Oklahoma bill of sale: when you need one and what goes on it

Do you need one? It depends on your title

Since July 1, 2025, Service Oklahoma issues most titles in electronic form. A paper certificate you already hold stays valid until the car's next title transaction. Not sure which one you have? Log in to your OkCARS account; it shows whether your title is electronic or paper.

Electronic title. There's no certificate to sign over, so the state's own bill of sale, Form 718, carries the ownership. You print it, fill it in, swear to it in front of a notary and hand it to the buyer. The form is strict about when it applies: “It can ONLY be used if the current title on record is electronic.”

Paper title. The car changes hands through the assignment on the back of the certificate, which state law has you swear to before a notary. A bill of sale doesn't transfer anything here. It still matters, because the buyer has to show a licensed operator what they paid. Service Oklahoma's title checklist accepts a purchase contract, a bill of sale or Form 722-1. That last one is a sworn declaration, made by the buyer in front of a notary, that no bill of sale was ever written. Handing over a signed one at the sale spares them that.

The drive home. Your plate stays with you in Oklahoma, so the buyer usually leaves without one. The plate statute allows five calendar days from the purchase date without plates, but only if “a dated, notarized bill of sale is carried in the motor vehicle.”

Source: Service Oklahoma: Electronic Titles; Form 718, Bill of Sale of an Electronic Title (PDF); Service Oklahoma: Vehicle Titles; Form 722-1, Declaration of Vehicle Purchase Price (PDF); Oklahoma Statutes, Title 47, sections 1107 and 1112.2 (PDF).

When the notary has to watch you sign

Form 718 always needs a notary. It closes with your sworn statement that the electronic title is yours to assign, then a notary's block with a seal. Service Oklahoma's electronic-title FAQ says the move to electronic titles did not drop the notary step.

For a bill of sale you write yourself, the agency's own glossary sets the same bar. Its definition ends: “It must include price, vin, buyer info, seller info, and be notarized.”

So in Oklahoma, plan on a notary for every bill of sale. With a paper title you need one for the assignment anyway, so sign both documents at the same sitting. Bring a photo ID. Fill in the buyer's name, address and the price first, and leave the signature lines empty until the notary is watching. The private sale guide explains why a blank buyer line is a risk.

Source: Service Oklahoma: Motor Vehicle Glossary; Service Oklahoma: Electronic Titles; Form 718 (PDF).

Oklahoma vehicle bill of sale: what to write on it

Don't use Form 718 itself when your title is paper. Its fields still make a good checklist for the one you write:

• The car: year, make, model and the full VIN. Copy the VIN off the title or the dash, not from memory. On an electronic sale, Form 718 also wants the title number, its issue date and the title type.
• The buyer: full name, spelled as on their ID, and address.
• The sale: the price in dollars, the date, and a lienholder's name and address if there is one.
• You: every seller's name and address, written the way they appear on the title.
• Signatures, then the notary's block, dated.

Form 718 has no line for the odometer reading or the time you handed over the keys, but both are worth adding to yours. For a 2011 or newer car, Oklahoma requires an odometer disclosure anyway. On a paper title it's usually part of the assignment. With an electronic title, Form 718's instructions ask for the federal odometer statement, Form 729, alongside it. The paperwork guide walks through both.

Write down only what the two of you agreed. Form 718 says it's void if altered, so a mistake calls for a clean form, not a crossed-out line. Make two signed copies, or photograph the one the buyer keeps.

Source: Form 718, vehicle, buyer, sale and seller sections (PDF); Service Oklahoma: Motor Vehicle Glossary; Service Oklahoma: Vehicle Titles (odometer rule).

How it fits with the title and the pre-registration

The documents go in order at the handover. First the ownership paper: the notarized assignment on a paper title, or a notarized Form 718. Next the bill of sale, if you have a paper title. With an electronic title the 718 already records the price, though its instruction page says a car bought from an individual will also need a declaration of purchase price, so your buyer may be asked for Form 722-1 as well. Last, the plate comes off.

Then the clock starts. The pre-registration is due within two business days of the sale, and either of you can send it in. The law asks for the vehicle, the buyer's details and any state plate on it. Your bill of sale already holds the first two, so keep it in hand when you file. If you're the one who submits, the buyer gets an email asking them to confirm. Settle who files before the buyer drives away. The buyer then has two months from the purchase date to finish the full registration, and the price paperwork goes with them to the counter.

Source: Form 718, instructions (PDF); Oklahoma Statutes, Title 47, section 1112.2 (PDF); Service Oklahoma: private seller pre-registration; Service Oklahoma: Senate Bill 2035 (Mason Treat Act).

What to keep, and why it protects you

Once the car is gone, keep a copy or a clear photo of each:

• Both sides of the signed title, or your copy of the notarized Form 718.
• The signed bill of sale.
• A screenshot of the pre-registration, whichever of you filed it.
• Your plate, until it goes on your next car.

If a toll bill, a ticket or a tow notice about the car reaches you later, a dated, signed bill of sale is how you show it had already changed hands. The after-you-sell checklist and the tolls page cover the notices that tend to turn up.

There's also an optional notice of transfer, Form 773, with a $10.00 filing fee. Once it's on the state's records, the statute presumes the buyer is the owner from the transfer date, and answerable for how the car is used. The same section says skipping it doesn't make you liable by itself. If you do file, the details come straight off your bill of sale, and OkCARS or a tag agency takes it.

Source: Form 773, Notice of Transfer of Ownership (PDF); Oklahoma Statutes, Title 47, section 1107.4 (PDF).

Selling to us or to the partner buyer

A sale to a business still runs on Oklahoma's paperwork. When we buy a car ourselves, we pay by check, and the call before pickup covers which title you have and what gets signed. We cover all of Tulsa. A car with no title or no keys is still worth a call; we look at those too, and the title problems guide covers the routes to a sellable title.

When a car isn't one we buy, the partner route is Peddle's instant offer. Its sell-my-car page describes a free, no-obligation cash offer online, says Peddle arranges and covers the cost of pickup, and says “Peddle issues payment immediately by check” at pickup. The documents it lists are the title, the registration and a valid driver's license or ID.

Source: Peddle: Sell My Car.

Selling a car in Tulsa? Two ways to start

If it's a car we buy, we pay by check. If it isn't, we'll say so and point you to the partner offer. Call the Tulsa line at (539) 271-2021 or send us the car's details. Or get the partner's free instant offer online now.