How long do I have to transfer a vehicle title in Minnesota?

20 calendar days from the date the seller assigns the title certificate to you (DVS's fee schedule states the same 20 days from the sale date). Minn. Stat. 168A.10, subd. 2 states that failure to comply results in suspension of the vehicle's registration under Minn. Stat. 168.17, which allows the registrar to suspend once the transferee has not complied within 30 days of the date of sale.

How much does a title transfer cost in Minnesota?

The base title fee is $8.25. DVS's "Title fee", due on all initial applications for title and on title transfers, and each time a title is issued. It excludes the $12 filing fee, the $2.25 technology surcharge, the $1 deputy registrar local office surcharge, the $10 transfer tax, the $3.50 public safety vehicle fee, motor vehicle sales tax and registration tax. Motor vehicle sales tax is 6.875 percent of the purchase price for sales on or after 1 July 2023, collected by the deputy registrar when the title transfer is filed - unless the transfer is on DVS's published exemption list or qualifies for the $10 or $150 in-lieu tax.

Does a vehicle title transfer need to be notarized in Minnesota?

Sometimes required. The signatures on a Minnesota title are not notarized. Notarization attaches to a small set of side documents instead - a lender's lien release, the surviving spouse / not-subject-to-probate assignment, the affidavit used when there are no legal heirs, and a transfer-on-death designation.

Does the seller have to notify the title authority in Minnesota?

Yes. Minnesota Department of Public Safety, Driver and Vehicle Services (DVS). 10 calendar days from the date of sale. Reporting does not transfer ownership, but Minn. Stat. 168A.10, subd. 5 ties the seller's protection from liability for the buyer's later operation of the vehicle to having complied with this section, and DVS states it will suspend the vehicle's registration if the ownership documents and fees are not submitted within 30 days.

Transferring a vehicle title in Minnesota

Issued by Minnesota Department of Public Safety, Driver and Vehicle Services (DVS). Choose your situation below — the buyer’s and seller’s obligations are listed separately, and every answer links to the official source.

Title fee: $8.25base title fee
Deadline: 20 daysfrom the date the seller assigns the title certificate to you (DVS's fee schedule states the same 20 days from the sale date)
Documents: 6incl. PS2000A
Where: Agent officeauthorized third party

Almost the whole transfer happens on the face of the Minnesota title. The seller hand-prints and signs the assignment area with the sale date, the odometer reading, the damage disclosure and the sale price; every buyer then completes and signs the application area. Minn. Stat. 168A.10, subd. 2 gives the buyer 20 calendar days from the assignment to file the title with a deputy registrar or DVS, and DVS charges a $2 late transfer penalty past that; the registration can be suspended once 30 days have passed. Separately, the seller must return the title's "Notice of Sale" or file the report of sale online within ten days.

7 things this answer does not settle

Minnesota's own publications are unevenly updated against the 2024 amendment to Minn. Stat. 168A.10, subd. 2. The statute now gives a buyer 20 calendar days to file, and the DVS fee schedule charges its $2 late transfer penalty on that basis - but the DVS "Buying or Selling a Motor Vehicle" fact sheet (March 2025) and the Tennessen warning printed on the current PS2000A (rev. 06/2026) both still say ten days. Where they disagree this record follows the statute, and treats ten days as the figure that is safe under every version.
The odometer instruction sheet PS2000B has not been revised since November 2020 and still gives a model-year-2009 exemption cut-off that conflicts with the model-year-2011 rule DVS published in March 2025.
DVS's fee schedule carries the standing caveat "To verify fees, visit a motor vehicle office or contact Motor Vehicle Services at pic.dvs@cx.mn.gov", and county wheelage tax and the value-based registration tax mean no single total can be quoted for a transfer.
Minnesota processes title transfers through roughly 200 locally appointed "deputy registrar" offices, some county-run and some privately operated, rather than through state DVS counters. A deputy registrar adds a $1 local office surcharge that a mailed application does not.
Minnesota's own publications disagree on the buyer's filing deadline. Minn. Stat. 168A.10, subd. 2 was amended in 2024 to give the transferee 20 calendar days, and DVS's fee schedule charges its $2 late transfer penalty at 20 days - but the DVS "Buying or Selling a Motor Vehicle" fact sheet (March 2025) and the Tennessen warning printed on the current PS2000A (rev. 06/2026) both still say ten days. Filing within ten days satisfies every version.
The final bill varies by county. Wheelage tax is levied only by participating counties, at $10 to $20, and DVS asks people to verify fees at a motor vehicle office or by emailing pic.dvs@cx.mn.gov.
DVS does not publish a bill-of-sale requirement or a standard bill-of-sale form for titled vehicles. A bill of sale is named only as one way to assign ownership of a vehicle that is not subject to titling.

Do this first

Before you hand over money, check that you are being given the actual Minnesota certificate of title, that the owner's name printed on the front is the person selling to you, and that the VIN on the dashboard matches the VIN printed on the title.
Look at the front of the title for a first secured party and the total number of liens. If either is shown, do not complete the sale until the seller hands you the lender's signed lien release card or a notarized PS2017 release - DVS states a transfer of ownership cannot be completed without the lien holder's authorization.

Your checklist

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The seller's checklist

Hand-print your name and sign in the assignment of ownership area on the back of the Minnesota title, and enter the date of sale. Work carefully - DVS states that any alteration will void the title.Official page
Enter the odometer reading in the assignment area and tick whether it is the actual mileage, is in excess of the odometer's mechanical limits, or is not the actual mileage. DVS requires this disclosure for 20 years on every vehicle of model year 2011 or newer.Official page
Complete the damage disclosure statement, stating whether the vehicle has or has not sustained damage in excess of 80 percent of its actual cash value. DVS states a damage disclosure is required for all vehicles.Official page
Write the sale price in the sales tax declaration area on the back of the certificate of title, so the deputy registrar can compute the 6.875 percent motor vehicle sales tax.Official page
Give the buyer the lender's signed lien release card, or a notarized PS2017 Notification of Assignment - Release or Grant of Secured Interest, or a notarized release on the lender's letterhead. The existing security agreement cannot be carried forward to the buyer's title.Applies when: A lien or secured party is listed on the title.PS2017Official page
Give the buyer the completed certificate and assignment immediately - Minn. Stat. 168A.10, subd. 1 requires the transferor to cause the certificate and assignment to be delivered to the transferee immediately.Official page
Have the buyer fully complete the "Seller's Notice of Sale" portion of the title, detach it and keep it, and report the vehicle as sold through DVS online services within ten days of the sale.Official page
Take a copy or a photo of the buyer's driver's license or identification card - DVS advises sellers to keep one.Official page
Leave the plates on the vehicle. On transfer your right to use the registration certificate and plates ends, and Minn. Stat. 168.15 requires you to assign the registration tax you have paid to the buyer's credit unless you surrender the registration stickers to the commissioner before the first day of the new registration period.Official page

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Both of you, together

Go to a deputy registrar office together if you can: DVS states it is highly recommended that sellers and buyers go to a deputy registrar office to assure the vehicle is properly transferred, and that the seller should otherwise give the buyer every document needed to complete it.Official page
Complete and sign the assignment of ownership section of the title together - DVS states all sellers and buyers must complete and sign it, including the sale date, the odometer disclosure and the damage disclosure.Official page

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Documents and official forms

The Minnesota certificate of title, with the assignment of ownership and the application area completed and signedThe assignment must take place on the most current title issued; if it is lost, the owner on record must obtain a duplicate title first.
Odometer disclosure completed in the title's assignment areaRequired for 20 years on all vehicles of model year 2011 or newer. The exceptions DVS publishes are a gross vehicle weight rating over 16,000 pounds and vehicles that are not self-propelled.
Damage disclosure completed in the title's assignment areaDVS states a damage disclosure is required for all vehicles: whether the vehicle has sustained damage in excess of 80 percent of its actual cash value.
Sale price entered in the sales tax declaration area on the back of the titleMinn. Stat. 168A.10, subd. 1 requires the owner to state the actual selling price in the space provided on the certificate.
Every buyer's full name, date of birth, driver's license number and signatureDVS also asks for the first owner's residential address, not a post office box.
Your insurance company name, policy number and policy expiration dateNeeded because the deputy registrar registers the vehicle in the same transaction that titles it.

Also required in some cases

A lien or secured party is listed on the certificate of title.

PS2017Lien release: the lender's signed lien release card, a notarized PS2017, or a notarized release on the lender's letterhead

The transfer cannot be completed in the application area of the title - for example a transfer sent by mail, a leased vehicle, a vehicle that has never been titled, or more owners than the title has space for.

PS2000APS2000A Application to title and register a vehicle

The buyer cannot receive mail at a residential street address.

Written statement attesting that the post office will only deliver to a post office box

You are declaring a purchase price below the average value of similar vehicles because of needed repairs.

PS2080APS2080A Motor Vehicle Sales Tax Affidavit (Declaration)

The vehicle was registered before 1 July 1972 and never titled, or it is a small utility trailer under 3,000 pounds gross weight that was never titled.

Minnesota registration card, assigned on the back

Deadlines

Deadline20 calendar days from the date the seller assigns the title certificate to you (DVS's fee schedule states the same 20 days from the sale date) — Buyer: File the assigned title and apply for a new certificate of title in your nameMinn. Stat. 168A.10, subd. 2 states that failure to comply results in suspension of the vehicle's registration under Minn. Stat. 168.17, which allows the registrar to suspend once the transferee has not complied within 30 days of the date of sale.
Deadline10 calendar days from the date of sale — Seller: Return the title's "Notice of Sale" to DVS, or report the sale through DVS online servicesReporting does not transfer ownership, but Minn. Stat. 168A.10, subd. 5 ties the seller's protection from liability for the buyer's later operation of the vehicle to having complied with this section, and DVS states it will suspend the vehicle's registration if the ownership documents and fees are not submitted within 30 days.

Fees and taxes

Charge	Amount	Paid by
Base title fee	$8.25DVS's "Title fee", due on all initial applications for title and on title transfers, and each time a title is issued. It excludes the $12 filing fee, the $2.25 technology surcharge, the $1 deputy registrar local office surcharge, the $10 transfer tax, the $3.50 public safety vehicle fee, motor vehicle sales tax and registration tax.	Buyer
Title fee	$8.25Due on all initial applications for title and on title transfers. It excludes the filing fee, surcharges, transfer tax, public safety vehicle fee, sales tax and registration tax.	Buyer
Filing fee	$12Due with each title transaction.	Buyer
Technology surcharge	$2.25Due with each title transaction except when the only change is the addition or removal of a lien holder.	Buyer
Deputy registrar local office surcharge	$1Charged only for transactions processed at a deputy registrar office. A transfer mailed to DVS in St. Paul does not carry it.	Buyer
Public Safety Vehicle (PSV) fee	$3.50Not due on transfers of non-titled trailers.	Buyer
Transfer tax	$10Not due when transferring from joint to single ownership (it is due to go from single to joint), into a licensed dealer's name held for resale, into a government entity's name, into the owner's name as listed on an out-of-state title or registration card, or for vehicles weighing less than 1,000 pounds.	Buyer
Motor vehicle sales tax	6.875%Varies by the purchase price of the vehicle; where the vehicle is gifted or acquired for a minimal amount, DVS computes it on the average value of similar motor vehicles.6.875 percent for sales on or after 1 July 2023. A $10 in-lieu tax replaces it on a passenger vehicle ten model years old or older when both the purchase price and the average value of similar vehicles are under $3,000, and a $150 in-lieu tax applies to passenger vehicles and fire trucks registered as Collector, Classic, Street Rod or Pioneer.Official calculator	Buyer
Annual registration tax (tabs)	From $30Varies by the vehicle's class: base value and age for passenger class vehicles, gross weight and model year for truck, trailer, bus and farm class, and a flat $10 for motorcycles or $6 for mopeds.DVS states the minimum passenger-class tax for vehicles ten years old and older is $30. It is due at transfer when the vehicle's registration has expired, and on each annual renewal. Electric vehicles carry an additional $150 surcharge and plug-in hybrids $75, or more based on age and MSRP.Official calculator	Buyer
Wheelage tax	From $10Varies by the county where the vehicle is kept - participating county boards levy between $10 and $20, and many Minnesota counties levy none at all.Collected by DVS with the registration tax on behalf of participating counties. It does not apply to motorcycles, motorized bicycles, trailers, mopeds or any vehicle that does not require an annual registration tax.Official calculator	Buyer
Expedited processing	$20Optional; due only if you ask DVS to expedite the title.	Buyer
$10 in-lieu sales tax (older low-value passenger vehicles)	$10Replaces the 6.875 percent sales tax on a passenger vehicle that is ten model years old or older when both the purchase price and the average value of similar vehicles are under $3,000. If either figure is $3,000 or more the vehicle does not qualify.	Buyer
Grant of security interest (lien)	$2Due for each security interest recorded - so only if you are financing the purchase.	Buyer
Late transfer penalty	$2Due if the transfer is not submitted within 20 calendar days of the sale date.	Buyer

Motor vehicle sales tax is 6.875 percent of the purchase price for sales on or after 1 July 2023, collected by the deputy registrar when the title transfer is filed - unless the transfer is on DVS's published exemption list or qualifies for the $10 or $150 in-lieu tax.

Inspection, emissions, notary and odometer

Inspection: Sometimes required
The vehicle carries a salvage brand, in Minnesota or from another state, and you want it cleared - DVS states a salvage vehicle "must be inspected to remove the Salvage Brand", and that the inspection is a fraud and theft check rather than a safety inspection
The vehicle is reconstructed or specially assembled - the PS2015A declaration states such vehicles are subject to a motor vehicle inspection
Minnesota does not inspect an ordinary used vehicle to transfer its title. A DVS inspection is required only to clear a salvage brand or to title a reconstructed or specially assembled vehicle, and DVS says plainly that it is not a safety inspection.
Emissions: Not requiredThere is no vehicle emissions test in Minnesota. The Twin Cities auto emissions inspection programme was terminated on or before 1 March 2000 and the statutory authority for it was repealed.
Notarization: Sometimes required
A lender is releasing a lien using the PS2017 form or a letterhead release - DVS requires that release to be notarized. A lien release card signed by the lender needs no notary.
The signatures on a Minnesota title are not notarized. Notarization attaches to a small set of side documents instead - a lender's lien release, the surviving spouse / not-subject-to-probate assignment, the affidavit used when there are no legal heirs, and a transfer-on-death designation.
Odometer disclosure: Required, unless you are exempt
Vehicles with a gross vehicle weight rating of more than 16,000 pounds
Vehicles that are not self-propelled
Vehicles DVS has already determined to be exempt (PS2000B)
The seller enters the odometer reading and certifies it in the assignment area of the title. DVS states the disclosure is required for 20 years for all vehicles of model year 2011 or newer.

What happens to the plates

Plates stay on the vehicle in Minnesota. DVS states that when you sell your vehicle the license plate and registration taxes are assigned to the new owner, and the seller's right to use the registration certificate and plates ends on transfer.

The plates stay with the vehicle
The seller surrenders the plates

Minn. Stat. 168.15, subd. 1 requires the transferor to assign the registration tax already paid to the transferee's credit unless the registration stickers are surrendered to the commissioner before the first day of the new registration period. Two plates are required on passenger vehicles, commercial trucks, vans and recreational motor vehicles; a single plate is allowed for a passenger vehicle of model year 1972 or earlier, or one registered in a collector class. All passenger plates must be replaced when they are seven years old or older at renewal. DVS notes some exceptions to the plates-follow-the-vehicle rule and asks people to raise them with a deputy registrar.

How to submit

In person at an authorized third-party office
By mail

One errand. Minnesota's application is literally called "Application to title and register a vehicle" (PS2000A), and a deputy registrar issues the title and the registration in the same transaction - so bring your insurance company name, policy number and policy expiration date to it.

Official state links

Source: Minnesota Department of Public Safety, Driver and Vehicle Services (DVS). Checked July 31, 2026. Report a correction

Common questions about Minnesota

How long do I have to transfer a vehicle title in Minnesota?: 20 calendar days from the date the seller assigns the title certificate to you (DVS's fee schedule states the same 20 days from the sale date). Minn. Stat. 168A.10, subd. 2 states that failure to comply results in suspension of the vehicle's registration under Minn. Stat. 168.17, which allows the registrar to suspend once the transferee has not complied within 30 days of the date of sale.
How much does a title transfer cost in Minnesota?: The base title fee is $8.25. DVS's "Title fee", due on all initial applications for title and on title transfers, and each time a title is issued. It excludes the $12 filing fee, the $2.25 technology surcharge, the $1 deputy registrar local office surcharge, the $10 transfer tax, the $3.50 public safety vehicle fee, motor vehicle sales tax and registration tax. Motor vehicle sales tax is 6.875 percent of the purchase price for sales on or after 1 July 2023, collected by the deputy registrar when the title transfer is filed - unless the transfer is on DVS's published exemption list or qualifies for the $10 or $150 in-lieu tax.
Does a vehicle title transfer need to be notarized in Minnesota?: Sometimes required. The signatures on a Minnesota title are not notarized. Notarization attaches to a small set of side documents instead - a lender's lien release, the surviving spouse / not-subject-to-probate assignment, the affidavit used when there are no legal heirs, and a transfer-on-death designation.
Does the seller have to notify the title authority in Minnesota?: Yes. Minnesota Department of Public Safety, Driver and Vehicle Services (DVS). 10 calendar days from the date of sale. Reporting does not transfer ownership, but Minn. Stat. 168A.10, subd. 5 ties the seller's protection from liability for the buyer's later operation of the vehicle to having complied with this section, and DVS states it will suspend the vehicle's registration if the ownership documents and fees are not submitted within 30 days.
What happens to the license plates in Minnesota?: Plates stay on the vehicle in Minnesota. DVS states that when you sell your vehicle the license plate and registration taxes are assigned to the new owner, and the seller's right to use the registration certificate and plates ends on transfer.

About this page

Everything here is a summary of procedures published by official state title authorities, with a link to the source for each answer.

Unusual ownership, probate, lien, salvage, court-order or identity situations commonly require steps beyond those listed here.

We do not file anything with any agency, and we cannot submit, expedite, or check the status of a transfer. Ticking a box on this site records your own progress in your browser and nothing more.

37 official sources · last checked July 31, 2026 · How this was compiled · Report a correction