titles, lenders and co-owners. Once the car is gone, the after-the-sale checklist covers plates, insurance and toll accounts. To talk about a car you want to sell, call (657) 699-0008.
More on selling a car in San Diego
- Smog checkWho gets the smog test when you sell a car in San Diego County, how long the 90-day pass lasts, which sales skip it, and what to do with a car that failed.
- Release of liabilityThe 5-day NRL or REG 138 a San Diego County seller files with the DMV: what it covers, what to keep, and how to answer a later ticket, tow or toll notice.
- Junk carHow to junk or sell a dead car in San Diego County: DMV junk status, the City's 72-hour and 4-hour street limits, and county yard rules.
- Title problemsLost pink slip, a loan still on it, an owner who died, or two names joined by AND: the California forms that clear each title problem before a San Diego sale.
- Any conditionSelling a car in San Diego County that will not start, flooded, burned, lost its catalytic converter or shows high miles: what to disclose, smog, and where it can wait.
- Areas servedEvery San Diego County city and community, plus Perris to Temecula, with the DMV office, the agency that releases a towed car and the buyer's tax rate for each.