Bill of Sale is, in the law of England, a formal deed assigning personal property. It is the usual mode of transferring ships, and in the case of a registered ship it is necessary to follow the form provided by the Merchant Shipping Act. But in the case of other personal property, absolute bills of sale are rarely used except on a sale under execution by the sheriff. As mercantile securities, on the other hand, over stock in trade, household furniture, movable machinery, cattle, &c., bills of sale are in England of enormous importance. Contrary to the principle of Scots law, that the property of movables can only be transferred by delivery, and hence that an effectual security over movables can be created only by possession, the English common law has recognised as effectual mortgages or bills of sale over movables which are left in the possession of the debtor. This led to great frauds on creditors, and the legislature has interfered in 1854, 1878, and 1882, to require public registration and other safeguards in the case of such securities. Registration must take place within seven days, otherwise the security is bad as regards goods left in the actual or apparent possession of the granter. By the last act, bills of sale must henceforward have a schedule containing an inventory of the personal chattels assigned; must be attested by witnesses, else they become void; those given for any sum under £30 are void; and when goods are seized, they are not to be removed or sold until the expiration of five clear days. This act does not apply to Scotland or Ireland. In Scotland the device of an absolute sale, followed by a lease in favour of the debtor, has sometimes been followed. Wherever the latter obtains the full rights of a purchaser, even although only for the purposes of security, he is protected against the bankruptcy of the seller by the Mercantile Law Amendment Act, 1856, which entitles the purchaser, who has given value, to enforce delivery of goods sold from the bankrupt's estate. In Scotland, however, the common law as regards securities over movables has fallen into a state of uncertainty, and declaratory legislation is urgently required in the interests of trade.
In the United States there is no distinction between grand and ordinary bills of sale. The effect of such bill is to transfer the property in the thing sold. By an act of congress of 1793 every sale or transfer of a registered ship must be accompanied by a bill of sale setting forth at length the certificate of registry. But now a contract to sell, accompanied by delivery of possession, is sufficient.