State Fee Calculator

Illinois electric vehicle fee

Illinois charges $100 a year on an electric car, on top of everything a gas car pays.

Maintained by State Fee Calculator, an independent reference site. Figures checked against each state's own published fee schedule on . How we check

How much is the Illinois EV registration fee?

$100 a year. That sits on top of the ordinary $151 registration, so an electric car costs $251 a year to keep on the road where a gas car costs $151.

Charged on top of the $151.00 registration, making $251.00 a year in total. Illinois levies it in lieu of the motor fuel tax an electric vehicle does not pay. source 3

Fuel typeExtra per yearTotal registration
Gas or dieselNothing$151
Electric$100$251

What Illinois's $100 adds up to

$100 once sounds minor. Multiply it by the years you will own the car and the Illinois figure starts to matter.

Years ownedExtra paid for driving electric in Illinois
1$100
3$300
5$500
10$1,000

The offset is fuel tax you no longer pay. A high-mileage driver easily spends more than $100 a year in gas tax, so they gain; a light-mileage driver in Illinois can end up paying more through this charge than they ever would at the pump.

What the Illinois charge is for

In Illinois the charge is $100 a year, on top of whatever the registration itself costs.

Behind the number is a simple argument. Fuel tax funds the roads, an electric car pays none because it buys no gas, so Illinois 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 Illinois 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 Illinois 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 Illinois compares

Illinois is 34th highest of the 41 states that charge an electric car fee.

StateElectricPlug-in hybrid
New Jersey $270 Not charged
Indiana $242 $81
Wisconsin $175 $75
Missouri $159 $84
Iowa $130 $65
Illinois $100 Not charged
Hawaii $50 Not charged

Illinois 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 Illinois EV fee

How much is EV registration in Illinois?

$100 a year on top of the normal registration, so $251 in total against $151 for a gas car.

Why is EV registration so expensive in Illinois?

Because the fee is meant to replace the fuel tax an electric car does not pay. Illinois has set that replacement at $100 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 Illinois, yes, by $100 a year. Everything else on the bill is the same.

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 Illinois EV fee ever waived?

Not as a general rule. Illinois SOS 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 Illinois

The electric vehicle charge is one line on a longer bill. These pages cover the rest for Illinois:

Full Illinois fee calculator →The whole registration bill worked out line by line, with a source on every figure. Set the fuel type to electric to see this charge in place. Illinois tax, title and license calculator →The tax and state fees due when you buy, with the trade-in rule. Illinois title transfer →Putting a car into your name, the forms, and how a family transfer changes the tax. Cheapest states to register →How Illinois's yearly cost of keeping a car on the road compares with the rest.

Nearby states

Indiana EV feeWisconsin EV feeMissouri EV feeIowa EV fee

Or see every state on the EV registration fee by state page.

Where these numbers come from

  1. Illinois Secretary of State, Vehicle Services Fees, retrieved 2026-10-11
  2. Illinois Department of Revenue, RUT-25 Vehicle Use Tax Return instructions, retrieved 2026-09-12
  3. Illinois Secretary of State, Electric Vehicle License Plates (625 ILCS 5/12-805), retrieved 2026-10-11
  4. Illinois Department of Revenue, RUT-50 Private Party Vehicle Use Tax instructions, retrieved 2026-09-16
  5. Illinois Compiled Statutes 815 ILCS 375/11.1, documentary fee, retrieved 2026-09-16
  6. Illinois Vehicle Code, 625 ILCS 5/3-113, transfer of a certificate of title, retrieved 2026-09-16
  7. Illinois Secretary of State, License Plates Renewal (Registration ID and PIN, emissions, 30-day receipt under 625 ILCS 5/3-701), retrieved 2026-10-11
  8. Illinois Vehicle Code, 625 ILCS 5/3-801 (30-day grace period for new residents), retrieved 2026-10-11
  9. Illinois EPA, Vehicle Emissions Testing Program, retrieved 2026-10-11
  10. Illinois Department on Aging, Benefit Access Program eligibility and license plate discount, retrieved 2026-10-11
  11. Office of the Chicago City Clerk, City Vehicle Sticker FAQs (2026 prices), retrieved 2026-10-11
  12. Illinois Vehicle Code, 625 ILCS 5/3-821 (miscellaneous registration and title fees), retrieved 2026-10-11
  13. Illinois Vehicle Code, 625 ILCS 5/3-402(C) (45 days after buying a vehicle out of state), retrieved 2026-10-11
  14. Illinois Secretary of State, Passenger License Plates (vanity and personalized plate fees), retrieved 2026-10-28

Not affiliated with Illinois Secretary of State, Vehicle Services. Several states re-set this figure annually, so check the date above.