My Grandfather bought a used 1927 Chevrolet Truck in 1930. He paid US$100 Down, and agreed to pay US$15 a month until paid off.

The combined Bill of Sale and Contract was literally half a standard page of paper. There was nothing else, because in 1930, nothing else was required.

I can remember when I sold cars in the Early 1990’s, most deals only took a Bill of Sale, Finance Contract, Buyers Guide(if Used), Odometer Statement, a Title Application, and a Power of Attorney.

From 1930 to 1993 we went from one document on a single page to five forms, or about eight pages. Four if it was a Cash Sale.

From 1993 to 2026 we went from five forms to more than a dozen. For example, in Georgia, the required forms for a Finance Sale are:

• Bill of Sale
• Buyers Guide
• Finance Contract
• Odometer Statement
• Title Application GA MV-1
• Power of Attorney GA T-8
• Emissions Form in certain areas or states.
• Statement of Title Tax Paid (Georgia MV-7D)
• Title Reassignment
• Federal Privacy Notice
• Federal Homeland Security Affidavit
• Federal Risk-Based Pricing Notice (If you used Credit Score to determine APR)
• GPS/Starter Interrupt (If you put one on the car)
• Damage Disclosure if the vehicle is damaged.

Other states have their own different required DMV forms.

Point is, those are all legally required. If there is a Trade-In, that will add about 5-6 more forms. If the customer buys a Warranty, GAP, or VSI through the dealer, that’s at least one more form each.

Our recommendations at the DMS company are to also print the following forms for the Dealer’s Protection:

• As-Is Form (Statement of acceptance of the Car As-Is)
• Arbitration Agreement
• Signed Copy of Credit Application
• Cell Phone Consent Form
• Repossession Agreement
• Agreement to Provide Insurance

So we are up to a bare minimum on a Finance Deal of about 20-25 Forms, covering 30+ pages of paper.

Many of you are asking WHY, and many of you have called me to ask WHY? I will attempt to explain each of the following four reasons why we went from an envelope of forms to a book.

1. Because somebody sued somebody else over something.
2. Because a legislator decided that “something needs to be done!” and passed a law requiring it.
3. Progression of Business & Economics.
4. Dishonesty.

Number one is the easiest to explain: There is an added form or added clauses to forms because somebody sued somebody else, and there was not something in writing that would have stopped the suit. The Used Car Buyers Guide is the biggest example of that. Dealers were getting sued by Consumers and the Government for failure to disclose that the Used Car being sold does NOT have a Warranty.

Another example is the Repossession Agreement. Somebody’s car gets repossessed, and they complained (and sued!) because the Dealer/Lender does not have something in writing stating they will Repossess the Collateral if the loan defaults.

Due to Lawsuits, we even have the Arbitration Agreement, which now says that instead of filing a suit, we agree to arbitrate any disputes.

Sometimes, we have a separate form because the Disclosure needed, like a Repossession Agreement, was considered to be “buried” on the last page of a multi-page form, and therefore was not “obvious” to the Consumer.

Legislation adds forms, such as the Georgia MV-7D Title Tax (TAVT) Form. Georgia went from a Sales Tax on vehicle sales state to a Title Tax state, where the tax was now assessed on the Title Transfer instead of the Sale. In most cases, it still uses the Selling Price to determine the Title Tax, and at the same basic rate as the Sales Tax. But we have a two-page form now that is legally required that simply shows how the Dealer calculated the Title Tax.

Legislation adds forms like the Federal Privacy Notice, and the Federal Homeland Security Statement.

Progression of the Business added forms like the Agreement to Provide Insurance, to make sure the customer is aware that it is required.

Progression added GAP, VSI, and Service Contracts/Warranties, as well as disclosures related to Credit Card Fees.

Finally, Dishonesty. I include Intentional Non-Disclosure in this category. A few dishonest dealers messed with Odometers, so we have Odometer Disclosures. Dishonesty also brought us the GPS/Starter Interrupt forms, because some Lenders did not tell the Consumers the device was on the car. Dishonesty also brought us Damage Disclosures, Air Bag notifications, and Recall Status forms.

A Dealer called me just a few days ago. (I will remind you that the call was made in 2026.) — He was furious about having 25-30 pages to look through, read, sign and have signed just to sell a used car. He said there was a Dealer he knew who did not even have a computer program who did not worry about Homeland Security Lookups, Privacy Forms, and all the other “garbage crap” he said our program was printing. Dealer said the other lot only has about 7 pages, and no one is fining them or suing them, so he demanded that we take off any “unnecessary forms.”

I told him that his friends’ luck of avoiding audits or lawsuits was not a legal basis for legally required forms. The States, Feds, or even the Plaintiff’s Attorney use written law in court or when assessing fines, and dumb luck is not a valid precedent.

I told him that he could uncheck any form he liked, and the DMS program would still allow him to enter and save a Sale. I also reminded him that when someone did come knocking, he could not blame anyone but himself for not having what he needed.

I did strongly advise him to sit down with his attorney and all the forms, and discuss his options.

After all, the Law is the Law. Just because it isn’t being enforced on you at this moment does not mean it will not be in the future. Sure, I get it, someone’s inability (or unwillingness) to read a whole three-page form means you have to print three two-page forms(that they also do NOT read), and that is frustrating. It is also frustrating that someone’s lack of adult awareness of basic financial rules and processes led to lawsuits that made everybody else have to print an extra form. It is always frustrating when the dishonesty of a small number of Dealers leads to EVERY Dealer having to comply with a few new forms.

But.. All these things are a reality in this industry. It is part of the Deal. We either get used to it, or we get out. Breaking the rules isn’t making any of this easier for anyone else, it might just lead to yet another form that you have to print showing that you printed all the required forms.

Take a breath, explain the forms, get the signatures, and get your customer rolling.

Thanks as always for the visit.