This section requires vehicle transfer notices to be submitted and recorded, and limits title issuance until the purchaser applies for title.
Sec. 501.147. VEHICLE TRANSFER NOTIFICATION. (a) On receipt of a written notice of transfer from the seller of a motor vehicle or a dealer who holds a general distinguishing number issued under Chapter 503, the department shall indicate the transfer on the motor vehicle records maintained by the department. As an alternative to a written notice of transfer, the department shall establish procedures that permit the seller of a motor vehicle or a dealer who holds a general distinguishing number issued under Chapter 503 to electronically submit a notice of transfer to the department through the department's Internet website. A notice of transfer provided through the department's Internet website is not required to bear the signature of the seller or include the date of signing. (a-1) On the sale or transfer of a motor vehicle to a dealer who holds a general distinguishing number issued under Chapter 503, the dealer shall submit the notice of transfer under Subsection (a). (b) The notice of transfer shall be provided by the department and must include a place for the seller to state: (1) a complete description of the vehicle as prescribed by the department; (2) the full name, address, and telephone number of the seller; (3) the full name, address, and telephone number of the purchaser; (4) the date the seller delivered possession of the vehicle to the purchaser; (5) the signature of the seller; and (6) the date the seller signed the form. (c) This subsection applies only if the department receives notice under Subsection (a) that includes the full name, address, and telephone number of the purchaser before the 30th day after the date the seller delivered possession of the vehicle to the purchaser or in accordance with Section 152.069, Tax Code. After the date of the transfer of the vehicle shown on the records of the department, the purchaser of the vehicle shown on the records is rebuttably presumed to be: (1) the owner of the vehicle; and (2) subject to civil and criminal liability arising out of the use, operation, or abandonment of the vehicle, to the extent that ownership of the vehicle subjects the owner of the vehicle to criminal or civil liability under another provision of law. (d) The department may adopt rules to implement this section. (e) This section does not impose or establish civil or criminal liability on the owner of a motor vehicle who transfers ownership of the vehicle but does not disclose the transfer to the department. (f) The department may not issue a title or register the vehicle until the purchaser applies for a title to the county assessor-collector as provided by this chapter. (g) A transferor who files the appropriate form with the department as provided by, and in accordance with, this section, whether that form is a part of a title or a form otherwise promulgated by the department to comply with the terms of this section, has no vicarious civil or criminal liability arising out of the use, operation, or abandonment of the vehicle by another person. Proof by the transferor that the transferor filed a form under this section is a complete defense to an action brought against the transferor for an act or omission, civil or criminal, arising out of the use, operation, or abandonment of the vehicle by another person after the transferor filed the form. A copy of the form filed under this section is proof of the filing of the form. Transferred, redesignated and amended from Transportation Code, Section 520.023 by Acts 2011, 82nd Leg., R.S., Ch. 1296 (H.B. 2357), Sec. 61, eff. January 1, 2012. Amended by: Acts 2023, 88th Leg., R.S., Ch. 529 (H.B. 3288), Sec. 1, eff. September 1, 2023. Acts 2023, 88th Leg., R.S., Ch. 668 (H.B. 718), Sec. 7, eff. July 1, 2025.