How to ship a car you bought in another state

To ship a car you bought in another state, line up the title, the person who will hand over the key, and a legal way for the car to be identified on the road later. The truck is the middle step. Registration detail lives on paperwork when you buy out of state and on your state agency's site. This page is the shipment: who releases the car, what the driver should see, and what the shipping price does not include.

RideShipper is a free comparison and quote-request service. It is not a carrier, not a broker, and not a dealer. It does not transfer title, collect sales tax, or insure the car. Companies that receive a quote request may pay RideShipper. See how we make money.

What paper should exist before the truck is booked?#

You and the seller should know which of these you have. Do not invent a form number. States name their own forms, and a number copied from memory is how people bring the wrong page to the counter.

• Title. The certificate of title, in the seller's name, signed where that state says to sign. If the title is electronic, the seller's state has a process to convert or transfer it. Ask that DMV. We are not printing a form code.
• Bill of sale. Price, date, VIN, and the names of buyer and seller. Some states require it. Some do not. Keep it even if they do not. It is the story of the sale when the title is slow.
• Odometer disclosure. NHTSA's odometer-fraud page says federal law requires a written disclosure of the mileage on the title when ownership transfers. If the mileage is wrong, the law requires a statement to that effect. NHTSA says a vehicle is exempt from that written disclosure if it is 20 years old or older, or a model year 2010 vehicle or older. The state title still has boxes. Fill out what the selling state gives you. Compare the title mileage with the odometer, service records, and wear, which is the check NHTSA lists for buyers.
• Lien release. If a bank is on the title, the car is not a clean private sale until that interest is dealt with. Get the release path in writing before you pay a shipper to pick the car up.
• Photo identification of the seller, if you are there, or a clear statement of who at a dealer or a house may release the car if you are not.

If the car will leave the United States, Customs has a separate rule. CBP's page on 19 CFR 192 says a person exporting a used self-propelled vehicle must present the vehicle and the documents, including the VIN, at the port. For a vehicle exported by vessel or aircraft, the documents and the vehicle must be presented at least 72 hours before export. A domestic shipment to another state is not that process. A shipment to Hawaii, Alaska, or Puerto Rico is also not a foreign export. Those routes are on their own pages.

Who releases the car, and who meets it?#

The carrier needs a person at the pickup address who can open the car, start it or explain why it will not, and sign the condition notes. That person is often the seller. Tell the seller the pickup window is a span of days, not a clock time you can promise. A first available date is the earliest day, not an appointment.

Give the seller:

• Your name and phone, and the name of the company once a carrier is assigned
• Permission, in a short written note, to release the car to that carrier
• What not to leave in the car

You, or someone you trust, should be at delivery. If the car will sit because you are at work, say where it can be left and who signs. Storage is extra. Read storage fees before you assume the driver will wait.

Private-party pickup and a dealer lot are both common. The service page for a private sale is the quote path for a car a person is selling. A dealer may have its own shipper. If the dealer arranges transport, ask whether you are the customer of that shipper or the dealer is. You want the bill of lading either way.

What should the inspection catch?#

If you have not seen the car, the driver's pickup is your first structured look, but the driver is not your inspector. The driver records scratches, dents, and glass so the carrier is not blamed for old damage. The driver does not test the engine for a hidden knock, and does not promise the title is clean. You can ask the seller for photos and a video start before the truck is ordered. You can also hire an inspection where the car sits. That hire is separate from the shipping quote.

On pickup day the seller, or you, should:

1. Match the VIN on the dash and the door to the title and the dispatch.
2. Photograph every panel in daylight.
3. Write existing damage on the condition report before anyone signs.
4. Record the odometer.
5. Remove plates if the selling state says the seller keeps them. Confirm that with the selling state. We are not stating a universal plate rule.

At your end, walk the car before you sign delivery. New damage goes on the paper first.

What about temporary plates and registration?#

A temporary tag, an in-transit permit, or a trip permit is how some states let a car move before it is registered. The name and the office that issues it change by state. Get it from the selling state or your home state, using their current instructions. Do not buy a "temp tag" from a classified ad.

After the car is home, registration is a separate job from the truck. The day counts are not national, and a purchase deadline is not always the same as a new-resident deadline. The paperwork list is on buying a car in another state. The state-by-state clocks we checked are on registering a car after you move. If you already live in the state and only the car is new to you, use the agency's "bought a car" page, not the new-resident page.

Sales tax is also the state's. The shipping quote is not a tax quote. The out-of-state purchase calculator is a way to line up shipping with the other costs you still have to verify.

What does the shipping price cover?#

It covers a company moving the car from the seller's area to yours, on the terms in that company's contract. It does not cover the purchase price, tax, a pre-purchase inspection, or plates.

A running sedan range for a common out-of-state buy:

Say the car runs or does not, and whether a seller you have not met will release it. If the car is from an auction, use the auction guide instead of treating it as a driveway sale. If you bought it online and have not seen it, the extra point is on shipping a car bought online.

Before you pay a shipper, look up the MC or USDOT number. FMCSA says interstate auto brokers and transporters must be registered, and that a broker only arranges the move. The company check uses the federal record. RideShipper does not lock the carrier's price.

The week between payment and pickup#

Pay the seller the way the sale requires, and keep the receipt separate from the shipping invoice. Then do a short list so the car can actually leave.

• Tell the seller the pickup is a window of days. Give them your phone and the company's phone once a carrier is assigned.
• Write a one-page release: your name, the seller's name, the VIN, and the statement that this carrier may take the car. Sign it. A driver with only a screenshot of an ad can be turned away by a careful seller, and that is the right outcome.
• Confirm the car runs, or tell the carrier the truth if it does not. A car that was "fine on the test drive" and is dead on pickup day is a different truck.
• Ask the seller to remove their plates if their state says the plates stay with them. Put that question to the selling state's site, not to the driver.
• Ask your insurer the day the policy must start. Some will not cover a car until you own it. Some will. The gap is yours to close. The carrier's cargo terms are a different document.
• If you will not inspect the car yourself, decide now whether the seller's photos are enough. The driver will not reject a car for a noisy engine. You can still refuse to load a car whose VIN does not match. Tell the seller that is the rule.

When the car reaches you, the home-state clock starts under that state's rule for a purchase, which may not match a new-resident rule. Open the right page. Bring the title, the bill of sale, the odometer disclosure, and insurance. The shipping bill of lading proves the car moved. It does not prove you own it.