Vermont Car Title Transfer Fees: $42 Title, 6% Purchase and Use Tax and the Gift Exemption

Updated November 3, 2026 · Figures checked against the official sources listed below

The short answer

How much does it cost to transfer a car title in Vermont?

The title is the document that proves who owns the car. In Vermont it costs $42. The same $42 covers an original title, a transfer, a duplicate and a corrected title.

Old Vermont forms still found online show $35 for a title and $11 for a lien. Those amounts ended on January 1, 2024.

The Vermont calculator below starts from the same $1,933.00. It assumes no trade-in, no lien, and a price at or above the car's book value. A brand-new car adds the $8 new vehicle warranty fee, for $1,941. A lien adds $14.

How many days do you have to transfer a title in Vermont?

Vermont sets no number of days for buyers. You get the title at the same time you first register the car, on one form (VD-119). You can't legally drive the car until it's registered.

The seller has to sign the title over and hand it to you when the car is delivered.

After you register, the car needs a Vermont inspection within 15 days if it doesn't already have a valid Vermont sticker.

What are the late fees for a title transfer in Vermont?

• Late documents: if a title application or other required document reaches the DMV more than 10 days after it was due, the penalty equals the fee for that transaction. On a $42 title transfer, that's another $42.
• Late tax: if the Purchase and Use Tax isn't paid as required, the penalty is 1% of the taxable cost or $150, whichever is smaller. On a $30,000 car, 1% is $300, so the penalty is $150.

Vermont Purchase and Use Tax: 6%

Vermont charges a 6% Purchase and Use Tax instead of sales tax. There is no cap for cars. You pay it to the DMV when you register or title the car. A Vermont dealer usually handles it for you.

• What's taxed: the price or the car's J.D. Power clean trade-in value (a used-car price guide), whichever is greater. Writing a low price on the bill of sale doesn't lower the tax.
• Think it's worth less? You can submit a Vermont Dealer Appraisal form.
• Trade-ins: a trade-in comes off the taxable cost. If you sell your old car yourself within 3 months after buying, what you got for it (up to its book value) also comes off.
• Tax paid in another state: credited. If it was less than Vermont's, you pay only the difference.

Family sales and gifts

A gift to close family is free of the tax, claimed on Form VT-014. The law lists the donor's:

• Spouse
• Mother or father
• Child
• Sibling
• Grandparent or grandchild
• Or a trust for any of them

The conditions:

• The car must be titled or registered in Vermont in the donor's name.
• Any payment at all means it isn't a gift.
• The exemption is denied if the application lists a lienholder, so taking over the donor's loan ends it.

The DMV's Gifts page also accepts some relatives the law's text doesn't name: sons- and daughters-in-law, fathers- and mothers-in-law, stepsiblings, stepchildren, stepparents and ex-spouses. The DMV approves the form, so check its page if you're in one of those groups.

A family sale is taxed. A parent selling a car to a child for money pays 6% of the price or book value, whichever is higher. The $42 title and the registration still apply to a gift.

Older cars now need a title

Since January 1, 2024, a car more than 15 years old that is sold must be titled. The old exemption now covers only a car that was more than 15 years old on January 1, 2024, is registered in Vermont and hasn't changed owners since then. Many websites still describe the old rule.

Registration fees

These include the $2 Clean Air Fund fee and, for plug-in cars, the infrastructure fee. A new car adds the $8 new vehicle warranty fee once.

Plates

Vermont plates stay with the owner, not the car. The seller keeps them. The buyer gets a new registration. The seller can move their registration to another car they own for $30.

Electric and hybrid cars

• Battery electric: $89 a year infrastructure fee on top of registration in 2026. From January 1, 2027, Act 168 replaces it with a mileage-based fee.
• Plug-in hybrid: $44.50 a year. This fee continues after January 1, 2027.
• Regular hybrid: no fee.

New residents

• Deadline: register within 60 days of moving to Vermont.
• Tax: the 6% use tax applies on the car's J.D. Power clean trade-in value, with a credit for sales or use tax you already paid in another state. If that tax was lower, you pay only the difference.
• Title: bring your out-of-state title. You get a Vermont title when you first register.

What documents do you need?

• The title signed over to you by every owner listed, with any liens released.
• Form VT-005, Bill of Sale and Odometer Disclosure (odometer statement for model year 2011 and newer).
• Form VD-119, the Vermont Registration, Tax and Title Application.
• If registering by mail, a printed J.D. Power value dated within the last seven days.
• For a gift, Form VT-014.
• Proof of insurance.

You apply at a Vermont DMV office or by mail. A Vermont dealer usually does all of it for you.

What this guide doesn't cover

Late renewal fees, inspection fees, motorcycles, trucks and the details of the 2027 mileage fee.

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.