Illinois vehicle bill of sale for a junk car

Step one is the title, not the bill of sale

People search for a bill of sale first, but in Illinois the title is what moves ownership. The Secretary of State’s FAQ puts it plainly: when you sell a vehicle to another person, “the Certificate of Title must be signed over on the back to the person purchasing the vehicle.” The title has to show the signed and printed names of all the sellers and all the buyers, and certify the odometer reading as actual mileage, in excess of the odometer’s mechanical limits, or not the actual mileage.

The Vehicle Code says the same thing in its own words. Under 625 ILCS 5/3-112(a), at the time you deliver the vehicle you execute an assignment and warranty of title in the space on the certificate and get it to the buyer or the Secretary of State. Under 3-112(b), the buyer then has 20 days to apply for a new title.

If the name on the title isn’t yours, stop here and read junking a car whose title isn’t in your name.

Step two: the Seller’s Report of Sale

This is the form sellers forget. The Seller’s Report of Sale (VSD 703, June 2025) opens with the instruction: “When you sell or release interest in a vehicle that is titled or registered in Illinois, you must complete this form immediately and mail it to the Secretary of State Vehicle Services Department. This will release your responsibility for the vehicle.”

It asks for the date of sale, the year, make and VIN, and both names and addresses, signed under penalties of perjury. Note the warning printed on it, too: completing the report “does not meet the legal requirements for transferring ownership.” It’s in addition to signing the title, never instead of it.

Step three: the bill of sale

A bill of sale is your receipt. When a junk car leaves your curb, it’s the paper that shows the date it stopped being yours and what you were paid. Write it the day of the sale.

What to include

This is our checklist, not an official form.

• Date of the sale
• Seller’s full name and address
• Buyer’s full name and address (a business name is fine)
• Year, make and model
• Vehicle Identification Number (VIN), copied from the car
• Odometer reading
• Sale price
• A line that the vehicle is sold as-is, with no warranty
• Signature and printed name of each seller and each buyer

Both sides keep a copy. A phone photo of the signed page counts as a copy.

When a bill of sale is the paper you already have

There’s a second kind of bill of sale in this story: the one you were handed when you bought the car. If your title is missing, that older bill of sale is worth digging out. Tell Junk Car Company you have it. Whether it’s enough for a scrap sale depends on Illinois rules, so we check it on the call. Details are on our no-title page.

After the sale

Take your plates off before the car leaves. Our guide to plates after junking covers the revocation form if they’re already gone. Then mail VSD 703, file your copy of the bill of sale, and you’re done. For the full sequence from offer to pickup, see how junking a car works in Illinois, or start with Junk Car Company’s home page.