Guide6 min read3 views
Updated 27 October 2026 · Written by the Wahanaya.lk team
After you sell your vehicle, send the RMV's MTA 8 notice within 14 days, keep copies of every signed document, tell your insurer, and confirm the buyer completes the ownership transfer so fines and liability move off your name.
Once the money has cleared and the keys have changed hands, the sale isn't finished. You still need to report the sale to the RMV, protect yourself from fines that could still land on your name, sort out your insurance, and settle any outstanding lease. Do these in the first two weeks, because several of the deadlines below start from the day of sale, not the day you remember to deal with them.
Confirm, in writing, that the sale has been reported to the RMV. The transfer itself is driven mostly by the buyer, but the seller has a separate safety net: the MTA 8 "notice of transfer of vehicle possession." Send Copy C of this form to the RMV by registered post within 14 days of the sale. This is what formally tells the authorities that you no longer have the vehicle, even if the buyer is slow to finish their side of the paperwork. Keep the registered-post receipt — it's your proof that you reported the sale on time.
At the point of handover, both of you sign the MTA 6 transfer application (there are copies for both the seller and the buyer), and you hand over the original Certificate of Registration (CR book) along with a valid revenue licence. Separately, you send your own copy of the MTA 8 notice to the RMV by registered post within 14 days, as described above. If you're unsure which DMT or district office handles your vehicle's district, your nearest Divisional Secretariat or DMT branch can confirm, and you can ask follow-up questions in the Wahanaya forum if other sellers have been through the same process recently.
You stay exposed. Because the registration still shows your name, a speeding or red-light offence picked up by a traffic camera, a parking fine, or any other notice tied to the vehicle's registration number can arrive at your address — even though you no longer own or drive the car. This is exactly why the MTA 8 notice matters: it's your documented record that you reported the sale, which helps if you ever need to dispute a fine for an offence committed after the handover date. If weeks have passed and you haven't heard that the transfer went through, follow up with the buyer directly and consider contacting the DMT to ask about the status of the registration.
Tell your insurer that you've sold the vehicle as soon as possible, even if you don't expect money back. Under Sri Lanka Insurance's published motor policy terms, a refund of premium is normally only given when the insurer cancels the policy; if you request the cancellation after a private sale, no return of premium is typically granted. Terms differ between insurers, so check your own policy document or ask your insurer directly, as of October 2026. Separately, ask whether your claims-free record can be carried forward to a new policy if you're buying another vehicle — insurers generally like to see this in writing rather than assumed.
If you took a lease or hire purchase facility to buy the vehicle, the finance company legally owns it until the facility is fully settled — so you should have already arranged settlement with them before agreeing to sell. Once settled, get the release or settlement letter in writing; this is what proves to the DMT (and to the buyer) that the lessor's interest has been cleared and the transfer can go ahead. If you're financing your next vehicle instead, Wahanaya's leasing calculator can help you work out what a new monthly payment would look like before you commit.
Make copies of everything before the originals leave your hands: the signed MTA 6 and MTA 8 forms, a photocopy of the CR book as it stood at handover, both NIC copies, the signed sale agreement or receipt, proof of payment (bank transfer confirmation, not just a promise), and the lease settlement letter if one applied. Photographing the odometer reading and the vehicle's condition on the day of handover is also worth doing, in case a dispute comes up later about mileage or damage.
The Department of Motor Traffic has signalled that it will begin enforcing transfer requirements more strictly from 1 December 2026, and is asking both buyers and sellers to clear any half-finished transfers before that date. If you've sold a vehicle recently and the paperwork is still sitting "open" — common practice in the past, but increasingly risky — it's worth pushing the buyer to complete it, or visiting your nearest DMT office yourself, before the new enforcement date.
Take your ad down or mark it sold on whichever platforms you listed it on, including your Wahanaya post-ad listing, so you stop getting calls about a vehicle you no longer have. Remove personal items, parking stickers, fuel cards, dash cams, and any GPS tracker or telematics device that belongs to you rather than the vehicle. If you're heading out to buy your next vehicle, browse current listings, run a price check before you commit to a number, and skim Wahanaya's safety tips for meeting sellers safely. And if anything about your own transfer looks stuck or unclear, ask in the Wahanaya forum — plenty of sellers have been through the same DMT queue recently.
When a buyer pays through a lease or bank loan, their finance company sends an approved valuer to inspect your car and registers itself as absolute owner on the CR book before you get paid, so expect extra paperwork and a short delay versus a cash sale.
Wahanaya.lk team8 min read
The safest payment is a bank transfer or bank draft you verify yourself by checking your own banking app or calling your bank — never a screenshot the buyer sends you. Don't hand over the CR book, keys or signed MTA 6 form until the money has actually settled in your account.
Wahanaya.lk team7 min read
Yes — the DMT's ownership-transfer system checks that your vehicle's VET (emission test) certificate and revenue licence are both in date before it lets the transfer go through, so renew an expired VET before you sell, unless your vehicle is exempt.
Wahanaya.lk team7 min read
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