Arkansas title transfer cost and calculator

How much does it cost to transfer a title in Arkansas?

The title itself costs $10 in Arkansas. That is the figure most people mean by a title transfer. Title and registration together, the way most people do it in one visit, come to about $37.50 on a used $20,000 car, before tax and before the annual personal property tax and the local sales tax, which depend on where you live.

The fee is the small part. On a $20,000 car Arkansas also collects about $1,300 in sales or use tax on the purchase, which is far more than the title fee.

Work out your own figure on the Arkansas registration fee calculator, which itemizes every line and links to the source for each one.

How to transfer a car title in Arkansas

1. Get the paperwork right. The title or manufacturer's statement of origin, a bill of sale, the lien contract if the car is financed, an odometer statement, proof from your county assessor that the car has been assessed for the current year, and proof that the personal property tax due the previous October 15 has been paid. source 6
2. Where you go. An Arkansas state revenue office, where you register the car and pay the sales tax within 60 days of buying it. source 6
3. Pay. The title fee of $10, plus the tax on the purchase unless the transfer is exempt.
4. Do it in time. File within 60 days of the sale; what being late costs is under the deadline section below.

Do both of you need to be there, and can you do it online?

Arkansas DFA does not say whether both of you have to be there. As a rule the seller has to sign the title over and the buyer signs the application, and where a state wants both signatures notarized a notary can stand in for one party being present. Confirm it with the Arkansas DFA before you both take time off.

Can you transfer a title online in Arkansas?

Partly. Renewals are online or by phone. A first registration and the sales tax are handled at a revenue office. source 1

Transferring a title to a family member, or as a gift

A real gift is not taxed in Arkansas, from anyone, as long as the person giving the car paid sales or use tax when they bought it and registered it in their own name. Both of you sign an affidavit saying the car is a gift. An inherited car is not taxed either, once you show the probate court order or other proof of the will. source 9

Do not write $1 on the form to dodge the tax. Arkansas taxes what you actually paid, which is exactly why an understated price is treated as fraud rather than a smart move. If it truly is a gift, claim it as one on the proper form at the time of the transfer.

How long you have, and what late costs

Sixty days from the purchase. After that the penalty is $3.00 for every 10 days, plus 10% of the sales tax due. source 6

What being late costs in Arkansas: you have 60 days from the purchase to register and pay the sales tax. After that it costs $3.00 for every 10 days late, plus a 10% penalty on the sales tax.

The clock starts on the sale date, not the day you get round to it, so a signed title left in a drawer is already running down. A transfer you never finish leaves the car in the seller's name, and tickets, tolls and abandoned-vehicle notices all follow the registered owner, so the 60-day window is worth keeping to.

When something is missing

Most of what people search here is a version of "can I still do this without". The honest general answer, worth confirming with Arkansas DFA for your own case:

• No title. The seller applies for a duplicate before selling. A car sold without its title is not a car you can register, and a seller who cannot produce one is a seller to walk away from.
• There is still a loan on it. The lender holds the title or the lien is recorded against it, and it only moves cleanly once the loan is cleared. Never hand over money for a financed car before you have seen the lien released in writing.
• No bill of sale. Some states require one and some do not, but write one anyway. It is the only record of what you paid, and in Arkansas what you paid is what any tax is worked out on.
• The owner has died. This goes through the estate rather than a normal transfer, and what is needed depends on whether there is a will and whether the estate goes to probate. It is the one case here where it is worth ringing Arkansas DFA before you turn up.
• The other person cannot come. Where Arkansas wants both people, a notarized power of attorney is usually the way round it.

Questions about Arkansas title transfers

Once the title is in your name

The title is half of it. The plate and the registration are the other half, and the tax lands with them. The Arkansas registration fee calculator works out the whole bill line by line, including what a dealer means when they quote a single tax, title and license number.

Nearby states

Or see car title transfer by state for all 51.

Where these numbers come from