Car registration renewal cost by state
Car registration renewal cost varies more than most people expect. Renewing a typical car’s registration costs $20 a year in Georgia and $457 in California, and the median state charges about $86. Those figures are for one standard car, three years old and listed at $30,000 new, so the states line up fairly. Your own number depends on what your state charges against: a flat fee, the car’s weight, or its value. Pick your state for a quick figure, or open its renewal calculator for the exact one.
Updated
What you actually pay at renewal
A renewal is only the recurring part of a car’s cost: the registration fee, and in some states a yearly tax on the car’s value. It does not include the things you paid once at the start, the sales tax on the purchase, the title fee, the plate, or a one-time initial registration fee. That is the whole reason a renewal notice is a fraction of your first bill.
So the figure that matters for renewal is the yearly recurring cost, and that is what the table below shows for a standard car in every state.
Tag renewal prices in every state
| State | Yearly renewal | What sets it |
|---|---|---|
| Alabama | $213.25 | A yearly tax on the car’s value |
| Alaska | $100 + county tax | A flat fee |
| Arizona | $265.42 | What the car is worth |
| Arkansas | $27.50 + county tax | Vehicle weight |
| California | $457 | A flat fee |
| Colorado | $172.05 | A yearly tax on the car’s value |
| Connecticut | $169 + county tax | A flat fee |
| Delaware | $40 | A flat fee |
| District of Columbia | $175 | Vehicle weight |
| Florida | $46.10 | Vehicle weight |
| Georgia | $20 | A flat fee |
| Hawaii | $382.75 + county tax | A weight tax per pound |
| Idaho | $58.25 | The age of the car |
| Illinois | $151 | A flat fee |
| Indiana | $246.35 + county tax | A yearly tax on the car’s value |
| Iowa | $314 | A slice of list price plus weight |
| Kansas | $42.25 + county tax | Vehicle weight |
| Kentucky | $21 + county tax | A flat fee |
| Louisiana | $68 | What the car is worth |
| Maine | $230 | A yearly tax on the car’s value |
| Maryland | $120.50 | Vehicle weight |
| Massachusetts | $105 | A yearly tax on the car’s value |
| Michigan | $129.76 | What the car is worth |
| Minnesota | $351 | What the car is worth |
| Mississippi | $27.75 + county tax | A flat fee |
| Missouri | $33.25 + county tax | Taxable horsepower |
| Montana | $232.51 + county tax | The age of the car |
| Nebraska | $340.50 | A yearly tax on the car’s value |
| Nevada | $264 | A yearly tax on the car’s value |
| New Hampshire | $228 | A yearly tax on the car’s value |
| New Jersey | $46.50 | Vehicle weight |
| New Mexico | $71.50 | Vehicle weight |
| New York | $28.25 | Vehicle weight |
| North Carolina | $46.25 + county tax | A flat fee |
| North Dakota | $93 | Vehicle weight |
| Ohio | $44 | A flat fee |
| Oklahoma | $86 | The age of the car |
| Oregon | $136 | A flat fee |
| Pennsylvania | $48 | A flat fee |
| Rhode Island | $51.75 | Vehicle weight |
| South Carolina | $20 + county tax | A flat fee |
| South Dakota | $76 + county tax | Vehicle weight |
| Tennessee | $26.50 + county tax | A flat fee |
| Texas | $64 | A flat fee |
| Utah | $170.50 | The age of the car |
| Vermont | $91 | A flat fee |
| Virginia | $30.75 + county tax | Vehicle weight |
| Washington | $82.75 + county tax | Vehicle weight |
| West Virginia | $51.50 + county tax | A flat fee |
| Wisconsin | $85 + county tax | A flat fee |
| Wyoming | $210 | A yearly tax on the car’s value |
A three-year-old car that listed at $30,000 and weighs 3,500 lbs. Recurring cost only. A few states add a county tax on the car’s value, billed with the renewal but varying by county, marked “+ county tax” because the tag figure alone understates them. Want the states ranked instead? See the cheapest states to register a car. Each state name opens that state’s renewal calculator.
How to find out how much your renewal will be
- Check the renewal notice. The amount on it is what the agency will charge you. Most states send it by mail or email before the expiry date.
- Start the online renewal. In most states, entering your plate number and part of the VIN, or the PIN on the notice, shows the full total before you pay, and you can stop there.
- Estimate it before the notice arrives. The renewal calculator on your state page asks only for what that state charges against, such as weight, or list price and age, and leaves out the purchase questions.
Need last year’s figure for your taxes? It is on your receipt or in the agency’s online record, and the registration fee tax deduction guide explains which part counts.
Why your first bill was so much bigger
When people say registration is expensive, they are usually remembering their first bill, which is not a registration cost at all. Most of it is the one-off sales or use tax on the purchase, which on a $30,000 car is often well over a thousand dollars. On top of that first time come the title fee and the plate, and in some states a one-time initial registration fee. None of those return at renewal. Judge a state by its yearly renewal, not by the number you paid at the counter.
How and when to renew
The mechanics are similar everywhere. Most states send a renewal notice by mail or email and let you renew online, by mail, or in person at a DMV or county office. You can usually renew before the expiry date, and renewing early does not move your expiry month, so there is no reason to leave it late. Some states register a car one year at a time and some do it two years at a time, in which case you pay two years at once but the yearly figure above is still the fair way to compare.
Grace periods and late fees
This is where states differ most. A few give a grace period after the expiry date, from 5 days in Connecticut to a month in Colorado; many give none. Late penalties run from a few dollars to a percentage of the fee or tax that grows the longer you wait. Driving on an expired registration can still get you a ticket, so renew before the date. The expired registration guide has every state’s rule.
Work out your own renewal
Common questions about registration renewal
How much does it cost to renew your car registration?
For a three-year-old car that listed at $30,000, a renewal runs from $20 a year in Georgia to $457 in California, and the median state charges about $86. Flat-fee states sit at the low end. States that tax the car’s value every year sit at the top, and the figure falls as the car ages.
Is it cheaper to renew car registration online or in person?
The state fee is the same either way. What can differ is the payment charge: some states pass a card or convenience fee on to you online, and Georgia’s online renewal lists convenience fees alongside the registration fee and taxes. A county office can add its own service fee in person. The online checkout shows the full total before you pay.
How often do you pay car registration?
Every year in most states. New York, Oregon and Massachusetts register passenger cars two years at a time, so the bill comes every other year at twice the size. The table on this page shows the yearly share for those states, so every state compares on the same basis.
Why is my renewal cheaper than my first registration?
Because the first bill bundled one-off charges you never pay again: the sales or use tax on the purchase, the title fee to put the car in your name, the plate fee, and in some states a one-time initial registration fee. A renewal is only the recurring part, the tag and any yearly value tax. That is why the renewal notice is a fraction of what you paid at the counter the first time.
Can I renew my car registration online?
In most states, yes. Nearly every state lets you renew online through its DMV or motor vehicle agency, usually from a month or two before the expiry date, and often up to a year after if you have not been cited for driving on an expired tag. Some also offer renewal by mail or in person at a county office. Your state page links to the agency that handles it.
What happens if I renew my registration late?
You pay a late penalty in most states, from a few dollars to a percentage that grows each month, and you can be ticketed for driving on the expired tag. Grace periods are rare: Connecticut gives 5 days and Colorado a month, but many states give none. The expired registration guide lists every state.
How early can I renew my registration?
Most states let you renew some weeks before the expiry date; Texas, for example, opens online renewal 90 days ahead. Renewing early does not change your expiry month, so there is no reason to wait. Renewing before the date also avoids any late penalty and the risk of a ticket.
Does renewing count as paying sales tax again?
No. Sales or use tax is charged once, when the car is bought or first brought into the state. A renewal never charges it again. If a renewal quote looks as large as a purchase tax bill, something is wrong, check that it is a renewal and not a first registration.