- Title fee
- $10base title fee
- Deadline
- 60 daysfrom the date of purchase — the day the title was assigned to you
- Documents
- 3incl. TR-212a
- Where
- Countytax office, in person
Kansas transfers ownership by assignment of the Kansas certificate of title: the seller completes the whole assignment on the back — purchase price, date of sale, odometer reading and the hand-printed names and signatures of every seller — and removes the license plate before delivering the vehicle. The buyer signs as purchaser and applies for title and registration at the county treasurer's motor vehicle office in the county where the vehicle is garaged within 60 days of the date of purchase; penalty is assessed on and after the 61st day. The title fee is $10, on top of registration, sales tax and vehicle property tax. Nothing has to be notarised.
7 things this answer does not settle
- Form TR-128 tells a Kansas resident to apply for title 'within 30 days of assignment', while the Division's own titling pages and K.S.A. 8-135(b) both give 60 days from the date of purchase. Kansas has not reconciled the two; the 60-day statutory deadline is the one this record uses.
- Kansas titles are issued through 105 county treasurers. The Division publishes the state fees, but the county service fee, law enforcement training center fee and reflectorized plate fee that appear on the TR-212a fee summary have no published statewide amounts, so the total at the counter is higher than the figures given here.
- There is no single Kansas sales-tax percentage for a vehicle: the 6.5% state rate is combined with local rates, and on an in-state sale K.S.A. 12-199 applies the higher of the rate where the sale took place and the rate at the buyer's registration address. Use the Department of Revenue's address rate locator for your own figure.
- Vehicle property tax is assessed county by county on the vehicle's value, model year and the owner's location; the Division publishes only an estimator, expressly labelled 'Estimates Only'.
- The $10 title fee and the statutory registration fees are published, but county treasurers also bill a county service fee, a law enforcement training center fee and a reflectorized plate fee with no published statewide amounts, so your total will be higher than the figures shown here.
- Kansas sales tax on a private sale is the combined state and local rate for the higher of the place of sale and your registration address, so the percentage depends on your address — check the Department of Revenue's rate locator rather than assuming 6.5%.
- A title with no lienholder normally arrives 10 to 40 days after application. Every application is held 35 days from the date of purchase so that a Notice of Security Interest can be filed, so the title cannot come sooner than that.
Do this first
- Before you pay, look at the seller's latest registration receipt: if a lienholder is listed there, Kansas is holding the title electronically and the seller cannot hand you a clear paper title until the lien is released.
- Hand-print and sign your name as purchaser in the assignment on the back of the Kansas certificate of title, alongside the purchase price, date of sale and odometer reading the seller entered.
Your checklist
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The seller's checklist
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Both of you, together
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Documents and official forms
- The Kansas certificate of title with the assignment completed to the new owner — purchase price, date of sale, odometer reading and the hand-printed names and signatures of every seller and buyerKansas will not accept a bill of sale in place of an assigned title for a vehicle sold by or bought from a Kansas resident; only antique vehicles 35 model years old or older may be transferred that way.
- Current proof of insurance for this vehicleMust show the insurer's name, the policy number, the owner's name, the effective and expiration dates, and the vehicle's year, make and VIN. A binder from your agent is accepted for a newly acquired vehicle when you are not transferring a plate.
- TR-212aTitle and Registration ApplicationCounty treasurers normally complete this at the counter from your assigned title; the printable TR-212a is the manual version. It asks for one identifying number — Kansas driver's license, FEIN, TIN or SSN.
Also required in some cases
The title assignment has no space to record the purchase price, or you are claiming a trade-in credit against sales tax.
- TR-12Bill of Sale (page 2 of the Affidavit to a Fact)
The buyer, or anyone other than the person named on the face of the title, will complete the assignment or make the application.
- TR-41Power of Attorney
The title has no usable odometer space, an earlier disclosure needs correcting, or ownership passes without a title on a legal affidavit or court document.
- TR-59Odometer Disclosure Statement
You are moving a plate from a vehicle you disposed of onto the vehicle you have just bought.
- Current registration receipt for the plate being transferred
Deadlines
- Deadline60 calendar days from the date of purchase — the day the title was assigned to you — Buyer: Apply for title and registration within 60 days of the date of purchasePenalty is assessed on and after the 61st day, and once the 60 days expire it is unlawful to operate the vehicle on a Kansas highway until it has been registered.
- Deadline60 calendar days from the time of delivery of the vehicle to the buyer — Seller: Deliver the assigned certificate of title to the buyer within 60 days of delivering the vehicleK.S.A. 8-135(c)(7) makes the sale of a vehicle without assignment of the certificate of title fraudulent and void unless the parties agreed the title would pass within 60 days. Kansas courts have rescinded sales for late delivery.
Fees and taxes
| Charge | Amount | Paid by |
|---|---|---|
| Base title fee | $10The Kansas certificate of title fee, set by K.S.A. 8-135(c)(4) and confirmed on the Division's titling FAQ. It excludes the annual registration fee, the division of vehicles modernization surcharge, the Kansas Highway Patrol staffing and training surcharge, the county service fee, sales tax and vehicle property tax. A repossession title carries an additional $3 application fee. | Buyer |
| Certificate of title fee | $10Set by K.S.A. 8-135(c)(4) and (c)(6). Excludes registration, surcharges, county fees, sales tax and property tax. | Buyer |
| Annual registration fee | $30–$40K.S.A. 8-143: $30 for a passenger vehicle with a gross weight of 4,500 pounds or less and $40 above that. Motorcycles are $16, motorized bicycles $11, and the fee rises for electric and hybrid vehicles — $70 electric hybrid, $100 plug-in hybrid, $165 all-electric. Trucks are charged on declared gross weight from $40. | Buyer |
| Division of vehicles modernization surcharge | $4K.S.A. 8-145(d)(4) directs $4 of each division of vehicles modernization surcharge to the state highway fund; the TR-212a bills it as the DMV Modernization Fee. | Buyer |
| Kansas Highway Patrol staffing and training surcharge | $2K.S.A. 8-145(d)(5) directs $2 of each Kansas highway patrol staffing and training surcharge to that fund; the TR-212a bills it as the KHP Staffing and Training Fee. | Buyer |
| Kansas sales tax on the selling price | 6.5%Varies by the combined state and local rate — Kansas charges the higher of the rate where the sale took place and the rate at the buyer's registration address — applied to the actual selling price entered on the title.6.5% is the state rate alone, effective 1 July 2015; city, county and special-district rates are added on top. Use the Department of Revenue's address rate locator for the figure at your own address.Official calculator | Buyer |
| Vehicle property tax | VariesVaries by the county, the vehicle's value and model year, the first letter of the owner's surname and whether the tax is calculated from the purchase date or for a full registration year.Due at the time of registration unless you are applying only for a temporary plate. The Division's lookup is labelled 'Estimates Only'.Official calculator | Buyer |
| 60-day temporary registration | $3The Division adds that additional fees may apply and to contact your county. Not renewable — only one permit is issued.Only needed if you must drive the vehicle before the plate is issued. | Buyer |
| License plate transfer fee | $1.50K.S.A. 8-135(a). If the replacement vehicle requires a higher registration fee, you also pay the difference between the fee originally paid and the fee due for the new vehicle.Paid by whichever party is moving a plate they already hold onto a replacement vehicle. | Either party |
| County service fee | Not publishedThe TR-212a fee summary bills a county service fee, a law enforcement training center fee and a reflectorized plate fee, but neither the Division of Vehicles nor K.S.A. 8-145 publishes a statewide amount for them. Ask the county treasurer's motor vehicle office where the vehicle is garaged. | Buyer |
The buyer pays Kansas sales tax to the county treasurer when the vehicle is registered — a private seller does not collect it. The base is the actual selling price entered on the title.
Inspection, emissions, notary and odometer
- Inspection
- Sometimes required
- The vehicle is a 1950-or-newer antique auto or truck being sold in Kansas on a bill of sale rather than an assigned title.
- The bill of sale is from an out-of-state owner, regardless of the vehicle's age.
- The vehicle is titled non-highway or as salvage and is being retitled as formerly non-highway or rebuilt salvage.
- The vehicle is a boat trailer with a gross operating weight of 2,001 pounds or more that has never been titled in Kansas.
- Emissions
- Not requiredKansas does not have a safety or emissions inspection requirement or program; the Highway Patrol states plainly that the State of Kansas does not require emissions testing.
- Notarization
- Not requiredThe Division of Vehicles does not require most title assignments, title applications and bills of sale completed inside Kansas to be notarised. Lien paperwork is the exception: a lien release and a Kansas lienholder's consent must be notarised.
- Odometer disclosure
- Required, unless you are exempt
- Vehicles of model year 2010 or older are exempt once 10 years old.
- Vehicles of model year 2011 and newer are exempt once 20 years old.
- Heavy trucks and other vehicles exempt from odometer certification under federal law are exempt.
What happens to the plates
When ownership transfers, the registration and the right to use the plate expire and the seller must remove the plate from the vehicle before delivering it.
- The seller keeps the plates
- The seller may move the plates to a replacement vehicle
- The buyer gets new plates
- The buyer supplies a plate registered in their own name
K.S.A. 8-135(a) makes it unlawful for anyone other than the person the plate was issued to to have possession of it. The original plate holder may register another vehicle under the same number for a $1.50 transfer fee, paying the difference if the replacement vehicle carries a higher registration fee. To transfer a plate the treasurer's office wants the current registration receipt for the plate, proof the previous vehicle was disposed of, sold or traded within 60 days, the buyer's name and date of sale, and a matching name between the new title assignment and the previous registration.
How to submit
- In person at a county office
Kansas handles title and registration as one errand: you present the assigned title, proof of insurance and payment at the county treasurer's motor vehicle office in the county where the vehicle is garaged, and the plate is issued there.
Official state links
Source: Kansas Department of Revenue, Division of Vehicles. Checked July 26, 2026. Report a correction