Arkansas Bill of Sale Form

Use the state form, then add what it leaves out

Form 10-313 is a state administrative form, and its footer says it may be reproduced so long as the format and language are not changed from the original. That is a good reason not to retype it into a template and call the result an Arkansas bill of sale. Download the official form for the registration paperwork.

What the state form does not do is protect either party in a private sale. It has no lien or encumbrance disclosure, no promise to deliver a clean title, no statement of when possession and risk pass, no known-defect list, and no as-is language. Those are contract terms between buyer and seller, not registration data, and they are what this template supplies.

The structure of the official form is worth knowing before you fill anything in: vehicle identification number, buyer information or company details, dealer or seller name and address, purchase date, description of the vehicle purchased and of any trade-in, the odometer disclosure, and a sales-price block that takes the full sales price, subtracts the trade-in and produces the net taxable amount, followed by printed names and signatures for both sides.

Odometer disclosure is a federal requirement with a state form

The odometer statement is not Arkansas boilerplate. It is a federal transfer requirement, and it has exemptions defined by age: a vehicle manufactured in or before the 2010 model year is exempt once it is transferred at least ten years after 1 January of its model year, while a vehicle manufactured in or after the 2011 model year is exempt only once it is transferred at least twenty years after that date. In practice that means a 2011-or-newer vehicle keeps needing an odometer disclosure for two decades, where an older one did not.

The disclosure is a three-state choice, not a number. The seller states the mileage as it reads, with no tenths, and it is treated as the actual mileage unless one of two boxes is checked: that the reading exceeds the odometer's mechanical limits, or the warning that the reading is not the actual mileage. This template reproduces that three-state logic as a selector, plus an exempt option for vehicles past the age threshold, and prints the wording that matches the choice.

Getting this wrong is not a formality. The federal scheme exists to deter odometer fraud, and a false statement about mileage is the thing it is aimed at.

Sales tax, the trade-in credit and the deadlines

Arkansas taxes used-vehicle purchases in bands, and the sale price on the bill of sale is what the revenue office works from. Where the total price for the sale of a used motor vehicle, trailer or semi-trailer is less than four thousand dollars, no tax is collected. Between four thousand and nine thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine dollars a reduced state rate of three and a half per cent applies, and the standard state rate of six and a half per cent applies otherwise. Local taxes may be added on top, so confirm the total with the revenue office rather than assuming the state rate is the whole bill.

The trade-in credit is why the official form has a net taxable line. Where the buyer trades a vehicle in, the trade-in value is deducted from the full sales price and tax is calculated on the net figure. If you record a trade-in in this template, describe it properly — make, model, year and vehicle identification number — because that is what the state form asks for.

The deadlines matter as much as the tax. A buyer has sixty days from the date of purchase to register the vehicle, and a temporary tag must be issued within the first ten days after purchase. Late registration attracts a penalty of ten per cent of the sales tax due, plus a further charge for each ten-day period the vehicle remains unregistered. That is why the date of sale on the bill of sale should be the real date.

Title, liens, condition and what "as is" actually means

The single biggest risk in a private vehicle sale is a lien nobody mentioned. This template makes lien status an explicit choice — no lien, a lien that has been satisfied with a release available, or a lien still outstanding to be paid from the proceeds — and records the lienholder and the arrangements where one exists. A buyer who takes a signed title with an unreleased lien on it has bought a problem the bill of sale should have surfaced.

Title delivery is the matching promise. The seller undertakes to sign the certificate of title over to the buyer and deliver it, along with any lien release, at or before the handover, and confirms they have the authority to sell. Registration in the buyer's name and the taxes and fees that go with it are the buyer's responsibility from the moment of delivery.

As-is sales are normal between private individuals, and this template supports them — but honestly. The seller lists the defects they actually know about, and the as-is statement is drafted so that it disclaims implied warranties without pretending to excuse a false statement of fact. A disclaimer does not cover a seller who says the transmission is fine when they know it is not. The template also fixes the small things the source form gets wrong: it records the year, make, model, colour, vehicle identification number and title number that the source leaves out entirely, and it does not describe the seller as "his" and "him/her" in the same sentence.

Field-by-field guide

Seller and buyer details

Full names, addresses and contact details for both sides, and the capacity in which the seller sells — private individual, business or dealer.

Vehicle identification

Year, make, model, body colour, secondary colour and the vehicle identification number, matched against the title rather than the advert.

Title number and delivery

The certificate of title number, and the seller's undertaking to sign it over and deliver it with any lien release at handover.

Lien and encumbrance disclosure

No lien, a satisfied lien with a release available, or an outstanding lien to be paid from the proceeds — with the lienholder named.

Odometer disclosure

The reading with no tenths, and the three-state election: actual mileage, exceeds mechanical limits, or not the actual mileage — plus an exempt option for vehicles past the federal age threshold.

Sale price, trade-in and net taxable amount

Full sales price, any trade-in and its value, and the net figure the revenue office taxes, mirroring the calculation on the official state form.

Payment and possession

How the price is paid, whether it is paid in full at signing, and the date possession and risk of loss pass to the buyer.

Condition, known defects and as-is

The seller's list of known defects and an as-is statement disclaiming implied warranties, which does not excuse a false statement of fact.

Registration responsibility

Confirms the buyer registers the vehicle and pays the tax and fees, and records the sixty-day registration and ten-day temporary tag deadlines.

Arkansas compliance checklist

Confirm current figures and requirements with a state revenue office before relying on them for a specific sale.

• Take a bill of sale showing the required details

  Arkansas expects the current title signed by seller and buyer plus a bill of sale showing the vehicle identification number, the date of sale, the purchase amount and the signatures of both parties, together with a current personal property assessment, paid personal property tax and Arkansas-compliant insurance on the vehicle identification number.

  Arkansas DFA - do you have what you need

• Use the state's own combined form for the odometer disclosure

  Form 10-313 combines the bill of sale and the odometer disclosure, and its footer permits reproduction only if the format and language are unchanged.

  Form 10-313 - Arkansas vehicle bill of sale and odometer disclosure statement

• Check whether the odometer disclosure is still required

  A vehicle manufactured in or before the 2010 model year is exempt once transferred at least ten years after 1 January of its model year; a vehicle manufactured in or after the 2011 model year is exempt only once transferred at least twenty years after that date.

  49 CFR 580.17 - exemptions from odometer disclosure

• Register within sixty days and get a temporary tag within ten

  A buyer has sixty days from the date of purchase to register the vehicle, and a temporary tag must be issued within the first ten days. Late registration carries a penalty of ten per cent of the sales tax due plus a further charge for each ten-day period the vehicle is unregistered.

  Arkansas DFA - motor vehicle FAQs

• Apply the used-vehicle sales tax bands correctly

  Where the total price of a used motor vehicle, trailer or semi-trailer is less than four thousand dollars, no tax is collected. A reduced state rate of three and a half per cent applies from four thousand to nine thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine dollars, and the standard state rate of six and a half per cent applies otherwise. Local taxes may apply in addition.

• Record the trade-in so the net taxable amount is right

  The official form deducts the trade-in from the full sales price to produce the net taxable amount. Describe the traded vehicle by make, model, year and vehicle identification number so the credit is applied.

• Disclose liens and deliver the title

  State whether a lien exists, whether it has been satisfied and whether a release is available, and record the seller's undertaking to sign over and deliver the certificate of title. This is a contract matter the state form does not cover.

• Do not overstate what an as-is sale does

  As-is wording between private parties disclaims implied warranties, but it does not protect a seller who makes a false statement of fact about the vehicle. List known defects honestly instead of relying on the disclaimer.

How to complete this Arkansas bill of sale

1. Identify the parties and the item. Enter the seller and buyer details, then the year, make, model, colour, vehicle identification number and title number, checked against the title itself.
2. Complete the odometer election. Enter the reading with no tenths and choose actual mileage, exceeds mechanical limits, not the actual mileage, or exempt by age.
3. Set the price, trade-in and payment. Enter the full sales price, any trade-in and its value, how payment is made, and the date possession and risk pass to the buyer.
4. Disclose liens and condition. Say whether a lien exists and how it is dealt with, list known defects, and choose whether the sale is as-is or carries a limited warranty.
5. Sign, then do the state paperwork. Download the DOCX or PDF and have both parties sign. Take the signed title, the official state form and your assessment, tax and insurance documents to a revenue office within sixty days.

Frequently asked questions

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