Virginia title transfer fees: the $15 title fee and sales and use tax (2026)

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

The short answer

Titling fee: $15

The DMV charges $15 to title a car (fee schedule DMV 201, edition 08/10/2026; the DMV's titling page says the same). The permanent Code (§46.2-627) prints $10, but the Appropriation Act sets "a minimum fee of $15 for all titles", and $15 is what the DMV charges.

An electronic lien (ELT) or lien-recording fee for buyers is not available: DMV 201 publishes none. Any charge from a lender or vendor is a private fee.

Sales and Use Tax: 4.15%, minimum $75

Virginia's motor vehicle Sales and Use Tax is 4.15% of the gross sales price, collected when you title the car (§58.1-2402).

• Gross price: no deduction for a trade-in and none for unpaid liens. Dealer processing fees are included. Manufacturer rebates are left out.
• Minimum tax: $75. On any taxable sale under about $1,807, the tax is a flat $75 (§58.1-2402 A.3).
• No local add-on. Cities and counties can't tax motor vehicle sales at all (§58.1-2418).
• A low price on a newer car: on a private sale of a car five years old or newer, the taxable price can't be set below the pricing guide's trade-in value minus $1,500, unless the buyer signs an affidavit, under penalty of perjury, that the lower price is a genuine full-value sale (§58.1-2405 C).
• Paying too little: a penalty of 10% of the tax or $10, whichever is greater, plus 1.5% a month interest. A fraudulent application draws 50% (§58.1-2411).

Is there a late fee for titling late?

No. There's no late titling fee for Virginia buyers and no day-count deadline for buyers in the Code. The only "$10 late fee" on the DMV 201 fee schedule sits in its Vehicle Registration section. It's the fee for renewing a registration late, which our expired registration in Virginia guide covers.

The "30 days and a $10 late title fee under §§46.2-627 and 46.2-628" you may see quoted isn't in the law. Those sections set the title fee and the seller's duty to sign over and hand over the title. Neither has a deadline or a late fee. The 30-day submission rule applies to dealers, not buyers.

In practice, you can't register or legally drive the car until it's titled, and penalties and interest run on any unpaid tax. So title it promptly.

Plates and registration

Moving your own plates and registration to the car you bought costs $2 (§46.2-693). If the new car is in a higher registration class you also pay the difference. Moving to a cheaper class is still $2, with no refund. New standard plates carry no separate published fee: they come with the registration.

Registering fresh, a passenger car costs $30.75 a year at 4,000 lbs or less and $35.75 at 4,001 to 6,500 lbs (DMV 201). Add $2 in the Northern Virginia emissions localities: Arlington, Fairfax, Loudoun, Prince William and Stafford counties and the listed cities. Some localities add their own registration fee under the DMV's local program; those amounts are local and not available as a statewide figure. Electric cars pay a Highway Use Fee of $135.63 (DMV 201). The Virginia calculator adds these up.

Gifts and family

Virginia's family exemption is narrow. It covers a gift to the giver's spouse, son, daughter or parent only (§58.1-2403(7)).

• Not covered: brothers and sisters, grandparents, grandchildren, in-laws and friends. A gift to them is taxed on the car's value under the §58.1-2405 rules, with the $75 minimum.
• The loan trap: except between spouses, the exemption is lost if the person receiving the car takes over the giver's unpaid loan.
• Inheritance: passes tax-free to a spouse or heir (§58.1-2403(26)).

The $15 title fee is due on every gift. Claim the exemption on the Purchaser's Statement of Tax Exemption.

Forms

• VSA 17A, Application for Certificate of Title and Registration. This is also where the buyer chooses a paper or electronic title and records the odometer reading.
• Purchaser's Statement of Tax Exemption, to claim an SUT exemption, with proof.
• The title, signed over by the seller, with the price (or "gift"), the odometer reading and the seller's signature.

Other states

Title transfer guides for other states: Tennessee, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, New Jersey, California and Georgia.

What this guide doesn't cover

Dealer sales, trucks over 6,500 lbs, local registration fees and electronic lien charges. The Virginia calculator covers registration.

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.