Adams vehicle sellers need exact title signatures

Of all the steps in a private car sale, the one that quietly trips people up is the signature on the title. It is not a casual scribble. You cannot sell a vehicle in Colorado without a title, and the seller portion has to be signed by the seller and every other owner whose name is printed on it.

The signatures also have to match those printed names exactly. A title with two owners needs both signatures. If someone signs on another owner’s behalf using a power of attorney, that document has to come along too. And a handful of out-of-state titles still call for notarization, so a title from elsewhere is worth a closer look before you sit down with a buyer.

Where this goes wrong is small and avoidable. A dropped middle initial, a missing “Jr.” or “Sr.”, a first and last name written in the wrong order, a co-owner who never signed, a power-of-attorney form left at home: any one of these can bounce the buyer at the counter and cost both of you a second trip.

So before you sit down with a buyer, read the printed names aloud and have each owner sign to match. The Adams County selling-a-vehicle page covers the rest, including the bill of sale and the emissions test, once the title itself is squared away.