Bill of Sale (USA)

A Bill of Sale acts as a sales receipt and transfers ownership of an item from a seller to a buyer.

Before creating a Bill of Sale document, consider the difference between a Bill of Sale and a Sales Agreement.

• A Bill of Sale should be used when a simple contract evidencing a sale is sufficient and you are providing the property "as-is without any warranties". The term “as-is without any warranties” means that the Seller is not guaranteeing the quality of the product to the Purchaser. The Seller is not liable for any imperfections or flaws in the goods provided the Seller has not taken steps to hide those flaws or lies about the existence of those flaws.
• A Sales Agreement is more extensive than the Bill of Sale and should be used when you want a more detailed sale contract, want to provide warranties, or when full payment will be made after providing possession of the goods.

Different US states have different rules and regulations. Your Bill of Sale will be customized for the state that you select. The Bill of Sale document is available for: Alabama (AL), Alaska (AK), Arizona (AZ), Arkansas (AR), California (CA), Colorado (CO), Connecticut (CT), Delaware (DE), District of Columbia (DC), Florida (FL), Georgia (GA), Guam (GU), Hawaii (HI), Idaho (ID), Illinois (IL), Indiana (IN), Iowa (IA), Kansas (KS), Kentucky (KY), Louisiana (LA), Maine (ME), Maryland (MD), Massachusetts (MA), Michigan (MI), Minnesota (MN), Mississippi (MS), Missouri (MO), Montana (MT), Nebraska (NE), Nevada (NV), New Hampshire (NH), New Jersey (NJ), New Mexico (NM), New York (NY), North Carolina (NC), North Dakota (ND), Ohio (OH), Oklahoma (OK), Oregon (OR), Pennsylvania (PA), Puerto Rico (PR), Rhode Island (RI), South Carolina (SC), South Dakota (SD), Tennessee (TN), Texas (TX), U.S. Virgin Islands (VI), Utah (UT), Vermont (VT), Virginia (VA), Washington (WA), West Virginia (WV), Wisconsin (WI), Wyoming (WY).

If you are purchasing a business and as part of the purchase you are purchasing all the equipment (eg. furniture, chairs, office equipment, inventory, and supplies), you should request that the seller (also called the vendor) provide to you a "Bill of Sale". A Bill of Sale will prevent the seller from later claiming that they own the items listed on the Bill of Sale.

Purchase and Sales where a "Bill of Sale" can be used:

• Motor Vehicle (Car, Motorcycle, RV, etc.)
• Equipment (Computers, Appliances, Tools, etc.)
• Watercraft / Boat
• Aircraft
• Animal / Cat / Dog / Horse
• Furniture
• Personal Property (Trailer, Bicycle, Firearms, etc.)

The Bill of Sale can also include any other provisions that you wish to include such as the condition of the equipment (eg. "equipment is in good and working order, subject to reasonable wear and tear" or "equipment being sold as-is"), and other provisions such as a "warranty" by the seller that the seller is the owner of the equipment being sold. In the even that someone else claims they are the legal owners of the equipment, the warranty in the Bill of Sale would give you some legal rights to make a claim against the Seller.

The Bill of Sale is similar to a "sales receipt" however it contains additional legal terms regarding the purchase and sale. The document will serve as proof of the purchase and sale of specified items listed on the Bill of Sale.