West Virginia Motor Vehicle Power of Attorney Form

West Virginia Vehicle Power of Attorney Basics

A vehicle power of attorney involves two people, the owner who is called the principal and the person the owner chooses, who is the agent or attorney-in-fact. Owners often cannot handle a vehicle matter in person, for example when they are out of town. Naming someone you trust to run vehicle deals on your behalf solves that.

Once you complete and certify the power of attorney form correctly, the designated agent will have the required authority to proceed to action.

Form DMV-9-TR, the PDF this page hands out, collects:

• The owner's name, address and phone number
• The vehicle's year, make, body style and identification, hull or serial number
• The agent's name, address and phone number
• The signing date and the owner's signature

West Virginia Vehicle POA Essentials

Here is what to know before you fill in the form. In West Virginia, powers of attorney are governed by the Uniform Power of Attorney Act in Chapter 39B of the state Code, and the signing rules are in § 39B-1-105. That act does not apply to a power created on a form a government agency prescribes for a governmental purpose (§ 39B-1-103(4)), such as the DMV’s Form DMV-9-TR.^[1] Below are mandatory essentials that one should consider when generating the form.

• A vehicle POA form grants powers regarding transport property and its management only.
• Unless you provide any instructions, the document becomes durable. The only legal reasons for withdrawing the record is sound revocation by the owner or their death.
• Form DMV-9-TR names a single agent, with no line for a co-agent or a successor.^[2]
• The DMV’s Form DMV-9-TR has no notary section. The owner signs and dates the form under its IN WITNESS THEREOF line.^[2]
• The FormsPal template from Create My Document is not a government form, so the act applies to it. Under § 39B-1-105, a power of attorney must be signed by the principal and acknowledged by the principal before a notary public or another individual authorized by law to take acknowledgments.^[3]

West Virginia Motor Vehicle Power of Attorney Form Details

The table below lists the basics of Form DMV-9-TR, the PDF this page hands out, including the document name, the state form name and the time it takes to fill out. The table also covers the number of fillable fields, the file format and a link to the West Virginia Division of Motor Vehicles (DMV).

How to Fill Out the West Virginia Motor Vehicle Power of Attorney Form

The steps below follow the West Virginia DMV’s Form DMV-9-TR, Limited/Restricted Power of Attorney (Rev. 10/22), the official form this page hands out, in the same order as the sections on the form.^[2] Keep the owner's contact details, the vehicle's identification number and the agent's details nearby before you start.

The screenshots under each step show Form DMV-9-TR, the official West Virginia form, filled with sample entries in blue, so you can see where each answer goes. The names, addresses, dates and numbers are examples only.

1. Owner's name, address and phone number. After “I,” type the full name of the buyer, seller or legal owner, then the street address after “of”. On the next line, enter the owner's city, state, ZIP code and phone number.

   

2. Motor Vehicle, Trailer, or Boat Information. Enter the vehicle identification, hull or serial number, the make, the year built and the body style. Use the vehicle identification number for a car or trailer and the hull serial number for a boat.

   

3. Appointed agent. After “do hereby authorize and appoint”, type the appointed agent's name. Then enter the agent's street address, city, state and ZIP code, and the agent's phone number on the line before “as my agent”.

   

4. Signature of owner and date. The paragraph that grants your agent authority is printed on the form. In the closing sentence, fill in the day, the month and the last digits of the year. Then the owner signs on the (X) line and enters the date beside it.

   

How to Sign and Use the West Virginia Motor Vehicle Power of Attorney

After you fill in the form, three steps remain: checking the entries, signing and keeping copies of the finished form. The steps below take you through each one in order.

1. Check the entries
   Read the finished form carefully once and look for any blank fields or typographical errors.
2. Sign the form
   The owner signs on the (X) line and dates the form. Form DMV-9-TR has no notary section.^[2] If you use the FormsPal template from Create My Document instead, it must be signed by the principal and acknowledged by the principal before a notary public or another individual authorized by law to take acknowledgments.^[3]
3. Keep copies
   Keep a signed copy of the finished form for your personal records and provide your agent with an additional copy.

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Frequently Asked Questions

What is a West Virginia vehicle power of attorney used for?

It lets an owner name a trusted person to handle vehicle matters, such as registration, title paperwork and a sale, when the owner cannot do it in person. The person the owner names is the agent.

What information do I need before I start?

Have the owner's name, address and phone number ready, along with the vehicle's year, make, body style and identification, hull or serial number. You also need the agent's name, address and phone number.

Can I fill out the form online?

You can fill out the FormsPal template online. Select Create My Document at the top of this page and answer a few questions. When you finish, download Adobe PDF files of the finished template. The template is a different document from Form DMV-9-TR, and it must be acknowledged before a notary public or another individual authorized by law to take acknowledgments.^[3]

Can I fill in the downloaded PDF on my computer?

Yes. Open the PDF in Adobe Acrobat or another PDF reader and type into the fields, or use the FormsPal PDF editor to fill in, edit and sign it.

Where can I find other West Virginia power of attorney forms?

Our guide lists the other West Virginia POA documents you can fill out.

General information, not legal or tax advice.

Sources

1. W. Va. Code § 39B-1-103. Accessed October 15, 2026.
2. West Virginia DMV Form DMV-9-TR, Limited/Restricted Power of Attorney (Rev. 10/22). Accessed October 15, 2026.
3. W. Va. Code § 39B-1-105. Accessed October 15, 2026.

Mara Erlach

Writer & Attorney

Mara has been practicing estate planning and trust law in California since 2003, taking pride in helping clients of all backgrounds and asset profiles form a complete and customized estate plan. Her specialties are: estate planning, wills and trusts, trust and probate administration.