Wyoming title transfer cost and calculator

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

The title itself costs $15 in Wyoming. 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 $405 on a used $20,000 car, before tax and before the local sales tax, which depends on where you live.

The fee is the small part. On a $20,000 car Wyoming also collects about $800 in sales or use tax on the purchase, which is far more than the title fee.

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

How to transfer a car title in Wyoming

1. Get the paperwork right. Your Wyoming title or its number, the dealer invoice on a new car, the previous out-of-state registration if it had one, and proof of liability insurance. source 5
2. Where you go. Your county treasurer's office in the county where you live, where the sales or use tax is paid and the vehicle registered. The title itself is issued by the county clerk. source 1
3. Pay. The title fee of $15, plus the tax on the purchase unless the transfer is exempt.
4. 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?

WYDOT 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 WYDOT before you both take time off.

Can you transfer a title online in Wyoming?

Partly. Many counties offer renewal online. A first title and registration is done at the county treasurer's office. source 1

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

A gifted vehicle needs proof that the person giving it paid sales or use tax, such as a paid receipt or a prior registration. Without it, tax is charged on the fair market value. source 2

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

WYDOT 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 Wyoming: the sales or use tax is due within 65 days of the purchase. From day 66 a $25 penalty and 1% interest a month apply, and from day 75 the penalty becomes the greater of $25 or 10% of the 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.

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

Questions about Wyoming 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 Wyoming 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