Virginia electric vehicle fee
Virginia charges $135.63 a year on an electric car, on top of everything a gas car pays.
How much is the Virginia EV registration fee?
$135.63 a year. That sits on top of the ordinary $30.75 registration, so an electric car costs $166.38 a year to keep on the road where a gas car costs $30.75.
Virginia calls it the Highway Use Fee and charges it on any vehicle rated at 25 MPG or better, not only electric ones. Every electric vehicle pays $135.63 a year. A gas car rated at 25 MPG pays $7.05 and one at 100 MPG pays $103.48, so a hybrid lands somewhere in between and the figure depends on its rating. Virginia re-sets the chart every July. source 3
| Fuel type | Extra per year | Total registration |
|---|---|---|
| Gas or diesel | Nothing | $30.75 |
| Electric | $135.63 | $166.38 |
What Virginia's $135.63 adds up to
$135.63 once sounds minor. Multiply it by the years you will own the car and the Virginia figure starts to matter.
| Years owned | Extra paid for driving electric in Virginia |
|---|---|
| 1 | $135.63 |
| 3 | $406.89 |
| 5 | $678.15 |
| 10 | $1,356.30 |
The offset is fuel tax you no longer pay. A high-mileage driver easily spends more than $135.63 a year in gas tax, so they gain; a light-mileage driver in Virginia can end up paying more through this charge than they ever would at the pump.
What the Virginia charge is for
In Virginia the charge is $135.63 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 Virginia 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 Virginia 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 Virginia 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 Virginia compares
Virginia is 24th highest of the 41 states that charge an electric car fee.
| State | Electric | Plug-in hybrid |
|---|---|---|
| New Jersey | $270 | Not charged |
| North Carolina | $214.50 | $107.25 |
| Tennessee | $200 | $100 |
| West Virginia | $200 | $100 |
| Virginia | $135.63 | Not charged |
| Maryland | $125 | $100 |
| Kentucky | $120 | $60 |
| Hawaii | $50 | Not charged |
Virginia 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 Virginia EV fee
How much is EV registration in Virginia?
$135.63 a year on top of the normal registration, so $166.38 in total against $30.75 for a gas car.
Why is EV registration so expensive in Virginia?
Because the fee is meant to replace the fuel tax an electric car does not pay. Virginia has set that replacement at $135.63 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 Virginia, yes, by $135.63 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 Virginia EV fee ever waived?
Not as a general rule. Virginia 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 Virginia
The electric vehicle charge is one line on a longer bill. These pages cover the rest for Virginia:
Nearby states
Or see every state on the EV registration fee by state page.
Where these numbers come from
- Virginia DMV Fees, form DMV 201, retrieved 2026-09-16
- Virginia DMV, Motor Vehicle Sales and Use Tax, retrieved 2026-10-11
- Virginia DMV, 2026 Estimated Highway Use Fee Chart, retrieved 2026-09-16
- Virginia DMV, Buying or Selling a Vehicle, retrieved 2026-09-16
- Code of Virginia 46.2-1530, buyer’s order and processing fee disclosure, retrieved 2026-09-16
- Code of Virginia § 58.1-3503, tangible personal property (the local vehicle "car tax"), retrieved 2026-09-26
- Virginia DMV, Register Your Vehicle (renewal options, online and multi-year discounts), retrieved 2026-10-11
- Virginia DMV, Emissions Inspections (localities, two-year validity, exemptions, $2 emissions fee), retrieved 2026-10-11
- Virginia DMV, Delinquent Property Taxes and Vehicle Registration (stops), retrieved 2026-10-11
- Virginia DMV, Local Vehicle Registration Program (Virginia Beach), retrieved 2026-10-11
- Virginia DMV, New to Virginia (title within 30 days, license within 60 days), retrieved 2026-10-11
- Virginia State Police, Vehicle Safety Inspection ($20, $12 motorcycles), retrieved 2026-10-11
- Code of Virginia 58.1-3524, personal property tax relief (first $20,000 of value), retrieved 2026-10-11
- Virginia DMV, Create a Plate (personalized plates $10 a year, up to seven characters), retrieved 2026-10-28
- Virginia DMV, Personalized License Plate Guidelines and Restrictions, retrieved 2026-10-28
Not affiliated with Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles. Several states re-set this figure annually, so check the date above.