Delaware electric vehicle fee
Delaware charges $110 a year on an electric car, on top of everything a gas car pays.
How much is the Delaware EV registration fee?
$110 a year. That sits on top of the ordinary $40 registration, so an electric car costs $150 a year to keep on the road where a gas car costs $40.
Hybrids pay less: a plug-in hybrid pays $85 a year and a regular hybrid $60.
Delaware charges an annual Alternative Fuel Vehicle fee on top of the registration for a car under 6,000 lbs: $110 for a battery-electric or fuel-cell vehicle, $85 for a plug-in hybrid, and $60 for a conventional (non-plug-in) hybrid. Heavier vehicles pay more. source 1
| Fuel type | Extra per year | Total registration |
|---|---|---|
| Gas or diesel | Nothing | $40 |
| Hybrid | $60 | $100 |
| Plug-in hybrid | $85 | $125 |
| Electric | $110 | $150 |
What Delaware's $110 adds up to
$110 once sounds minor. Multiply it by the years you will own the car and the Delaware figure starts to matter.
| Years owned | Extra paid for driving electric in Delaware |
|---|---|
| 1 | $110 |
| 3 | $330 |
| 5 | $550 |
| 10 | $1,100 |
The offset is fuel tax you no longer pay. A high-mileage driver easily spends more than $110 a year in gas tax, so they gain; a light-mileage driver in Delaware can end up paying more through this charge than they ever would at the pump.
What the Delaware charge is for
Here is the Delaware figure in proportion. The registration fee for any car is $40. The electric vehicle charge on top of it is $110, which is 2.8 times the fee it is added to. An electric car in Delaware is not paying a slightly higher registration, it is paying a separate bill that happens to arrive with the registration.
Behind the number is a simple argument. Fuel tax funds the roads, an electric car pays none because it buys no gas, so Delaware bills a flat charge in its place. More on why states charge it.
Whether the amount is a fair swap is where the states stop agreeing. New Jersey charges $270 and Hawaii charges $50 for the same car doing the same mileage. The reasoning and the full range are set out here.
When you pay it
In Delaware it is charged from the first registration, so it lands in the bill on the day you buy the car rather than a year later.
The calculator on the Delaware registration page applies that rule. Set the fuel type to electric and it shows you the figure in place, with everything else itemized around it.
How Delaware compares
Delaware is 31th highest of the 41 states that charge an electric car fee.
| State | Electric | Plug-in hybrid |
|---|---|---|
| New Jersey | $270 | Not charged |
| Pennsylvania | $250 | $63 |
| Maryland | $125 | $100 |
| Delaware | $110 | $85 |
| Hawaii | $50 | Not charged |
Delaware shown against the states next to it and the two ends of the range. All 51 side by side on the EV fee by state page.
Questions about the Delaware EV fee
How much is EV registration in Delaware?
$110 a year on top of the normal registration, so $150 in total against $40 for a gas car.
Why is EV registration so expensive in Delaware?
Because the fee is meant to replace the fuel tax an electric car does not pay. Delaware has set that replacement at $110 a year, which is towards the middle of the range. The states have landed on very different numbers for the same argument.
Do electric cars have higher registration fees than gas cars?
In Delaware, yes, by $110 a year. Everything else on the bill is the same.
Is there a hybrid registration fee in Delaware?
Yes. A plug-in hybrid pays $85 a year and a regular hybrid $60, less than the $110 charged on a full electric car. A hybrid still buys gas and pays fuel tax on it, so the charge is smaller.
Is there a federal EV registration fee?
No. There is no federal vehicle registration in the United States at all. Registration is run state by state, which is exactly why the charge on an electric car runs from nothing to $270 depending on where you park it.
Is the Delaware EV fee ever waived?
Not as a general rule. Delaware DMV publishes the fee as applying to electric vehicles at registration, and we are not aware of a published waiver. If you think an exemption applies to you, ask them directly rather than relying on a calculator.
More on registering a car in Delaware
The electric vehicle charge is one line on a longer bill. These pages cover the rest for Delaware:
Nearby states
Or see every state on the EV registration fee by state page.
Where these numbers come from
- Delaware DMV, Motor Vehicle Fees, retrieved 2026-10-17
- 30 Del. C. § 3002, motor vehicle document fee, retrieved 2026-10-17
- Delaware DMV, Vehicle Inspections (free at DMV lanes, new and late-model exceptions, $20 late fee), retrieved 2026-10-17
- Delaware DMV, Vehicle Inspection Program FAQs (biennial, first 7 model years excluded), retrieved 2026-10-17
- Delaware DMV notice to dealers, Model Year Changeover and Inspection Exemption Program (effective October 1, 2026), retrieved 2026-10-17
- Delaware Code Title 21, Chapter 21, Subchapter IV, registration fees, retrieved 2026-10-22
- Delaware DMV, Vehicle Services FAQs: titling a vehicle given as a gift, retrieved 2026-11-01
Not affiliated with Delaware Division of Motor Vehicles. Several states re-set this figure annually, so check the date above.