Ohio title transfer cost and calculator

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

Putting the title in your name runs $18 in Ohio. That is the figure most people mean by a title transfer. Doing the title and the registration in the same trip costs about $62 in fees on a used $20,000 car, before any tax and before the permissive tax, which depends on where you live.

On a $20,000 car the sales or use tax in Ohio comes to about $1,450, so that, not the $18 title fee, is what a transfer really costs unless it is exempt.

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

How to transfer a car title in Ohio

1. Get the paperwork right. The assigned title itself. For an electronic title the transfer is done on form BMV 3770. source 5
2. Signatures. On a paper title the seller has to have their signature notarized in the assignment of ownership section. On an electronic title using BMV 3770 both the seller and the buyer sign in front of a notary. A car in two names needs both owners present unless one gives a notarized power of attorney. source 5
3. Where you go. Ohio titles are issued by Clerk of Courts title offices. The BMV does not issue titles, which surprises most people who go to a BMV office first. source 5
4. Pay. The title fee of $18, plus the tax on the purchase unless the transfer is exempt.
5. Do it in time. File within 30 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?

On a paper title the seller has to have their signature notarized in the assignment of ownership section. On an electronic title using BMV 3770 both the seller and the buyer sign in front of a notary. A car in two names needs both owners present unless one gives a notarized power of attorney. source 5

Can you transfer a title online in Ohio?

No. The transfer is done at a County Clerk of Courts title office, or by mail with the notarized paperwork. There is no full online transfer. source 5

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

A genuine gift is not taxed. Ohio's rule turns entirely on whether anything changed hands: a transfer between parents and children, between husband and wife, or even between two unrelated people with no clear consideration is not subject to sales tax. But the Department of Taxation is blunt about the other side of it. A sale is taxable if any payment or consideration is provided, even between family members, and the full amount paid is what gets taxed. So selling your daughter a car for a token $500 does not make it a gift, it makes it a $500 sale. source 6

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

Thirty days from the date of sale, after which a late fee is charged. source 5

What being late costs in Ohio: Ohio gives you 30 days to apply for the title; miss it and the Clerk of Courts collects a $5.00 fee for issuing the certificate.

Late fees here come from waiting for a payday or a day off, not from anything complicated, so the fix is simply to go early. 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 30-day window is worth keeping to.

When something is missing

The common thread in these questions is something missing from the deal. The honest general answer, worth confirming with Ohio BMV 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 Ohio 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 Ohio BMV before you turn up.
• The other person cannot come. Where Ohio wants both people, a notarized power of attorney is usually the way round it.

Questions about Ohio 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 Ohio 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