Dealers run into two different powers of attorney. One lets you sign the title and registration papers for a customer. The other, the secure POA, lets a customer disclose mileage when their title is with a lender or lost. They aren't interchangeable. This guide covers which one you need, who can sign, and each state's official form.
General or limited POA. The owner appoints someone to sign for them on title, registration, and lien paperwork for a specific vehicle. Most states publish one: California's REG 260 appoints an attorney in fact “to complete all necessary documents, as needed, to transfer ownership.” Texas's VTR-271, Ohio's BMV 3771, Florida's HSMV 82053 and Tennessee's RV-F1311401 do the same job. Some are limited to a checklist of transactions the owner ticks, like Colorado's DR 2175 and Alabama's MVT 5-13.
Secure power of attorney. This is the federal odometer form. Under 49 CFR 580.13, a seller can appoint the buyer to disclose the mileage for them in only four cases: the paper title is held by a lienholder, the paper title is lost, an electronic title is held or controlled by a lienholder, or an electronic title can't be accessed. And only if the state's law allows it. The form has three parts. Part A is the seller's appointment and mileage disclosure. Part B (580.14) lets the buyer appoint the seller, usually the dealership, to acknowledge the disclosure on the title for them. Part C is the certification by whoever exercised the powers.
Under 49 CFR 580.4, a physical secure POA has to be issued by the state and set forth by a secure printing process. A generic POA you typed up doesn't qualify, and neither does a general POA form. Missouri's Form 5086 says it outright: the original secure document must be submitted.
Federal rule 49 CFR 580.5(h) says no one may sign an odometer disclosure as both the seller and the buyer in the same transaction, unless it's done under a secure POA. That's the trap with a regular POA. If your dealership holds a customer's general POA and you also sign as the other party, you're on both sides of the disclosure.
The state forms spell this out themselves:
Exempt vehicles are the exception. Model year 2010 and older, and 2011+ once 20 model years old, need no odometer disclosure at all. See the odometer disclosure statement guide for the full exemption rules.
Titling the car for the buyer. The buyer appoints the dealership, or a named employee, to sign the title application and registration for them. Ohio's BMV 3771 covers the assignment of or application for the buyer's title. Kentucky's TC 96-336 authorizes applying for title, disclosing the current mileage, and transferring title, and is attached to the title and registration application for the county clerk. Tennessee's RV-F1311401 has the owner tick each transaction type authorized.
A trade-in with a payoff. The lender holds the title, so the customer can't sign it over when they leave the car. This is the textbook secure POA case. The customer completes Part A with the mileage, you pay off the loan, and when the title arrives you put the mileage on it exactly as disclosed. Under 580.13(g), you submit the POA to the state that issued it with the title when you apply for the new title. Kentucky's TC 96-336 has its own section for the trade-in vehicle, and Ohio's BMV 3771 covers the assignment of the owner's title as well as the application for one.
A lost title. The other secure POA case. The seller discloses the mileage on the POA instead of the title. Missouri's Form 5086, for example, appoints the buyer to apply for a duplicate title if needed and to sign the title for the transfer.
Appointing your representative. New Jersey has a dealer-specific form, the DLR-NSPOA. The buyer appoints a named dealer representative at a licensed dealership to sign the title and registration papers for the vehicle they're buying. It can only be signed electronically, through a vendor meeting NIST Authentication Assurance Level 2, with a Certificate of Completion attached for each signature.
In Texas, Ohio, Tennessee, Kentucky, and New Jersey, DealerVLO fills the state's power of attorney from the deal: the car, the buyer, and your dealership. $29/month, free to try — cancel any time.
Each form number, name, and note below is taken from the agency's current PDF. “Limited, with mileage disclosure” means the POA form itself carries an odometer statement. A state that isn't listed is one we haven't verified yet, so check with your state agency.
| State | Form | Name on the form | Type | Official PDF | Walkthrough |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | MVT 5-13 | Power of Attorney Not valid without the appointee's signature | General / limited | Box by box | |
| California | REG 260 | Power of Attorney Signatures in ink, under penalty of perjury | General / limited | — | |
| Colorado | DR 2175 | Power of Attorney for Motor Vehicle Only Carries a notary block; needs a termination date. Signing as both buyer and seller takes the secure DR 2174 | General / limited | Box by box | |
| Delaware | MV386 | Power of Attorney to Conduct Motor Vehicle Business Has a notary block | General / limited | — | |
| Florida | HSMV 82053 | Power of Attorney for a Motor Vehicle, Mobile Home, Vessel or Vessel with Trailer Non-secure: the agent can sign as buyer only or seller only | General / limited | Box by box | |
| Florida | HSMV 82995 | Motor Vehicle Power of Attorney / Odometer Disclosure Title held by a lienholder or lost | Secure (odometer) | — | |
| Georgia | T-8 | Limited Power of Attorney - Motor Vehicle Transactions Notarized, original only, valid 12 months max; attach the attorney-in-fact's ID | General / limited | — | |
| Kansas | TR-41 | Power of Attorney (for vehicles only) | General / limited | — | |
| Kansas | TR-40 | Power of Attorney, Purchase Price & Odometer Disclosure for Electronic Title For a Kansas e-title; the form says only for sales to a buyer who isn't a licensed dealer | Limited, with mileage disclosure | — | |
| Kentucky | TC 96-336 | Limited Power of Attorney to Transfer Ownership & Disclose Mileage Purchased vehicle and trade-in on one form; notarized | Limited, with mileage disclosure | Box by box | |
| Missouri | Form 5086 | Secure Power of Attorney The form says the original secure document must be submitted | Secure (odometer) | — | |
| Montana | MV65 | Power of Attorney Includes an odometer statement and a notary section | Limited, with mileage disclosure | — | |
| New Jersey | DLR-NSPOA | Power of Attorney for Licensed New Jersey Motor Vehicle Dealers Electronic signature only, with a Certificate of Completion per signature | General / limited | — | |
| New Jersey | DLR-SPOA | Dealer Secure Power of Attorney / Odometer Disclosure Title held by a lienholder or lost | Secure (odometer) | Box by box | |
| Ohio | BMV 3771 | Power of Attorney Notarized, except a licensed dealer that owns or buys the vehicle (R.C. 4505.063) | General / limited | Box by box | |
| South Carolina | 5047 | Power of Attorney for Odometer Disclosure Title held by a lienholder or lost | Secure (odometer) | — | |
| Tennessee | RV-F1311401 | Power of Attorney for Vehicle Transactions Void if anything is left blank. Without the title for the odometer, dealers use the secure RV-F1316901 | General / limited | Box by box | |
| Texas | VTR-271 | Limited Power of Attorney for Eligible Motor Vehicle Transactions Not for a dealer title assignment on a vehicle subject to odometer disclosure: that takes the secure VTR-271-A | General / limited | Box by box | |
| Vermont | VN-101 | Vehicle Power of Attorney Owner signs before a witness and a notary | General / limited | — |
Secure forms these states' regular POAs point you to, which aren't in the table because we haven't checked them: Colorado DR 2174, Texas VTR-271-A, Tennessee RV-F1316901, and Alabama MVT 8-4. Get those from the agency.
Checked against each agency's PDF in October 2026. States revise forms, so confirm you have the current revision before you file.
Keep a copy. Under 49 CFR 580.8, a dealer keeps every power of attorney it receives for five years, at its primary place of business.
What it can't do: fill a secure POA that your state issues on security paper. That form has to come from the state. And it doesn't sign or notarize anything. Signatures stay blank for ink, or for the e-signature vendor on New Jersey's DLR-NSPOA.
One deal record fills the POA, the bill of sale, the odometer statement, and your state's title application. $29/month, free to try — cancel any time.
From the motor vehicle agency in the state where the vehicle is being titled. The table on this page links the official PDF for each state we've checked, including California's REG 260, Texas's VTR-271, Florida's HSMV 82053, and Colorado's DR 2175. A secure odometer power of attorney is different: federal rules require the physical form to be issued by the state and printed by a secure process, so ask your agency how it supplies the secure version.
It depends on the state's form. Colorado's DR 2175, Georgia's T-8, Kentucky's TC 96-336, Montana's MV65 and Delaware's MV386 all carry a notary section, and Vermont's VN-101 needs a witness and a notary. Ohio's BMV 3771 is notarized, but the form says a licensed Ohio dealer that owns or buys the vehicle doesn't need it notarized. California's REG 260 and Florida's HSMV 82053 are signed under penalty of perjury and have no notary block. Texas's VTR-271 has no notary block but needs a photocopy of both parties' photo ID when it's used to apply for title.
Yes, as the buyer's attorney-in-fact, when the buyer signs your state's power of attorney naming the dealership or a named employee. That's what forms like Texas's VTR-271, Ohio's BMV 3771 and Tennessee's RV-F1311401 are for. What a regular POA can't do is let the dealership sign as both buyer and seller on an odometer disclosure. Federal rule 49 CFR 580.5(h) bars that unless it's done under a secure power of attorney.
A regular (general or limited) POA lets someone sign title and registration papers for the owner. A secure POA is the federal odometer one: under 49 CFR 580.13, a seller can use it to appoint the buyer to disclose the mileage only when the title is held by a lienholder, the title is lost, or an electronic title is held by a lender or can't be accessed. 49 CFR 580.4 requires the physical form to be issued by the state and printed by a secure process.
Most often on a trade-in with a payoff. The lender has the title, so the customer can't sign its odometer section when they hand you the car. They disclose the mileage on the state's secure POA instead, and when the title arrives you copy that reading onto it exactly. If the reading on the POA is lower than the mileage already on the title, the POA is void unless the seller marked it as over mechanical limits or not actual mileage.
The DR 2175, Power of Attorney for Motor Vehicle Only. The owner checks the powers they're granting, sets a termination date, and signs; the form carries a notary block. The original must be surrendered to transfer ownership; certified copies work for the other powers. It's a non-secure form: the agent can sign the odometer disclosure as the buyer only or the seller only. Signing as both takes the DR 2174 Secure Power of Attorney.
TxDMV's Limited Power of Attorney for Eligible Motor Vehicle Transactions. The owner (grantor) appoints someone (grantee) to title the vehicle, with full power of substitution. When it's used to apply for title, initial registration or a certified copy of title, both the grantor and grantee attach a photocopy of their photo ID. It can't be used in a dealer transaction to complete a title assignment on a vehicle subject to federal odometer disclosure; that takes the secure VTR-271-A.
Five years. Under 49 CFR 580.8, a dealer keeps a copy of every power of attorney it receives from a seller (580.13) or a buyer (580.14) for five years, at its primary place of business. Electronic copies count if they can't be altered.
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