It is important to understand the difference between these two documents. Bills of sale exist in ommon law independently of legislation. Being a simple document, it does not prove the ownership itself, but serves mostly as a record of the property transaction and has information on when and where the transaction took place. The form does not have the same legal force as a title does, but it is still useful evidence of the details, conditions, and the fact of the transaction itself. A title transfer, however, is a document that officially notifies the governing state not only about the act of transferring of an item from one party to another but also about granting the buyer the ownership status.