MVD | Odometer Disclosure Requirements

**MVD Office Hours: 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday thru Friday excluding state holidays **

Odometer Disclosure Requirements

Seller(s)'/Transferor(s)' Responsibilities

Motor vehicle owners are required to enter their vehicle's current odometer reading at the time of sale or ownership transfer on an acceptable secure transfer document, for vehicles requiring an odometer disclosure by the Federal Truth in Mileage Act. Click here to view a list of vehicles exempt from the odometer disclosure requirements. The seller/transferor should enter the word 'exempt'; only when the vehicle is exempt from the odometer disclosure requirements.

The seller/transferor must check the applicable box on the secure transfer document when the vehicle's odometer does not reflect the total actual miles the vehicle has traveled: Mileage is in excess of 99,999 on a five-digit odometer or 999,999 miles on a six-digit odometer or the vehicle's odometer does not reflect the total actual miles the vehicle has traveled, i.e. odometer broken, repaired or incorrect. When either box is checked indicating the vehicle's odometer does not reflect the total actual miles the vehicle has traveled, the title, when issued, will reflect the applicable odometer discrepancy brand/legend.

An acceptable secure transfer document is a title, secure dealer reassignment form or a secure power of attorney form. Click here for more information on when a secure dealer reassignment form can be used. See below for when a secure power of attorney form can be used.

Acceptable secure transfer documents contain the language and security features recommended by the Federal Truth in Mileage Act. These documents provide spaces for the entry of the vehicle's odometer reading by the seller/transferor and spaces for the purchaser/transferee to acknowledge the purchaser's/transferee's odometer disclosure. Boxes are also provided for the seller/transferor to check when the vehicle's odometer does not reflect the total actual miles the vehicle has traveled. Acceptable secure transfer documents are printed with security features that deter illegal reproduction and help make alterations/erasures visible to the naked eye. These documents provide a paper trail of the vehicle's odometer reading throughout the chain of ownership, and can be used, if needed, to prosecute persons involved in odometer fraud (roll-backs). Caution: Do not sign a document that has not been completed.

For non-exempt vehicles, the seller must enter the following information on the acceptable secure transfer document:

Purchaser's/transferee's full legal name and current address. If jointly purchased, each purchaser's/transferee's full legal name should be entered. An individual's full legal name is his/her complete name as it appears on his/her valid Georgia driver's license or Georgia identification card.
The date, month, day and year, the vehicle is sold or the vehicle's ownership is transferred. Caution: An altered date of sale or transfer results in a $10.00 title penalty being assessed.
The vehicle's odometer reading at the time of sale or ownership transfer. Do not include tenths of a mile. Enter 'exempt' only when an odometer disclosure is not required. Click here to view a list of exempt vehicles.
Places an 'X' in the appropriate box when the vehicle's odometer does not reflect the total actual miles the vehicle has traveled.
- The vehicle's mileage exceeds the mechanical limits of the vehicle's odometer, i.e. Mileage is in excess of 99,999 on a five-digit odometer or 999,999 miles on a six-digit odometer.
- The vehicle's odometer does not reflect the vehicle's total actual mileage. In example, odometer broken, repaired or incorrect.
- When either box is checked indicating the vehicle's odometer does not reflect the total actual miles the vehicle has traveled, the title, when issued, will reflect the applicable odometer discrepancy brand/legend.
Each seller/transferor should print his/her full legal name and sign in the spaces provided on the transfer document certifying that the information they have entered, including the odometer information, is correct. The seller/transferor should not sign a blank assignment. If jointly owned, individual owner should print and sign his/her own name. If the seller/transferor is a company, an authorized representative of the company must print the name of their company as well as their own individual name. The authorized agent should sign in the space provided and is recommended that they enter their position with the company after their signature, i.e. Manager, owner, etc.).

Caution: Do not check the wrong box. Some out-of-state titles/forms have an additional box for you to check when the vehicle's odometer reflects the total actual miles the vehicle has traveled. If you do not check one of two boxes on a Georgia title/form, you are declaring that the entered odometer reading reflects the total actual miles the vehicle has traveled.

Purchaser(s)' or Transferee(s)' Requirements

For non-exempt vehicles, each purchaser/transferee, must acknowledge the odometer declaration made by the seller/ transferor, by doing the following:

Sign and print his/her full legal name to the transfer document acknowledging the odometer declaration made by the seller/transferor. An individual's full legal name would be his/her complete name as it appears on his/her valid Georgia driver's license or Georgia identification card. If the purchaser/transferee is a company, the printed name of the company and the printed name of the person signing for the company must be entered. The person authorized to sign for the company must sign and it is recommended that they enter their position with the company after their signature, i.e. Owner, treasurer, etc. If jointly purchased, each owner must sign and print his/her own name. Caution: Do not sign a blank assignment.
If the vehicle is exempt from the odometer disclosure requirements, the purchasers, transferees, are not required to sign and print their names to the transfer document.

*Secure Power of Attorney

The Federal Truth in Mileage Act restricts someone from making an odometer declaration and also acknowledging it in the same transaction. A limited power of attorney cannot be used when it appoints the purchaser/transferee as the seller's/transferor's attorney-in-fact for non-exempt vehicles. To do so would mean that the purchaser/transferee could make an odometer declaration on the seller's/transferor's behalf and then acknowledge the declaration as the purchaser/transferee on the same document which is not allowed.

A secure power of attorney, Form T-8S, was developed for use when the title is not available at the time of sale or ownership transfer because of two (2) acceptable situations: The title is either lost or being held by the record lien or security interest holder. Remember: A secure power of attorney can only be used in these two (2) situations.

If the title is at home in the owner's safe then it must be retrieved for transfer to the purchaser/transferee. A secure power of attorney cannot be used in this situation.

A secure power of attorney contains the security features and language required by the Federal Truth in Mileage Act. This document provides spaces for the seller/transferor to make an odometer disclosure on a secure transfer document. The purchaser/transferee must then acknowledge the odometer declaration on this same document by printing and signing their name. This form allows the purchaser/transferee to apply for a replacement title on behalf of the seller/transferor when the title is lost. A secure power of attorney is a multi-part form. The applicable page of the secure power of attorney must accompany the application for a replacement title.

If the vehicle is sold before the title becomes available, the secure power of attorney allows the purchaser (dealer) to make an odometer declaration on this same secure document. The new purchaser/transferee can then acknowledge the seller's/transferor's odometer disclosure by printing and signing their name in the spaces provided on this secure transfer document.

Upon receipt of the title, either a replacement title or the original title from the lender, the purchaser/ transferee, is then required to transfer the information from the secure power of attorney to the title and to complete Part C of the secure power of attorney certifying that they have transferred the information from the secure power of attorney to the title exactly as shown. This completed secure power of attorney must accompany the new retail customer's title application.

Where to Obtain Forms

Secure powers of attorney, Form T-8S, and secure dealer reassignment forms are not issued by this department's Motor Vehicle Division or the County Tag Offices in this state. These forms may be purchased from the following authorized dealer associations:

Independent (Used) Automobile Dealers Association: Georgia Independent Automobile Dealers Association (GIADA), 6903-A Oak Ridge Commerce Way, Austell, GA 30168, Telephone #(770) 745-9650, Toll Free Telephone # (800) 472-8101, and Fax # (770) 745-9655, e-mail address: info@giada.org

Georgia (new/franchise) Automobile Dealers Association: Georgia Automobile Dealers Association (GADA), 2255 Cumberland Parkway, Building 900, Atlanta, GA 30339-4515, Telephone #(770) 432-1658, FAX # (770) 432-9100, and e-mail address: info@gada.com

Records Retention - Licensed Dealers

Licensed dealers are required to retain documents containing odometer disclosures for five (5) years.