If you have a trailer that you need to sell, you might be tempted to just sell it without documenting the sale. This is never a good idea because you want to be sure that the new owner can register the trailer and get insurance for it. No matter if you need to write a utility bill of sale or a basic printable bill of sale for a trailer, you will want to be sure that you get the right information into the document. This is proof that the trailer was sold with your knowledge and permission.

The legal proof that you have sold your trailer is key to finalizing the sales process, no matter what price you sell the trailer for. Any kind of trailer should be sold with a sales document. Even if you decide to give the trailer away for free, you need to be sure that you document the transfer of ownership properly.

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Trailer Bill of Sale Templates

What is a bill of sale for a trailer?

A trailer bill of sale template is proof that your trailer has been sold to someone else. This is important to prove so that the other person who now owns the trailer can get insurance and can register the trailer in their name. The DMV will require that you have this kind of document to be able to take care of the ownership transfer process.

If you are selling a trailer that matches a boat, you will need to indicate the information about the boat as well when you write your trailer bill of sale. Looking at a trailer bill of sale example can help you to see what you will need to do when you sell a trailer that goes with a boat. The complete range of information for both items need to be added to the document when the boat and the trailer match.

Utility Trailer Bill of Sale Examples

Why do you need a trailer bill of sale form?

There are various benefits to making a trailer sale form that documents the purchase.

  • A bill of sale is required by the DMV to register a vehicle
  • Insurance companies need a bill of sale to put insurance on a trailer
  • This document protects you from legal action being taken against you if the new owner does something wrong in the future
  • You will not be sent tickets or other kinds of legal documents to do with the trailer once the new owner has possession.

A bill of sale offers a lot of legal protection for you as the seller, and it also offers lots of legal benefits to the new owner, as well as serving as proof that they did not steal the trailer and bought it with your permission.

Trailer Bill of Sale Forms

How to write a bill of sale for a trailer

This is a fairly simple bill of sale to write unless you are going to need to document the boat that goes with the trailer. Make sure that you are fully prepared with all the information to do with a boat that goes with the trailer before you write a boat trailer sales document. This is a much more complex process when a boat is involved, and you need to be ready to write up both items when you are selling a boat trailer.

1.     Buyer and Seller Information

The buyer and seller will both need to be identified in this document by their full legal names. If there is a trust or a group of people who own the trailer, the full and correct legal name of the trust or group must be listed. Businesses might also own a boat and be selling it, and in this case, the full legal name of the business will need to be used in the bill of sale. No matter who is involved in the sale, all parties will need to be listed by full legal name to make sure that the bill of sale is valid.

Each person on the bill of sale will also need to provide a current address and contact information like an email or a phone number. These details cannot be overlooked, or your bill of sale will likely not be useful to you if there is some kind of dispute down the road.

2.     State Requirements

Trailers sales are governed by different rules in each state, so you will need to be sure that you check on the sales guidelines and the information that is available related to this kind of sale. You will want to include any legal information in the bill of sale that is required by your state’s laws. You will also need to be sure that you do not need to have an inspection done on the trailer before you sell it. You could be required to have a notary present at the time of the signing of the bill of sale as well.

The various considerations that are related to trailer sales can be more complex when the trailer is connected to a boat sale as well. Make sure that you are looking up all the rules and regulations regarding boat sales as well as trailer sales in these cases. Watercraft are often much more complex to sell and therefore require a much more detailed bill of sale. If you are not sure about the information that you are finding online, you can call your local DMV and ask for some guidance about this part of your bill of sale document.

3.     Trailer Information

The trailer will need to be identified by some variables that help to make it clear what class of trailer it is and its use. These factors also identify it correctly so that there cannot be a dispute later on about which trailer was being bought and sold. These are the basic items that you need to include in this section of your document to be sure that you have identified the trailer correctly and completely.

  • Make
  • Model
  • Year
  • Color
  • Body style, if any
  • Use
  • Empty weight
  • Condition
  • Serial number or VIN

If the trailer is a camper or a pop-up type, you will need to indicate the level of package that was used to outfit the trailer and make sure that the condition of the trailer is carefully laid out. If this trailer has been modified in any way, you will need to consider having the trailer appraised before you sell it, and the appraisal can be part of the identifying information that is added to this section of the document.

Classic trailers or trailers without a VIN or serial number should also be appraised to be sure that you have the correct value and identity established for the trailer. When you cannot use NADA to get a value for the item in question, the buyer could come back later and state that you did not charge them a fair price for the trailer in question. You want to avoid this kind of dispute, and you will have a much better means of identifying the trailer if you have this work done in advance.

4.     Terms of the Sale

When you get to this part of the document, you need to indicate the information about the terms of the sale, such as that the sale is a gift or the sales price and the way that payments are going to be made. This is the section that also tells what the relationship between the buyer and seller is if the trailer is a gift or is going to be paid off using payments.

This part of the document will need a warranty as well that states that the trailer is sold as-is. There is really no way to promise future work or care for the trailer to be done by the former owner once the trailer is sold. Only dealerships will warranty future work on a trailer, and this is not an advisable offer to make for those selling their own trailer privately.

5.     Payment Information

The way that payment is to be accepted will need to be clearly stated, and any information about payments that are going to be made needs to be included here. You will also need to state what kind of payment method is acceptable. This might be cash, money order or check, or whatever other forms of payment have been decided upon between the buyer and seller.

If the payment is going to be a trade, you will need the information about the other item that is being traded for equal value. This might be a car, another trailer, or some other item of value. You just need to be sure that you have indicated carefully and correctly what the item is and what its value is. The more detail that you have about a trade, the more useful your bill of sale will be if there is any kind of disagreement down the road with the other party involved in the sale.

6.     Date and Signature

All the parties who are involved in this agreement need to sign the bill of sale, and they need to date their signature line. Do not miss a signature, or this will invalidate the sale. If the requirements in your state necessitate having a notary public present for the signing of the bill of sale, everyone will have to wait to sign the document until the notary is present.

Notarizing this kind of form does give it added legal weight, so you can opt to have a notary present at the time of the signing of your document, even if this is not legally required where you live. There are various reasons why having a notary witness the signing of a legal document can be a great idea, and there is a benefit to the notary seal and stamp if someone should decide that they think there were issues with the sale after the fact.

The new owner will need to take a copy of this bill off sale to the DMV to get the trailer moved into their name and registered under their name. This document will also be used to get insurance in place on the trailer as needed. When a boat is involved, the process will have to be repeated for the boat as well. Make sure that you indicate somewhere in your bill of sale that this is the final step of the process so that the buyer cannot state that no one told them that this was the correct process to follow. While this is not technically required information, it can help to eliminate the chance that the buyer will argue they were unaware of this detail of the sale process.

Printable Bills of Sale for Trailer

Trailer bill of sale documents are essential in sales transactions

Having a trailer bill of sale on hand when you sell a trailer that you own is critical to making sure that the sales process goes smoothly and is done correctly. Without a trailer bill of sale, you cannot get insurance on a trailer that you buy and you cannot transfer the title into your name. The bill of sale will protect both parties from legal action being taken against them, and it offers a lot of information about the trailer in question if there is ever an issue with the identification of the trailer.

Being able to draft a correct and accurate bill of sale can be easier than you think. This guide will help you to make the right bill of sale document for any situation which includes the sale of a trailer. When a boat is involved, or the trailer is an RV-style trailer, make sure that you check on the legal information related to these kinds of sales in your state. There might be additional steps that need to be taken before you can sell your trailer in these situations.

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Tagged:Bill of saleCarContractsLegalownership transferTrading CardTrailer
TemplateLab September 30th, 2023
Ryan Duffy
Ryan Duffy