The notification of sale: the €8 filing that protects the seller
If you sell your car and the buyer never registers the transfer, the fines keep arriving in your name. The notification of sale cuts that off at the root.
When you sell a car in Spain, registering the transfer is the buyer's obligation. But if the buyer doesn't do it — and it happens more than you'd think — the DGT still considers the car yours: your fines, your road tax, your liability.
What it is
The notification of sale is a filing where the seller tells the DGT the vehicle was sold, to whom and when, attaching the contract. From that moment the seller is unlinked for fines and taxes, even if the buyer takes months to do their part.
When to file it
Right after handing over the car. Not next week — the same day. A speeding ticket from the afternoon of the sale goes to the registered owner, and that's still you until the DGT knows otherwise.
What you need
Your ID, the vehicle details and the sale contract with the buyer’s details. It can be filed online with a digital certificate, or in person with an appointment. The fee is about €8.
The classic mistake
Trusting that “the buyer seemed reliable”. The notification isn't distrust: it's the clean separation of responsibilities the law itself provides. In a sale managed by Autamo this gap doesn't exist — the ownership transfer is processed as part of the deal, and the seller neither collects nor hands over while the case stalls.