Illinois Vehicle Bill of Sale: What to Write When You Junk a Car

People search for an “Illinois vehicle bill of sale” expecting one official state form. What the Secretary of State actually cares about is the back of your title and a one-page form you mail after the sale. The bill of sale is your receipt. A good one still saves you headaches, so here’s what to put on it when the car is going to a junk buyer.

What the document should include

• Date of the sale and the date the car physically leaves
• The agreed price
• Year, make, model and color
• The full VIN, copied from the title and checked against the plate on the dash or driver’s door
• Odometer reading, or a note that the car is exempt (more on that below)
• Seller’s printed name, address and signature
• Buyer’s name or business name, address and, for a business, its Illinois license number
• Printed name and signature of the person who actually takes the car
• Which ownership paper went with it: an assigned title, an endorsed junking certificate, or something else
• A plain “sold as-is” line

That list isn’t made up. Illinois already defines a paper trail for junk-vehicle handoffs between businesses, called the uniform invoice, in 625 ILCS 5/3-117.1. It must show the business name, address and dealer license number of the party disposing of the vehicle, the acquirer’s name and address, the date, the year, make, model, color and description, the VIN, and the printed name and legible signature of both the person handing the car over and the person accepting it. That rule is written for businesses, but it’s a sensible model for a private seller.

Signing a receipt doesn’t move the title

This is the part most templates bury. In Illinois, ownership moves through the certificate of title. Section 3-112 requires the seller to “execute to the transferee an assignment and warranty of title in the space provided on the certificate” (625 ILCS 5/3-112). The Secretary of State’s FAQ adds that federal and state law require the title to show the signed and printed names of all sellers and buyers, plus the odometer certification.

So if two people are on the title, both sign. Print the buyer’s name in the assignment yourself rather than handing over a title with a blank buyer line. And if there’s no title to sign, read our guide on junking a car without a title in Illinois before you write a bill of sale and assume you’re covered.

Odometer disclosure on an old junk car

Federal rules decide when mileage must be disclosed. Under 49 CFR 580.17, vehicles from model year 2010 or earlier are exempt, and vehicles from model year 2011 on become exempt once 20 years have passed. Vehicles over 16,000 pounds gross vehicle weight rating are exempt too.

In practice, for a sale in 2026, a 2010 Impala doesn’t need a disclosure and a 2012 Malibu does. When it’s required, the title’s odometer section uses three choices: actual mileage, not the actual mileage, or in excess of the odometer’s mechanical limits. Use the same wording on the bill of sale so the two papers agree.

After the sale: four things to finish

1. Mail the Seller’s Report of Sale (VSD 703)

Illinois has a specific form for this. The current Seller’s Report of Sale, VSD 703 (June 2025 revision) says: “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, vehicle year and make, the VIN, and the names and addresses of the seller and buyer, and you sign it under penalties of perjury. Mail it to the Secretary of State, Vehicle Services Department, Record Inquiry Division, 501 S. Second St., Room 629, Springfield, IL 62756. The form itself warns that it “does not meet the legal requirements for transferring ownership,” so it goes in addition to the signed title, never instead of it.

2. Take your plates off

The Secretary of State’s plate-transfer page says it plainly: “In Illinois, license plates belong to an owner, not the vehicle,” and you can only move them to another vehicle you own (Transferring Plates). The transfer-only fee listed there is $25, filed on Form VSD 190 by mail or at a facility such as the one in Lombard. Plates left on a car that’s headed for a shredder are plates you’ll have to explain later.

3. Know where your liability ends

Section 3-112 has a useful line for sellers: an owner who has delivered possession and done their part of the transfer “is not liable as owner for any damages thereafter resulting from operation of the vehicle.” Pair that with the VSD 703 and a dated bill of sale, and you have three papers that show when the car stopped being yours.

4. Close out the Chicago extras

If the car was registered at a Chicago address, sort out the city sticker after selling the car. Pull your I-PASS transponder, garage remote and anything in the trunk. Our step-by-step for junking a car in Chicago covers the full checklist.

What the buyer has to record

A legitimate junk buyer will ask for your ID, and that isn’t nosiness. Under 625 ILCS 5/5-401.3, a scrap processor keeps acquisition records for 3 years, must obtain documentary proof of ownership, and records a private seller’s identity from at least two sources, one of them a driver’s license or State ID card. A scrap buyer who takes a car with no paperwork and no ID check is skipping steps that section requires.

A plain template you can copy

VEHICLE BILL OF SALE (ILLINOIS)

Date of sale: ____________   Price: ____________
Year: ______  Make: ____________  Model: ____________  Color: ________
VIN: _______________________________________
Odometer: __________ miles   [ ] Actual   [ ] Not actual
[ ] In excess of mechanical limits   [ ] Exempt (model year 2010 or older)

Seller (print): ___________________________________
Seller address: ___________________________________
Buyer or business (print): ________________________
Buyer address: ____________________________________
Buyer's Illinois license number (business buyers): ______________

Paper delivered: [ ] Illinois title, assigned   [ ] Junking certificate, endorsed
Condition: sold as-is.

Seller signature: _________________   Date: ________
Buyer or agent signature: _________   Date: ________
Printed name of person taking the vehicle: ______________

Make two copies so each side keeps a signed original.

When the buyer is us

Tell us on the call which papers you have: the title, a junking certificate, a registration card, an insurance card, the receipt from when you bought the car. Illinois rules decide which of those work for a scrap sale, and we confirm it before pickup. We tow the car at no charge and pay you at pickup. You can learn more about our cash for junk cars service in Chicago or request your quote here.