Seller Financed Car Sale by State

A seller-financed car sale lets you sell a vehicle on a payment plan without a bank — the seller acts as the lender. This is legal in every state, but usury caps, lien recording requirements, and contract terms vary significantly. Select your state below.

Featured States

California Texas Florida New York Ohio

Find Your State

What Every Seller Financed Car Sale Page Covers

Maximum interest rate (usury cap) for private installment sales
How to handle the title — retain it or record a lien
How to record the seller as lienholder with the state
What the installment contract must include
Seller protections and buyer warnings

Trusted by private vehicle sellers nationwide

45% faster sale

Vehicles whose listings include a history report spend ~45% less time on site before selling, and report-viewers are 5x more likely to become a lead.

Source: Experian / AutoCheck

$4,000 avg loss

NHTSA estimates 450,000+ vehicles per year are sold with rolled-back odometers — the average victim loses about $4,000 in downstream repair costs.

Source: NHTSA

17.5M private sales/yr

About 17.5 million private-party vehicle transactions happen in the U.S. each year — roughly 47% of the used market.

Source: Cox Automotive 2024

1 in 3 buyers

Roughly 1 in 3 used-car buyers say they suspect private sellers are hiding mechanical problems — documentation closes that trust gap.

Source: JW Surety Bonds (n=3,000)

$60–$85 mobile notary

Mobile notary visit minimums run $60–$85 — higher on weekends, plus per-mile travel fees. State-formatted documents skip the trip.

Source: Thumbtack / NNA