How Does the Transfer Process Work When Selling Your Electric Car?

Electric Vehicle Ownership
Author: Deniz Erkan
Creation: 17 October 2026

Since the battery is the main factor determining the price of an electric car, the document certifying its health is your strongest card at the negotiating table.

Share This Page

When selling your electric car, the transfer proceeds along three axes, unlike a gasoline vehicle: the sale transaction at the notary, documenting the battery's health, and transferring the charging infrastructure to the buyer. The backbone of the process is the same for every vehicle - you go to the notary with ID, the registration certificate, the inspection report and traffic insurance in the buyer's name, and payment is made simultaneously via the Secure Payment System - but since the battery is the single item that determines the price of an electric vehicle, the documents in your hand give you measurable leverage at the bargaining table. This guide walks through the steps in order and with cost figures.

Highlights

As of January 1, 2026, the notary fee is no longer fixed; it is 2 per thousand of the sale price; the minimum amount is 1,000 TL.
The notary transaction cannot be initiated without traffic insurance in the buyer's own name; the practice of managing 15 days on the seller's policy has been abolished.
The average battery degradation rate is approximately 2.3% per year; the 80% health threshold is accepted as a reference on the second-hand market.
Vehicles with a verified battery report sell on average one week faster than those without.
With complete documentation, the transaction at the notary takes 20-30 minutes ; the entire process, including preparation, takes 1-2 days.

How does the notary transfer work in 2026?

The transfer of an electric vehicle, like any vehicle, only gains legal validity at the notary; sale agreements not made in the presence of a notary are invalid. With the regulation that came into force on January 1, 2026, the fixed-fee era ended and a proportional fee era began. The fee is now calculated at a rate of 2 per thousand on the sale price, and the amount you declare is compared with the current comprehensive insurance value: whichever figure is higher, the fee is charged on that basis. This difference matters for a new or lightly used electric vehicle; if the insurance value is above your declared amount, the fee is calculated on the insurance value.

A numerical example clarifies: on a sale of 1,000,000 TL, the fee is 2,000 TL; on 2,500,000 TL, it is 5,000 TL. The minimum of 1,000 TL comes into play for low-value vehicles - even on a sale of 500,000 TL, you pay 1,000 TL. The total transfer cost consists of four items: the proportional fee, the notary transaction fee (approximately 30% of the fee, minimum 58.82 TL), the registration certificate fee (25.21 TL per transaction) and the document fee (80.68 TL per page). Sales to businesses holding a second-hand trade authorization certificate, such as dealers, are exempt from this fee.

Sale price	Proportional fee (2 per thousand)	Note
500,000 TL	1,000 TL	Minimum amount applies
1,000,000 TL	2,000 TL	-
2,500,000 TL	5,000 TL	-

Let's make one warning clear: understating the sale price carries the risk of legal penalties, and since the fee can still be calculated on the insurance value, it usually does not yield any savings either. In practice, transfer costs are usually covered by the buyer, but this is a convention; the parties can agree otherwise.

Which documents should be prepared for the transfer?

When the seller and buyer go to the notary, they should bring the following:

Identity documents (for both parties)
Vehicle registration certificate
Unexpired inspection certificate (TÜVTÜRK)
Mandatory traffic insurance policy taken out in the buyer's name

The last item is critical: under the "insurance first, then registration" rule, the notary process cannot begin without a policy. The regulation made on December 5, 2024 removed the old practice - the buyer making do with the seller's policy for 15 days. Therefore, the buyer must take out traffic insurance in their own name before going to the notary. On the seller's side, the good news is this: once the sale is completed, you can cancel your own policy and reclaim the unused premiums.

On the payment side, the Secure Payment System is mandatory. In this system, integrated with the Union of Turkish Notaries and built on the Takasbank infrastructure, the parties register with an integrated intermediary institution before the sale; the money is held in a blocked account and transferred simultaneously with the transfer transaction. The era of cash-in-hand payments is over; this is a safeguard that especially reduces information asymmetry in second-hand electric vehicles.

Before the sale, any liens on the vehicle must also be cleared. Motor vehicle tax debt, traffic fines, tax debts, precautionary seizure, and loan lien records are checked; the sale cannot be made without settling the debts. For vehicles under 8 years old or under 160,000 km, a TSE-certified inspection report is also mandatory. If all documents are complete, the process at the notary takes an average of 20-30 minutes; the new registration certificate is sent via PTT. Sale by power of attorney is also possible, but the power of attorney must explicitly state the authority to sell.

Why is the battery health report decisive in negotiation?

Doğrulanmış batarya raporu, ikinci el elektrikli arabanızı ortalama bir hafta daha hızlı sattırıyor.

The biggest difference in the transfer of an electric vehicle starts here: the battery accounts for 40-50% of the vehicle's total cost. As natural a concept as engine compression in a gasoline car, in an electric vehicle it is SoH - state of health, i.e., the ratio to the battery's original capacity. The generally accepted threshold is 80%; a battery above this value offers reasonable price/performance within warranty limits.

The figures are promising: a large-scale fleet analysis puts the average annual degradation rate at 2.3% and points to high-power DC fast charging use as the biggest risk factor. The largest second-hand EV battery review in the United Kingdom found an average health value of 95%. In other words, the battery of a vehicle that uses regular home charging is often in better condition than feared in listings - but documenting this condition is the seller's job.

Get the report from an authorized service center or a specialist center equipped with the appropriate device. It has two practical effects: vehicles with a verified battery report sell on average a week faster than those without, and in Türkiye, battery health is counted among the most important factors affecting price. Trying to score points on price without showing a report backfires; vehicles with a worn battery that appear low-priced are labeled as traps by buyers and drive away serious buyers.

The picture is also becoming clear on the depreciation side: second-hand EV prices are running about 20.3% below new ones. While this may seem like pressure on the seller, a vehicle with solid battery documentation stands out among listings that carry battery anxiety - in other words, verified health data is the most concrete means of not compromising on price in a generally falling price environment.

What happens to wallboxes and charging memberships in a sale?

A wall-mounted charging unit, i.e. a wallbox, as a technical device is attached to the home, not the vehicle; transferring the vehicle does not automatically transfer it. In practice there are two options: uninstall and take the unit, or leave it with the home. It is possible to uninstall the device and move it to a new address, but the point to watch is the warranty policy: some charging device manufacturers do not transfer the product warranty to the new homeowner; the warranty stays with the person who purchased the device. For this reason, if you are considering leaving the wallbox to the buyer, clarify the device's warranty status and the invoice for the installation before the transaction. For those who use a portable type charging device instead of a permanently installed unit, the matter is simpler: the device is naturally transferred along with the vehicle.

As for the memberships and subscriptions of public charging networks, there is not yet an established transfer practice in Türkiye; there is no concrete regulation or application data on this matter. The practical approach is simple: close your existing membership on your own account, unrelated to the sale, and direct the buyer to register with the charging network operator of their choice. If you want to offer added value, including the cost of the first charging card in the sales package can be a small but concrete gesture in negotiation.

Does the warranty pass to the second owner?

As of 2026, the standard battery warranty is 8 years across 14 brands; KGM positions itself among the broadest coverages with 1 million km, and BYD with 250,000 km. The battery warranty operates through the vehicle but runs from the date of first registration; the second owner also benefits from the remaining time and km. What you should have on hand during the transfer is the original invoice, warranty documents (both vehicle and battery), full service history, and the registration certificate. If service records are missing, the risk of a warranty dispute is calculated by the buyer and reflected in the price - so compiling the file in advance and adding it to the listing wins both trust and value.

In addition, under a Ministry regulation, second-hand car sales cannot be completed without an inspection report, and a warranty requirement has been imposed on second-hand vehicles under certain conditions. When an EV inspection is considered together with the battery health report, it gives the buyer a map of nearly all the risks; for the seller, it closes off "if it turns out to be faulty" objections from the start.

What should be shared in the listing, and which mistakes should be avoided?

The listing text is the showcase of the transfer process. The essential information to be shared:

Battery health (SoH) value and the center where the report was obtained
Remaining duration and scope of the battery warranty
Summary of real-world range and charging habits (predominantly home charging / DC fast charging usage)
Inspection details and service history

Common mistakes fall into three clusters. Pricing: positioning the vehicle above its market value leaves the listing stagnant, while keeping the negotiation margin too low weakens your hand at the table. Charging habits: battery maintenance, including the pre-sale period, makes a difference - keeping the pack constantly at 100%, repeatedly draining the vehicle completely, and using it in winter without warming it up accelerates degradation; these show up in the report. Process: failing to remind the buyer in advance of the insurance-first rule and the Secure Payment System registration means wasted time at the notary and a canceled transaction.

A single principle underlies all of this: in an electric vehicle, the seller defends themselves with battery data. A seller who presents measurable documentation does not stay on the defensive in negotiations; a seller without a report is priced according to the market's worst assumptions.

Conclusion: a sequential checklist

We can reduce the transfer to four steps: one, clear any debt and lien records on the vehicle; two, prepare the battery health report, the inspection, and the warranty file; three, clarify the price and expense sharing with the buyer and have them arrange their traffic insurance and Secure Payment System registration in advance; four, go to the notary with the documents and complete the transaction in 20-30 minutes. Discussing the Wallbox and charging memberships at the same table turns the transfer of an electric vehicle into a complete package - not a sale, but a system transfer.