Avoid Problems When You Sell Your Car!

Virgin Islands law makes the seller of a vehicle responsible for ensuring that the title is transferred promptly (within 24 hours) to the name of the buyer at the VI Bureau of Motor Vehicles (BMV). Signing the back of the title is not enough! In addition to problems resulting from a delay in transferring ownership, VI law requires that the seller’s vehicle registration be canceled at BMV prior to cancelation of insurance on that vehicle. Therefore, the insurance on a vehicle you have “sold” cannot be canceled prior to the date that the registration is canceled at BMV. If there is a delay in canceling the registration, you would lose the premium for the period of this delay, regardless if the buyer insured the vehicle for that period.  

Don’t fall into the potentially costly trap of signing over your title and leaving it up to the buyer to transfer the title at BMV. For more information, visit the website for the VI Bureau of Motor Vehicles https://bmv.vi.gov/vehicles/ or call your Client Service Representative at Marshall & Sterling.