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Sold Your Vehicle?
Release Your Liability Today.

File your California Notice of Transfer and Release of Liability (NRL) online and report the sale or transfer of your vehicle. Required within 5 calendar days after selling or transferring your vehicle.

Protect yourself after the sale or transfer

Once you report the sale, the new owner is responsible for what happens with the vehicle.

You are generally no longer responsible for:

  • Parking tickets and citations
  • Traffic violations
  • Tolls and registration fees

+ Accidents, vehicle misuse, and more

California Vehicle Code requires NRL submission within 5 calendar days of sale. Until filed, you remain liable for violations, citations, and civil claims involving the vehicle.

What you remain liable for until your Release of Liability is on file

Selling a vehicle doesn't end your legal responsibility for it — filing your Release of Liability does. Until the California DMV has it on record, you can still be held liable for:

  • Parking & traffic citations

    Citations issued after you sold the vehicle can still be billed to you until the DMV processes your release.

  • Civil liability & lawsuits

    Litigation involving the vehicle after the transfer date may still name you as the owner on DMV records.

  • Registration renewal notices

    Renewal and registration paperwork can keep arriving at your address until your NRL updates DMV records.

  • This Is Not a Title Transfer

    Important distinction

    Release of Liability · Does not transfer ownership

    Filing a Release of Liability is not the same as transferring the title. Here is what this filing does and does not do:

    • Reports the sale or transfer to the California DMV
    • Helps limit your liability for tickets, fees, and incidents after the sale date
    • Does not remove your name from the vehicle record
    • Does not transfer legal ownership to the buyer

    Only the buyer's completed title transfer removes you from the vehicle record and transfers ownership.

    Need a title transfer instead? Start the California title transfer form.

Four steps. Completed in minutes.

  1. Step 1

    Enter your vehicle information

    Your license plate or VIN. We retrieve your vehicle details from DMV records automatically where available.

  2. Step 2

    Enter sale and new owner details

    New owner's name and address, date of sale, odometer reading, and sale price.

  3. Step 3

    We submit your NRL to the California DMV

    Your filing is submitted electronically. Vehicle records are updated within 1 business day of DMV receipt.

  4. Step 4

    Receive your confirmation

    A filing confirmation is sent to your email. This confirmation serves as your legal proof of submission. Retain it for your records.

Have this information ready before you begin

  • License plate number or CF vessel number
  • Last 5 digits of the Vehicle Identification Number (VIN)
  • New owner's name and address (you may enter "unknown" if not available)
  • Odometer reading at time of sale
  • Date of sale

Tip: If your license plate returns a match in our system, your vehicle information is filled in automatically.

Understanding the scope of your liability protection

Once the California DMV receives and processes your NRL:

  • Parking violations and traffic citations issued after the reported sale date become the legal responsibility of the subsequent owner
  • Civil liability for incidents involving the vehicle after the date of transfer shifts to the subsequent owner
  • Registration renewal notices for the vehicle will no longer be issued to you

Important — read before filing:

Submitting an NRL does not constitute a transfer of ownership and does not remove your name from the vehicle record. To permanently transfer the vehicle record, the new owner must complete all applicable transfer requirements and pay the required DMV fees. Only the buyer's title transfer application can remove your name from the vehicle record.

Your liability does not end at the point of sale — it ends when the DMV has your notice on file

File your California Notice of Transfer and Release of Liability electronically. Receive a confirmation for your records and help establish your reported sale date with the DMV.

California only · Electronic filing · DMV-compliant · Confirmation provided upon submission · Processed within 1 business day

Release of Liability FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions

Common questions about filing your California Notice of Transfer and Release of Liability.