Once the car is gone: the Riverside County seller's cleanup list

Make sure the DMV shows the sale

California law has the seller report the sale on a Notice of Transfer and Release of Liability, due to the DMV within 5 calendar days of the sale and handover. With it on file, the DMV says "you are no longer legally responsible for violations after the vehicle's date of sale." The release of liability page explains how to file.

• Filed online: the record updates within 1 business day. Save the confirmation page; the DMV calls it proof that the NRL was submitted.
• Mailed a REG 138: keep a photocopy. A missing or illegible field can stop the update and cost you the liability exemption.
• Lost your copy: request it on a Request for Record Information (INF 70), mailed with its fee.

An NRL does not move the title. Only the buyer's transfer application, made with the title you signed, removes your name from the vehicle record.

Source: DMV: Notice of Transfer and Release of Liability.

Ending the insurance in the right order

The California Department of Insurance tells drivers to tell their agent, broker or insurer when they sell a car, and lists no longer owning one as a reason to cancel.

The DMV's insurance page tells owners to notify the DMV before they cancel their insurance, to prevent a registration suspension. The Department of Insurance adds that insurers tell the DMV when you stop paying. Filing the NRL first is our reading of those two rules: it puts the sale on the DMV record before the coverage ends.

1. Hand over the car and the signed title.
2. File the NRL and save the confirmation.
3. Call your insurer with the sale date and ask about any unused premium.

Keep the policy until the car is gone: the DMV requires insurance on all vehicles operated or parked on California roads.

Source: California Department of Insurance: auto insurance guide; DMV: insurance requirements; DMV: Notice of Transfer and Release of Liability.

Clearing a 91 Express Lanes FasTrak account

The 91 Express Lanes account agreement is with the Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA), and it notes that the Riverside County Transportation Commission (RCTC) owns and operates the Riverside County part. Its rule for a sale: "If you sell a vehicle or if your Transponder is lost or stolen, notify us immediately and you will not be liable for any unauthorized use of your Transponder that occurs after such notification."

Per the FAQ, log in and remove the sold car and its sticker transponder from the account. A sticker is single use and cannot move to another car; a switchable transponder can. Remove the plate too, because the operator may bill your account by plate when no transponder is read.

Toll evasion notices go to the address the DMV has for the plate and are not included on account statements. For a trip after your sale date, dispute the notice online with its Notice ID and plate, or return Section A, the Affidavit of Non-Liability on its back, within 30 days of the mailing date with your proof. As of the FAQ fetched November 8, 2026, each violation adds a $25 penalty to the toll.

Source: 91 Express Lanes: account agreement; 91 Express Lanes: FAQs.

The 15 Express Lanes and the Affidavit of Non-liability

RCTC operates the 15 Express Lanes under the Riverside Express name. Its FAQ tells a seller to log in, remove the old vehicle and deactivate that car's sticker transponder, so the new owner's tolls are not charged to you.

If a notice comes for a trip after your sale date, the FAQ sends anyone who did not own the car then to the Affidavit of Non-liability. Give the sale date and attach proof of a bona fide sale or transfer filed with the DMV, or other evidence that ownership and possession changed hands before the violation. A filed NRL fits the first. Mail it to Riverside Express, PO Box 1515, Corona, CA 92878.

Under RCTC's toll ordinance, adopted June 12, 2019, an affidavit returned by the notice's due date with proof of a sale and handover before the violation, once the DMV verifies it, ends the case against the seller and moves it to the new owner. If an investigation still finds you responsible, the affidavit form gives you 15 days from the mailing of the results to pay the deposit and request a hearing in writing.

Source: Riverside Express: information and FAQ; Riverside Express: account agreement; Riverside Express: Affidavit of Non-liability (PDF); RCTC toll ordinance (PDF).

Parking tickets dated after the sale

Riverside, Moreno Valley, Corona and Jurupa Valley all route parking tickets through one processor, the Citation Processing Center, but each city's page gives its own appeal steps. Answer a wrong ticket with the sale date and your NRL proof.

• City of Riverside: the registered owner at the time of the ticket is responsible, but "If you can provide proof of your release of liability that is filed with DMV, the citation will be removed and changed over to the new registered owner." Appeal at Riverside.CitationInfo.com or on the Request for Initial Administrative Review form, with a copy of the ticket.
• Moreno Valley: 21 days from the citation date to appeal, plus 14 more once it turns delinquent; in person, online or by mail.
• Corona: pay or appeal within 21 days of issue, online or by mail with a written explanation; the city names a bill of sale or registration forms as documentation. Missing the 21 days may bring late fees and delay your registration.
• Jurupa Valley: its parking page covers payment only; for anything else it sends you to the processor at 800-989-2058.

Do not take a wrong ticket to the DMV: its manual says a disputed citation is resolved with the parking agency, and the DMV cannot remove one without that agency's release or payment of the fine. Unpaid violations on record also block that car's registration renewal, and both toll operators may put unpaid delinquent tolls, fees and penalties on a registration hold.

Source: City of Riverside: parking FAQ; City of Riverside: parking citation information; Moreno Valley: citation appeals; Corona Police: Traffic Bureau; Jurupa Valley: parking citations; DMV: parking and toll violations on record; 91 Express Lanes: FAQs; Riverside Express: information and FAQ.

Special plates and registration refunds

Standard California plates stay on the car. Disabled person, special interest and personalized plates belong to the plate owner, so the seller removes them. To let the buyer keep special interest or personalized plates, release your interest on a Special Interest License Plate Application (REG 17) and give it to the buyer. Personalized environmental, special recognition and special interest plates can move to another car on request, with fees. The paperwork page covers the other seller forms.

Registration money follows the car: fees paid before the sale are not refunded. A renewal paid by mistake after it is different: "Registration fees paid after the sale of a vehicle/vessel are refundable." Send the DMV:

• a signed Application for Refund (ADM 399);
• your REG 138 or the online NRL confirmation;
• the registration card and unused sticker, or a Statement of Facts (REG 256) explaining why not.

You have three years from the payment to apply, and the DMV says to expect the refund, or a request for more information, in about 30 days.

Source: DMV: how to change vehicle ownership; DMV: license plates; DMV: payments and refunds.

Wipe your data and cancel the car's services

The Federal Trade Commission's alert on selling a car lists what to clear: phone contacts saved when you paired your phone, navigation routes to home and work, and garage door codes. It says to disconnect apps that control the car and to cancel or transfer services such as satellite radio or a Wi-Fi hotspot. A factory reset, where the car has one, returns settings and data to their original state, but the FTC warns you may still have work to do after it; the owner's manual or the maker's website has the steps.

Run the reset while the car is still in your driveway, before the keys change hands, then collect a switchable toll transponder, the garage remote, any gated-community card and what is under the seats.

Source: FTC: Selling your car? Clear your personal data first.

Finish the paper trail

If the NRL is still on your list, start with the release of liability steps. Have another car to sell? Sell My Car Riverside County, the family operated business Samuel Marks owns, takes requests on its sale request form: say whether that car runs and what its title shows, and a person calls you back, or ring (951) 404-1640 to talk it through.