Pennsylvania title transfer fees: the $72 title fee, sales tax and deadline (2026)

Updated October 23, 2026 · Figures checked against the official sources listed below

The short answer

Title fee: $72

The certificate of title fee is $72 on every title PennDOT issues, including a transfer. That's the amount on the current Schedule of Fees (Form MV-70S, edition 4-26), and PennDOT's Payments and Fees page agrees. Recording a lien adds $36 per lien, so a title with one lien is $108. A duplicate title is $72.

You'll find other title fees online, such as $53, $58 or $67. They come from older fee schedules. The current figure is $72.

Sales tax and the understated-value rules

Pennsylvania charges 6% on the purchase price. The price includes any lien or loan the buyer takes over. A trade-in reduces the taxable amount. Local tax depends on where the buyer lives: Allegheny County adds 1% (7% total) and the City of Philadelphia adds 2% (8% total). The tax is paid when you title the car. The title isn't issued until it's paid.

• A low price: if the price is under 80% of the car's average fair market value, or the car is over 15 years old and the price is under $500, Form MV-3 (verification of fair market value) is completed at the counter.
• Understated Value Program: under the Department of Revenue's Motor Vehicle Understated Value Program, a buyer who can't back up a low price is taxed on fair market value instead. Family deals at low prices are named as a review target.
• Penalties under that program: not available. The Department of Revenue's program page doesn't state the penalty or interest rates.

Plates and registration

Plates stay with the seller. The seller removes the plate and returns it to PennDOT, unless they move it to another of their own vehicles. Moving your own plate to the car you bought costs $11.

A new passenger registration is $48 a year ($96 for two years). It includes a standard plate the first time, so there's no separate plate charge. Motorcycle registration is $25 and a replacement plate is $14. Some counties add a $5 a year Fee for Local Use at registration and renewal. Electric cars also pay the 2026 Road User Charge: $250 for an EV and $63 for a plug-in hybrid on a one-year registration.

Deadline, and the late title fee that doesn't exist

The buyer applies for the new title within 20 days of the title assignment, and completed applications must reach PennDOT within 20 days of the sale (75 Pa.C.S. §1111(b) and §1103.1(b); MV-4ST instructions). New residents must title and register within 20 days of moving to Pennsylvania.

There is no late title fee for private buyers. The current MV-70S schedule, read in full, has no late-title, per-day or per-month title charge of any kind.

• The fines you may see quoted ($100 for a first offense, $300 to $1,000 after that) are criminal summary-offense fines for a seller who breaks the duty to assign the title under §1111(c). They're not a buyer's fee.
• The $119 restoration fee on the schedule is for suspended registrations (§1960). It isn't a charge for a late transfer.
• The real cost of delay is on the tax side: a low or unverified price can be taxed on fair market value, as above.

If your registration has run out, see expired registration in Pennsylvania.

How transfers are done

The seller's signature on a Pennsylvania title must be notarized or verified by an authorized issuing agent (75 Pa.C.S. §1111). A licensed dealer can verify it in place of a notary. Transfers are processed by PennDOT authorized agents: notaries, dealers and messenger services. Forms MV-1 and MV-4ST are available only at those agents. There's no do-it-yourself mail-in route.

In PennDOT's own words, agent and messenger service fees are market-driven and not set by the state. So what you pay when you walk out is the state charges above plus whatever the agent charges. We don't give a single "total with fees".

Gifts and family sales

A genuine gift (nothing paid at all, given freely, no family relationship needed) is not taxed. You claim it on Form MV-13ST, Affidavit of Gift ("Exemption 13"), signed by everyone giving and receiving the car. Two conditions catch people out:

• The person receiving the car must show that sales tax was paid when the car was first bought. If not, they pay use tax on the car's current fair market value.
• A sale to a family member is fully taxable. A parent selling to a child for a price is a sale, not a gift, and a cheap family price is a standard review target under the understated-value rules.

Inheritance and transfers between spouses are on the same list of exemptions (61 Pa. Code §31.48). The Department of Revenue warns: never write a "$1 price" for a gift on the MV-4ST. Use the affidavit.

Forms

• MV-4ST: sales tax return and registration application for a standard transfer.
• MV-1: first Pennsylvania title.
• MV-13ST: Affidavit of Gift.
• MV-3: fair market value verification, when it's needed.
• MV-70S: the Schedule of Fees itself.

Other states

Title transfer guides for other states: New Jersey, New York, Virginia, Ohio, California and Tennessee.

What this guide doesn't cover

Dealer sales, trucks and commercial vehicles, salvage titles, agent service fees and penalties under the Understated Value Program. The Pennsylvania calculator covers registration and the Road User Charge.

Frequently asked questions

See title transfer fees for all 50 states

General information, not tax or legal advice. Fees and tax rules change; confirm with the agency listed before you pay.