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A Texas trailer bill of sale is a signed receipt for a trailer. Per TxDMV Form 130-U guidance, the record shows the seller's name and address, sale date and VIN. The document serves private sellers and buyers, especially of untitled or homemade trailers.
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A written record of the sale is what the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles (TxDMV) asks a party to keep, and the bill of sale is that record (TxDMV Form 130-U).
Keep a written record that includes the name and address of the seller, date of sale and vehicle information, including the VIN.
The bill of sale protects both sides after the trailer changes hands. The seller has proof of the date the trailer left their ownership. The buyer has proof of the price paid and of the trailer described by its VIN.
A Texas trailer bill of sale includes the parties, the trailer and the deal: who sold it, who bought it, which trailer it is, when it was sold and for how much. The written record TxDMV asks for holds three items (TxDMV Form 130-U):
The sales price clearly shown belongs to the title application, not to that written record. When the trailer is titled in Texas, TxDMV names the signed Application for Texas Title and/or Registration (Form 130-U) with the sales price clearly shown (TxDMV Form 130-U).
The bill of sale form also records the buyer's details, the trailer's make, model, year and color, the price, how the price is paid (cash, check, cashier's check or money order) and whether taxes are included in the price.
The form has four pages and 57 fillable fields. The first two pages cover the seller, the buyer, the trailer, the date, the price and how it is paid, and taxes. The last pages have signatures, two witness lines and an acknowledgment for a notary public.
| Document Name | Texas Trailer Bill of Sale Form |
| Other Name | Texas Utility Trailer Bill of Sale |
| Relevant Link | Texas Department of Motor Vehicles |
| Title Application | TxDMV Form 130-U |
| Avg. Time to Fill Out | 8 minutes |
| # of Fillable Fields | 57 |
| Available Formats | Adobe PDF and Microsoft Word |
A bill of sale for a trailer without a title is the main record of the sale, because no title passes from the seller to the buyer. The document then carries the whole description of the trailer, so the buyer can show what was bought, from whom and when.
A trailer with no title still has an identity on paper. The bill of sale lists the make, model, year, color and VIN. The written record TxDMV asks for holds the name and address of the seller, the date of sale and the vehicle information, including the VIN (TxDMV Form 130-U).
Titling in Texas is optional for newly assembled trailers with a gross weight of 4,000 pounds or less, according to TxDMV, Trailers. For a trailer of that kind, the bill of sale can be the only paper of the sale.
A trailer that is titled in Texas follows the title rules in the next section: the signed Form 130-U and the 30 days from the date of sale (TxDMV Form 130-U).
A bill of sale for a homemade trailer records the builder or the last owner as the seller and describes the trailer as fully as the form allows. TxDMV's optional titling rule speaks of newly assembled trailers; TxDMV decides how it applies to a given homemade trailer.
A trailer titled in Texas moves to the buyer through the Texas title the seller signs over, which the buyer files together with the signed Form 130-U, the Application for Texas Title and/or Registration (TxDMV, Buying or Selling a Vehicle). The trailer has to be titled in the buyer's name within 30 days from the date of sale (TxDMV Form 130-U).
The bill of sale and the title application work together. The bill of sale is the private record between the parties. Form 130-U is the application TxDMV acts on. Count the 30 days with our deadline calculator.
The transfer of a titled trailer follows the steps below, when the trailer is titled in Texas (TxDMV Form 130-U).
A discharge of the lien is the lienholder's release of the trailer once the loan on it is paid. Under Tex. Transp. Code § 501.115(a), when a debt or claim secured by a lien has been satisfied, the lienholder must deliver the discharge to the owner or the owner's designee within a reasonable time.
When a debt or claim secured by a lien has been satisfied, the lienholder shall, within a reasonable time not to exceed the maximum time allowed by Section 348.408 or 353.405 (b), Finance Code, as applicable, execute and deliver to the owner, or the owner’s designee, a discharge of the lien in a manner prescribed by the department.
The discharge goes with the other papers of the sale. If the trailer was bought on a loan that is now paid off, the seller hands the buyer the discharge together with the signed bill of sale.
The bill of sale is filled out in the form's own order, from the date at the top of page 1 to the taxes on page 2. Each step below names one part of the form and says what to enter there.
The screenshots under each step show the FormsPal Texas trailer bill of sale template filled with sample entries in blue, so you can see where each answer goes. The names, addresses, dates and amounts are examples only.
The bill of sale is signed on page 3 by the seller and the buyer, and page 4 holds an acknowledgment for a notary public or other officer when the parties choose to notarize the document.
The notary acknowledgment on page 4 of the form is optional: parties use it when they want a notary public to confirm who signed. The written record TxDMV asks for lists the name and address of the seller, the date of sale and the vehicle information, including the VIN, and its guidance says nothing of notarizing it (TxDMV Form 130-U).
A boat trailer is sold with the same bill of sale form as any other trailer, with its own make, model, year and VIN. The boat is a separate item, so list it on its own document and keep each record to one item.
The Texas trailer bill of sale is also known as the Texas utility trailer bill of sale, so the same form covers a utility trailer. Describe the trailer by its make, model, year, color and VIN as for any other trailer.
The papers for selling a trailer in Texas depend on whether the trailer is titled and whether it had a loan.
Each party keeps a signed original of the bill of sale when the seller and the buyer sign two copies. Keep your copy with the other papers for the trailer, such as the title application or the lien discharge.
More bill of sale forms: browse all Texas bill of sale templates, read our trailer bill of sale guide or the general bill of sale guide.
General information, not legal or tax advice.
