Car title notarization by state

On the official pages we opened: Arizona, Kentucky, Louisiana, Montana, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania and Wyoming. In each, the seller signs the title in front of a notary (Pennsylvania also accepts verification by an authorized PennDOT agent, and North Carolina's rule is for North Carolina titles).

Alabama, Colorado, Delaware, Florida, Hawaii, Kansas, Missouri and Utah say so on official pages (Hawaii's and Colorado's come from county motor vehicle offices; Honolulu calls notarizing optional, and Colorado's applies to current Colorado titles). Alaska, California, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Texas, Virginia and Wisconsin's private-sale steps simply leave a notary out, which the table shows as 'not in the steps'.

Rarely. Kentucky, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Washington and Wyoming ask for it in at least some cases: Pennsylvania has both sides sign in front of the agent, Ohio's electronic-title form is notarized, and Washington's buyer signs in front of a licensing agent or a notary.

It ranges from 2 business days in Wisconsin to 60 days in Kansas on the pages we read; 30 days is the most common. Late fees start after that in many states.

Usually not. In 35 of the states with a confirmed rule, the plates stay with the seller, who moves them to another car or turns them in. Minnesota assigns the plate to the new owner.

We fill in a rule only after reading it on the state's own motor vehicle agency or statute site, and many agency pages don't spell everything out. 15 jurisdictions have no confirmed rule for the seller's notary on the pages we could open, so the cell is blank rather than guessed. A notarized bill of sale is required in some situations in Hawaii, Louisiana and West Virginia.