A new federal rule requiring an odometer disclosure be filled out when transferring a vehicle less than 20 years old and weighs less than 16,000 pounds went into effect Jan. 1, 2021.
The federal regulation says odometer disclosures are now required for every vehicle transfer of ownership for the first 20 years, beginning with Model Year 2011. Model Year 2010 and older vehicles will continue to be subject to the previous 10-year disclosure requirements and remain exempt from extended federal odometer disclosure requirements.
According to the US Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the US fleet of vehicles is, on average, older than ever. NHTSA finalized the rule change late last year to address an increase in odometer fraud involving older vehicles. Model Year 2011 or newer vehicles will only be exempt from the odometer rules after 20 years. To comply with Federal law, anyone transferring ownership of a Model Year 2011 or newer vehicle is required to provide an odometer disclosure to the new owner. Sellers of Model Year 2011 vehicles must continue to disclose odometer readings until 2031.
County treasurer’s offices have copies of the odometer disclosure form. It can also be found online at https://sddor.seamlessdocs.com/f/1021.
Federal and state law requires you to disclose a vehicle’s actual mileage on each transfer of ownership. Failure to complete an odometer disclosure or making a false disclosure may result in fines and/or imprisonment.
For additional information, please contact your local county treasurer’s office.
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