1. Read the title together before any money moves
A Michigan title transfer starts on the hood of the car, with both of you reading the title before any money moves. It must be the original, not a photocopy, and its VIN must match the one on the dash. If more than one owner is named, every one of them signs. And nothing on a title gets fixed with a pen: a cross-out or a patch of white-out invalidates it, and the seller has to order a duplicate and start over.
A private sale in Michigan is as-is unless a written warranty says otherwise, so inspect before this moment, never after. New to the whole process? Start with how to buy a used car in Michigan.
2. What the seller does
The seller fills in the seller's portion of the title: name, address and signature, the buyer's name and address, the date and price, and the odometer reading exactly as the dash shows it. That mileage is certified under federal law, so no rounding and no guessing, and the SOS says it generally can't be corrected afterward.
Then take the plate off before the buyer drives away. In Michigan the plate belongs to you, not the car: move it to your next vehicle or destroy it, but never lend it, since the SOS warns that tickets a buyer collects on your plate can come back to you. Keep a copy of the signed title and a record of the sale for a long while (the SOS site says how long): by the SOS's own account, a seller with proof of sale isn't on the hook if the buyer never transfers the title.
The SOS recommends the seller go to the office with the buyer, and it's worth offering. Listing on YouBuyCars? Say so in the ad; "will meet at the SOS" is the most reassuring line a private seller can write.
3. What the buyer brings
Five things. The signed title. Your Michigan driver's license or state ID, because anyone whose name goes on the title has to be there in person, or send someone with the SOS Appointment of Agent form. Proof of Michigan no-fault insurance on this car; call your insurer with the VIN before you go, not from the parking lot. A way to pay (offices take cash, check, money order and cards). And the registration or plate number for any plate you're transferring.
The money covers a title fee, Michigan's 6% sales tax, and either a plate transfer or a fresh registration. Write the real price on the title: the state taxes the purchase price or fair market value, whichever is greater, so a low number buys nothing but questions. Book the visit online through the Secretary of State.
4. What a lien means, and why it has to be gone
A lien is a lender's claim on the car: someone loaned money against it, and the title names them. Until that lender signs off, the seller can't pass clean ownership and the SOS won't transfer the title. The release can be the termination section on the title, the lender's signed "paid" stamp, a separate lien termination statement with the VIN on it, or a letter on the lender's letterhead saying the loan is satisfied.
If the lender holds the title electronically, there's no paper title to hand over until the loan is released, so the seller finishes with the bank first and waits for the paper. If you're financing the purchase, your lender is recorded on the new title as the secured party and may hold it until you've paid it off.
5. Plates, and the drive home
Plates go with people in Michigan, not with cars. The seller keeps theirs; you transfer a plate you already own or buy a new one at the counter. Michigan allows a very short grace period to drive a freshly bought car home without a plate, by the most direct route, with the signed title and proof of insurance in the car; the SOS site spells out how long. Once your plate and tab are issued, they go on right away.
6. The window, the late fee, and the title in the mail
You have a short window after the sale to title and register the car in your name; the SOS site says exactly how long, and a late fee applies past it. It runs from the sale date, so do it the same week. The new title comes by mail; check it for typos when it arrives, because they're easier to fix now than on the day you sell. Need the paper the same day? Every SOS office offers an instant title for an extra fee, with every owner present.
For the simplest sales (one person to one person, a Michigan paper title, both with Michigan licenses and online SOS accounts, no loan on the buyer's side) the transfer can now be done online, approved by the SOS within a few days. Anything with a co-owner, a lien, or a financed buyer is an office visit.
7. The mistakes that send people back
Almost every second trip comes from one of these: a co-owner who didn't sign; an odometer line left blank, rounded, or filled in from memory; a cross-out or white-out; a lien paid off years ago but never released on paper; insurance still on your old car; a photocopy instead of the original. And a seller whose title is "in the mail": in Michigan you need a title to sell a car, so a missing one means the seller orders a duplicate first and you wait, with nothing paid until it's in hand.
Find the car on the board, agree the price in writing, read the title together, and the office visit becomes the easy part.