Hi everybody, its Andy and welcome again to my office in Modesto, California. I'm an attorney
license to practice law in California as well as New York. Unlike some of my other videos, however,
where I go over like abstract kind of legal concepts, I guess, status-only divorce, proof
of service, that type of stuff. In this video, I'm going to go over something a little more practical.
So I recently had to buy a used car. I've done that several times in my life, been very lucky that all
the cars that I bought have worked out for me. I've never actually had to sell a used car, but, you know,
in buying used cars you obviously have to deal with the seller. So I've encountered this situation
a couple of times. People have asked me this question before from the perspective of a person who's
selling a used car. So they go "Andy, hey, you know, I put my car on Craigslist or Ebay, the newspaper,
whatever and I found this buyer. He's really cool. He came over and got the inspection done. He did
the smog. Everything's cool. You know, he came over, he paid me, I signed the title, gave him the key,
and he took possession of the car and everything's fine... but what happens if he gets a ticket? Like,
let's say he gets a parking ticket or he, you know, crosses a bridge about paying a toll
before he registers the car into his name. So as far as the DMV is concerned -- the Department
of Motor Vehicles in California -- they still think that I own the car when in reality I've sold the
car to somebody else. So this ticket that occurred is not my responsibility, it's actually this guy's
responsibility, the buyers responsibility. So how do I as a seller protect myself and not
have to be responsible for tickets that the buyer incurs?" So it's a very reasonable kind of prudent
thing to think about. Unfortunately, however, not everyone kind of thinks in this way. People are
more trusting by human nature than, than, you know, I guess they probably should be, you know,
if that's not too cynical of a thing to say, but as a seller, people -- you know, the seller of a
used car -- really should be concerned, like "Hey, how do I protect myself?" So the answer to the question
of how to protect yourself is there is indeed a form that you need to fill out as a seller and
you need to submit it to the Department of Motor Vehicles in California in order to tell them
and to tell, you know, to tell the state, I guess, that this particular vehicle as of this date
is no longer mine. Af, like, after this date, this vehicle with this VIN number, this mileage, this
license plate doesn't belong to me anymore. It belongs to this other guy, the guy who bought it
from me and anything that happens, like tickets, running red lights, all that stuff, it's not my
responsibility. You guys should go after this guy, the guy who bought the car from me. So the form you
need to fill out is called a Notice of Release of Liability or an NRL form. So there are a couple
ways to do the NRL form. The first way which is, you know, very convenient, but I think probably not a
lot of people do it this way, number one is you can actually submit the entire form online, which is what
I did and I'm going to go ahead and link the website to do the NRL form down below so if you're,
you know, technologically inclined, go ahead and do it online. It's actually fairly easy. So number two,
obviously, is that you can actually download the PDF form of the, or the PDF version excuse me, of
the NRL form. That's going to be available at that same link that I'm going to put down below. So
once you fill out the NRL form you mail it in or you click Submit, that's basically the end of the
process. Number three which is probably the more kind of common way that most people do it. They
can go to a Department of Motor Vehicles office and get the form, fill it out, sign it, submit it
right there. Whatever way that you do it, you know, of the three that I mentioned, the important
thing is is that you need to follow the NRL form within five calendar days in order, five calendar
days of the sale, I guess, of, you know, giving the car to the buyer. And in that case, you know,
you know, your, your liability, I guess, is cut off. You're no longer responsible for the car. So
if you're interested after kind of that big kind of long explanation, the law, the statute involved
here is actually California Vehicle Code section 5900(a), fifty nine hundred a, and
that just basically goes over the form that you need to fill out, you know, the five calendar days within
which you need to fill it out in order to tell the state of California that "Hey, this vehicle is
no longer mine. It actually belongs to this other guy. If there are any tickets, you know, red light,
you know, violations, etc., go after this guy, not me because it's not my responsibility anymore."
So kind of a long answer, but if you guys have ever wondered what the law is on it -- California Vehicle
Code section 5900(a) -- and if you are in a position where you're trying to sell a used car, best to
remember the Notice of Release of Liability form, regardless of which three ways, or which of the
three ways that I mentioned, you should submit the form. Ok so hopefully that helps. Go ahead and leave
me a comment. Click subscribe, I'dreally appreciate it and I will talk to you guys next time. Thanks.