Federal ruling changes odometer disclosure to be required for vehicles that are less than 20 years old.

Beginning January 1, 2021, individuals will be required by a new federal rule to fill out an odometer disclosure when transferring a vehicle that is less than 20 years old and weighs less than 16,000 pounds.

Starting January 1, 2021, odometer disclosures will be required for every transfer of ownership for the first 20 years, beginning with Model Year 2011 vehicles. Model Year 2010 and older vehicles will continue to be subject to the previous 10-year disclosure requirements and thus are exempt from extended Federal odometer disclosure requirements.

According to the U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), the U.S. fleet of vehicles is, on average, older than ever, and NHTSA finalized this rule 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 will be required to provide an odometer disclosure to the new owner. Sellers of Model Year 2011 vehicles must continue to disclose odometer readings until 2031.

Federal and state law requires that you 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.

Your local county treasurer’s office will have copies of the odometer disclosure form and can be found online here. For additional information, please contact your local county treasurer’s office.