Car registration fee calculator

It depends heavily on the state. The registration fee alone runs from around $20 a year in the cheapest states to several hundred where the state charges a yearly tax on the car's value, and on top of that is the one-time sales tax on the purchase, which is usually the largest part. Pick your state above for an itemized figure, or see the states ranked from cheapest to most expensive to register.

The title fee itself is small, usually somewhere between about $15 and $200 depending on the state. The part that costs more is the sales or use tax on the car, unless it is a gift or a family transfer. See what it costs where you live on the car title transfer by state page.

In most states the plate comes with the registration rather than as a separate charge, so asking what the tags cost usually means the yearly registration fee. A few states bill a small separate plate fee on top. Your state registration page shows which, itemized with the source for each line.

The registration fee itself is usually small and similar. What changes the total is the tax on the purchase, and above all whether a trade-in comes off the price first (a few states never allow it). Two states with the same tax rate can differ by hundreds of dollars on the same car for that reason alone.

Because a wrong number on a money calculator is worse than a missing one. If a fee is not published by the state in a form we can link to, we list it as not included and say why, rather than filling the gap with a guess.

No. We are independent and not affiliated with any DMV or state agency. Every figure links back to the agency that published it so you can check it yourself.