Transferring a car costs something in every state and the same thing costs different money in each one. Pick your state and this splits the bill the way the transaction actually splits it — what lands on the seller, what lands on the buyer — using the fee each state's own motor vehicle agency publishes.
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Fifty states, four figures each, every one linked back to the agency that sets it. Where a state doesn't publish a flat number, this says so instead of averaging one into existence.
Pick a state and the numbers fill in from that state's own agency — seller costs on one side, buyer costs on the other, with the source behind every line.
Sorted alphabetically. State names link to what selling a car in that state involves; the last column opens the agency page the figures came from.
| State | Title fee | Replacement title | Plate transfer | Buyer tax | Notary | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | $15 | $15 | $1.25 | 2% | No | Agency |
| Alaska | $15 | $15 | — | None | No | Agency |
| Arizona | $4 | $4 | — | None | No | Agency |
| Arkansas | $10 | $10 | $10 | 0–6.5% | No | Agency |
| California | $15 | $28 | — | 7.25–11.25% | No | Agency |
| Colorado | $7.20 | $7.20 | — | 2.9–11.2% | No | Agency |
| Connecticut | $25 | $25 | — | 6.35% | No | Agency |
| Delaware | $35 | $50 | — | 5.25% | No | Agency |
| Florida | $75.25 | $75.25 | — | 6% | No | Agency |
| Georgia | $18 | $8 | — | 7% | No | Agency |
| Hawaii | $10 | $10 | — | None | No | Agency |
| Idaho | $14 | $14 | $5 | 6% | No | Agency |
| Illinois | $165 | $50 | $25 | $100–$10,100 flat | No | Agency |
| Indiana | $15 | $15 | — | 7% | No | Agency |
| Iowa | $35 | $35 | — | 5% | No | Agency |
| Kansas | $10 | $10 | $1.50 | 6.5–10.75% | No | Agency |
| Kentucky | $9 | $6 | $11 | 6% | Yes | Agency |
| Louisiana | $68.50 | $68.50 | $3 | 7–13.5% | Yes | Agency |
| Maine | $33 | $33 | $8 | 5.5% | No | Agency |
| Maryland | $200 | $40 | $15 | 6.5% | No | Agency |
| Massachusetts | $75 | $25 | — | 6.25% | No | Agency |
| Michigan | $15 | $15 | $10 | 6% | No | Agency |
| Minnesota | $8.25 | $7.25 | — | 6.875% | No | Agency |
| Mississippi | $9 | $9 | — | 5% | No | Agency |
| Missouri | $8.50 | $8.50 | $2 | 4.225% | No | Agency |
| Montana | $12.36 | $10.30 | — | None | No | Agency |
| Nebraska | $10 | $14 | — | 5.5–7.5% | No | Agency |
| Nevada | $28.50 | $20 | — | None | No | Agency |
| New Hampshire | $35 | $35 | — | None | No | Agency |
| New Jersey | $60 | $60 | — | 6.625% | No | Agency |
| New Mexico | — | $5 | — | 4% | No | Agency |
| New York | $50 | $20 | — | 7–8.875% | No | Agency |
| North Carolina | $66.75 | $25.50 | $25.50 | 3% | Yes | Agency |
| North Dakota | $5 | $5 | $5 | 5% | No | Agency |
| Ohio | $18 | $18 | $9 | 6.5–8% | Yes | Agency |
| Oklahoma | $11 | $11 | — | 3.25% | Yes | Agency |
| Oregon | $101 | $101 | — | None | No | Agency |
| Pennsylvania | $72 | $72 | — | 6% | Yes | Agency |
| Rhode Island | $53.50 | $53.50 | — | 7% | No | Agency |
| South Carolina | $15 | $15 | $10 | 5% (max $500) | No | Agency |
| South Dakota | $10 | $10 | — | 4% | No | Agency |
| Tennessee | $14 | $14 | $1 | 7% | No | Agency |
| Texas | $28 | $2 | $0 | 6.25% | No | Agency |
| Utah | $6 | $6 | — | 6.35–8.25% | No | Agency |
| Vermont | $42 | $42 | $30 | 6% | No | Agency |
| Virginia | $15 | $15 | — | 4.15% | No | Agency |
| Washington | — | $39.50 | $10 | 8.1–11.2% | Varies | Agency |
| West Virginia | $15 | $15 | $10.50 | 6% | No | Agency |
| Wisconsin | — | $20 | — | 5% | No | Agency |
| Wyoming | $15 | $15 | — | 4–9% | Yes | Agency |
Fees are the part people research. Deadlines are the part that costs them money, and they are harder to find — most states bury the number in a titling FAQ rather than on the fee schedule. All 33 that these agencies publish are collected here.
| State | Deadline | Whose | To do what | Cost of missing it | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Georgia | 7 days | Buyer | Title and register (Form MV-1) | — | Source |
| Maryland | 10 days | Seller | Return the plates, once the title is transferred | uninsured-plate penalties of $200 for days 1-30, then $7 a day | Source |
| Massachusetts | 10 days | Buyer | Title the car | — | Source |
| Minnesota | 10 days | Buyer | Transfer the title | — | Source |
| Arizona | 15 days | Buyer | File the title and registration application (Form 96-0236) | — | Source |
| Kentucky | 15 days | Buyer | Title the car | — | Source |
| Michigan | 15 days | Buyer | Transfer the title | a $15 late fee | Source |
| Washington | 15 days | Buyer | Transfer the title | $50 on day 16 plus $2 a day, capped at $125 | Source |
| Illinois | 20 days | Buyer | Apply for the title (VSD 190) | — | Source |
| Alaska | 30 days | Buyer | Apply for the title (Form V1) | — | Source |
| Delaware | 30 days | Buyer | Transfer the title | a $35 late title transfer fee | Source |
| Florida | 30 days | Buyer | File the title application (HSMV 82040) | a late-transfer penalty | Source |
| Hawaii | 30 days | Buyer | Complete the title transfer | a $50 penalty | Source |
| Idaho | 30 days | Buyer | File the title application | a $20 late-filing penalty | Source |
| Iowa | 30 days | Buyer | Transfer the title | — | Source |
| Missouri | 30 days | Buyer | Title the car (Form 108) | $25 on day 31, rising $25 every 30 days to a $200 maximum | Source |
| Nebraska | 30 days | Buyer | Title the car and pay the tax at the county treasurer | interest plus a $5 penalty | Source |
| Nevada | 30 days | Buyer | Register the car | — | Source |
| New Mexico | 30 days | Seller | Have MVD move the plate to another vehicle or turn it in | — | Source |
| Ohio | 30 days | Buyer | Transfer the title | a late fee | Source |
| Texas | 30 days | Buyer | Title the car | delinquent transfer penalties | Source |
| Louisiana | 40 days | Buyer | Submit the title file | penalty and interest | Source |
| Montana | 40 days | Buyer | Title and register at the county treasurer | — | Source |
| Indiana | 45 days | Buyer | File the title application (State Form 205) | — | Source |
| South Dakota | 45 days | Buyer | Title and register | — | Source |
| Arkansas | 60 days | Buyer | Register the car and pay the tax | — | Source |
| Colorado | 60 days | Buyer | Title and register | $25 a month after that, capped at $100 | Source |
| Kansas | 60 days | Buyer | Register the car | — | Source |
| Nebraska | 60 days | Seller | Surrender the plates with an Application for Refund, if you want the unused registration fees back | — | Source |
| Nevada | 60 days | Seller | Move the plates to another vehicle or surrender them - 30 days for special plates | — | Source |
| West Virginia | 60 days | Seller | Apply to move the plates to another vehicle of the same class | — | Source |
| Wyoming | 65 days | Buyer | Pay the tax, and before the car is first registered | — | Source |
| New Mexico | 90 days | Buyer | Title the car | a 50% penalty on the tax | Source |
The four figures are the ones states set centrally, so they are the ones worth comparing. What sits outside them is local, and local charges are real money.
County and city add-ons. Most states let county clerks, tax collectors or licensing agents charge their own processing fee on top of the state title fee. A few dollars in some places, considerably more in others. Where the dataset knows an add-on exists but not its size, the state panel says so.
Local sales tax. The buyer tax column is the state rate. In most states with a sales tax, county and municipal rates stack on top, and they are charged where the buyer registers the car rather than where the seller lives.
Notary fees. Seven states want a notary on the seller's signature. What that costs is set by the notary, capped by state law in some places, and free at some banks and credit unions for account holders. There is no state fee to quote.
Registration. Plate transfer is not registration. The buyer's registration renewal, weight fees, inspection charges and any local wheel tax are separate and depend on the car and the county.
None of that stops the four figures from being useful. They tell you the floor, and they tell you whether your state is a $15 state or a $100 state before you agree to who's paying it.
Each figure was read off the page the state agency publishes it on — a fee schedule, a titling FAQ, or the statute the schedule cites — and stored with that URL attached. The calculator and the table are generated from that stored data, so a number here and a number on a state page come out of the same record and cannot drift apart.
When a source did not state a figure, nothing was substituted for it. That is why the table has dashes in it. An averaged or assumed fee would make the page look more complete and would be worth less than the dash.
Citing or linking the calculator. The share button under a result copies a link that reopens the calculator on that exact state and split — use it to point a reader at one state’s answer rather than the tool in general. Figures may be quoted with a link here; the per-state sources above them are the primary record.
Related: what a replacement title costs in every state, which states require a notary, and the rest of the guides.
In almost every state the buyer pays it, because the fee is charged on the application for a new title in the buyer's name. The seller's cost is usually zero unless the title is lost, in which case the seller buys a replacement before the car can change hands. The calculator splits the two sides for exactly this reason.
It depends entirely on the state, and the spread is wider than most people expect: Georgia gives a buyer seven days to title and register, while New Mexico allows ninety before the tax penalty lands. Twenty states do not publish a deadline on the pages behind their fee schedules at all, which is not the same as not having one. The deadline table on this page lists every one that is published, with the agency page behind each.
Because the state does not publish that item as one flat number. Some states set the title fee in a schedule that varies by vehicle weight, age or county office; some fold plate transfer into a registration transaction with no separate line. Rather than invent an average, the dash links you to what the agency actually says.
No, and no calculator can honestly claim to be. County and city offices add their own charges in most states, local sales tax stacks on the state rate almost everywhere it exists, and a notary sets their own fee. Every state panel lists what its own figures leave out.
Each state carries its own "as of" date, shown when you select it. They were read off the agency's published page at that time. Fee schedules change by legislation and by administrative rule, so the agency link on every line is the last word, not this page.
The replacement title is the one that can land on a seller, and only if the original is gone. Title fee, plate transfer and sales tax all sit on the buyer's side of the transaction. Pickup is free.