At a minimum, in order to sell your car privately, you will need to gather the necessary documentation, list the car for sale, manage negotiations with prospective buyers, and transfer the title to the new owner to finalize the sale. We recommend that you add cleaning the car to this list, as this can only improve your photos and help to minimize haggling. It’s also important to be aware that potential buyers may want to have the car inspected by a third party before committing to the purchase.

The state of Massachusetts does not require a bill of sale document for the proper transfer of ownership of a vehicle, but we recommend creating one anyway to protect both yourself and your car’s new owner. A bill of sale should include the car’s year, make, and model, the VIN, the date and price of the sale, your and the buyer’s legal names, and your signatures. You can find templates online or draft your own since it isn’t legally required.

Whether you’re selling your car privately, to a dealer, or through an online service like CarGurus, you will need the car’s title. If your car’s model year is 2011 or newer, you will also need to provide an odometer disclosure statement. We also recommend a bill of sale as an extra safety measure, although only the title and the odometer disclosure statement are required in Massachusetts.

Massachusetts does not require notarization of any documents in a run-of-the-mill private car sale. If you need to correct the odometer reading on your car’s title, that will require a Notarized Affidavit of Correction.

It’s important to remove your license plates before handing your car off to its new owner. Your license plates display your vehicle registration number, which is tied to you, and you don’t want to risk letting a stranger rack up tolls or worse under your name. You will need to cancel the registration with the RMV (be sure to notify your insurance provider as well). The state of Massachusetts requires that old license plates be recycled or destroyed, but you do not have to return them to an RMV location.

The Certificate of Title, commonly known as the title, is a critical piece of documentation which you will certainly need in order to sell your car. If yours is missing or damaged, you can apply for a replacement title on the RMV’s website. You will need to provide your vehicle identification number as well as your identifying information.

Sales tax is one thing you don’t have to worry about when you sell your car privately in Massachusetts. As with any purchase, the buyer is responsible for paying sales tax on their newly acquired vehicle. The Massachusetts RMV will calculate the sales tax and collect it when the buyer registers the vehicle.

With CarGurus, you can sell your car to a local dealer in four easy steps. 1. Enter your car’s details - License plate, VIN, mileage, etc. 2. Get instant offers - View the best prices from local dealers. 3. Choose the best offer - Bring it to the dealer along with your ID and supporting documents. 4. Get paid right away - The dealer will inspect your car, verify the offer, and pay you the same day.

CarGurus finds and compares offers from local dealers, showing you the best ones in your local market.

Local dealer offers are valid for seven days or after driving an additional 250 miles, whichever comes first. Offer details may vary by location.

First, enter some basic details about your car, including your license plate number or VIN, mileage, and condition. We’ll send you the best offers from local dealers. You can then compare multiple offers in one place and select the one that best meets your needs based on the offer amount and the convenience of the dealership’s location. Next steps: Drop off your car at the selected dealership, have it inspected, and get paid once the sale is complete. Available in select markets.