Is it illegal to sell a car without a title in Wisconsin?

What the statute requires of a seller

Wis. Stat. 342.15(1)(a) covers any owner transferring an interest in a vehicle. At delivery, the owner must sign the assignment and warranty of title on the certificate and make sure the title is mailed or delivered to the buyer. The seller also has to make the odometer disclosure required by 342.155 for vehicles that are not exempt.

Section 342.15(5) sets the penalty for an owner who fails to sign or deliver: a forfeiture of not more than $500. A forfeiture is a civil penalty, not a criminal charge, but it is still a legal violation.

Situations that work differently

These are the cases that work differently. For an ordinary titled car, selling it and keeping the title, or never getting around to it, leaves the buyer unable to title the car and leaves you exposed.

• Junked vehicles: the owner returns the title to WisDOT under 342.34 and sells on form MV2459. That vehicle can never be titled again.
• Vehicles with a loan: since July 30, 2012, the lender holds the title. The lien has to be released before the title can be signed over.
• Vehicles that do not need registration, such as farm tractors and implements of husbandry, are generally outside Wisconsin's titling requirement.

Why it hurts the seller too

Section 342.15(3) says that, between the parties, a transfer is not effective until the title steps are done, and an owner who has delivered the car and complied is no longer liable as owner for later damages from its operation. If you skip the title, the record still points at you.

Selling several cars a year without titling them in your own name is a separate problem. WisDOT says anyone selling more than five vehicles a year needs a dealer license, and it calls passing on titles that were never in your name title jumping.

Where sellers get caught

Most sellers who end up here did not set out to break a rule. Here are three common ways it happens, and the fix for each.

The title is somewhere in the house. The buyer is ready, the cash is out, and the seller promises to mail the title later. Under 342.15(3), the transfer is not effective between you until the title steps are done, so you are still the owner on paper while someone else drives the car. Order the replacement first and sell second.

The car was a hand-me-down that never got retitled. A parent or friend signed the title to you years ago and you never applied. You cannot pass that title along to a buyer, because the record does not show you as owner. Apply for your own title with the signed one first.

The car is headed for scrap but still has a title. If it is truly being junked, the title goes back to WisDOT under 342.34 and the buyer gets an MV2459. Once junked, WisDOT says, it can never be titled again, so do not use that route for a car someone means to drive.

Fixing it before you sell

If the car is titled to you and the title is lost, apply for a replacement online or on form MV2119. It costs $20 and WisDOT says online replacements usually arrive within 7 to 10 business days. Then sell with the new title.

If the car was never titled to you, the clean fix is to title it in your name first, then sell. Signing over a title that names someone else is what WisDOT calls title jumping, and it leaves your buyer with the same problem you have. When the earlier paperwork is gone, titling it yourself may mean a bonded title, and our $97 kit walks through that process form by form.

Sources, checked 2026-10-31: Wisconsin Statutes chapter 342 (vehicle titles) · WisDOT: Unlicensed car dealers · WisDOT: Replace your title, plates or stickers · WisDOT: Form MV2119, Replacement Title Application · WisDOT: Liens (title to lien holder) · WisDOT: Seller notification. Rules can change; confirm with WisDOT before you file.