New York title transfer cost and calculator

How much does it cost to transfer a title in New York?

The title itself costs $50 in New York. 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 $101 on a used $20,000 car, before tax and before the county use tax and MCTD fee, which depends on where you live.

The fee is the small part. On a $20,000 car New York also collects about $1,600 in sales or use tax on the purchase, which is far more than the title fee.

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

How to transfer a car title in New York

1. Get the paperwork right. The proof of ownership, normally the title signed over to you, the bill of sale on form MV-912, the registration and title application on form MV-82, and the statement of transaction on form DTF-802 which is what the sales tax is worked out from. source 4
2. Signatures. The bill of sale is signed by both the buyer and the seller and has to show the year and make, the vehicle identification number, the date of the sale and the price. New York does not require the signature to be notarized. source 4
3. Where you go. A DMV office. New York issues the title and the registration in the same visit, so a private sale purchase is usually one trip. source 4
4. Pay. The title fee of $50, plus the tax on the purchase unless the transfer is exempt.
5. Do it in time. Treat the deadline as short and go in the first week, before the sale date turns into a late fee.

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

The bill of sale is signed by both the buyer and the seller and has to show the year and make, the vehicle identification number, the date of the sale and the price. New York does not require the signature to be notarized. source 4

Can you transfer a title online in New York?

No. The original bill of sale has to reach the DMV with the rest of the proof of ownership, so a first registration in your name is a counter or postal transaction. Renewals are online. source 4

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

A gift is written up as a sale at $0.00. You mark the vehicle as a gift on the bill of sale and on form DTF-802, and the person giving you the car completes section 6 on page 2 of that form. The same section is used where a car changes hands below what it is worth, which is New York's way of asking why the price is low before it decides what to tax. source 4

Do not write $1 on the form to dodge the tax. New York 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

NY DMV does not publish a deadline. Treat it as short: every state in this set that does publish one gives you 30 days or fewer from the date of sale.

What being late costs in New York: New York does not publish a late fee for renewing a registration after it expires.

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.

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 NY DMV 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 New York 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 NY DMV before you turn up.
• The other person cannot come. Where New York wants both people, a notarized power of attorney is usually the way round it.

Questions about New York 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 New York 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