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

Register and title the vehicle in your name before driving it — the seller's registration expired at the moment ownership transferred from the transfer of ownership. 23 V.S.A. § 321 provides that a registered vehicle's registration expires on transfer of ownership, and the seller must remove the plates immediately. 23 V.S.A. § 1222(c) separately forbids operating a vehicle without a valid inspection certificate affixed. Vermont publishes no day count for a private buyer to file the application; the 15-calendar-day clock in the DMV's Dealer Registration Guide is a duty on licensed dealers.

How much does a title transfer cost in Vermont?

The base title fee is $42. The Vermont certificate of title fee for a car, truck, trailer or motorcycle — the same figure for a new title, a title after a transfer, a corrected title and a replacement. ATV, motorboat and snowmobile titles are $27.00. It excludes the registration fee, the 6% Purchase and Use Tax, the $14.00 per-lien fee, the $8.00 warranty fee on a new vehicle and the cost of the annual inspection. Vermont charges a 6% Purchase and Use Tax at the time of registration and/or title, calculated on the purchase price or the J.D. Power clean trade-in value, whichever is greater, less any trade-in or allowable credit.

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

Sometimes required. Vermont notarises almost nothing in a vehicle transfer: neither the title assignment, nor the bill of sale (VT-005), nor the registration and title application (VD-119) is notarised. One form is — the Affidavit of Non-Titled Vehicle (VT-025).

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

Yes. Vermont Department of Motor Vehicles (Agency of Transportation). Immediately return the registration certificate to the Commissioner with the date of transfer and the new owner's name and residence endorsed on the back from the transfer of ownership. 23 V.S.A. § 321. The Commissioner may accept other satisfactory evidence of the date of transfer and of the new ownership instead. The transferor must also remove the plates immediately, and return them to the DMV at the end of five days after the transfer unless an application to move them to another vehicle has been received within 24 hours.

Transferring a vehicle title in Vermont

Issued by Vermont Department of Motor Vehicles (Agency of Transportation). Choose your situation below — the buyer’s and seller’s obligations are listed separately, and every answer links to the official source.

Title fee: $42base title fee
Deadline: 15 daysfrom the date the vehicle is registered in the State of Vermont
Documents: 5incl. VD-119
Where: State officein person

Vermont has no separate title-transfer transaction: the buyer applies for the title and the registration together on one Registration, Tax & Title Application (VD-119) at a DMV office or by mail, and under Act 165 of 2024 the title is issued to the new owner when the vehicle is registered. The buyer pays a $42.00 title fee, the registration fee for the vehicle's class and term, and 6% Purchase and Use Tax on the purchase price or the J.D. Power clean trade-in value, whichever is greater. The seller's registration expires the instant ownership changes, so the seller takes the plates off at the handover and returns the registration certificate to the DMV with the buyer's name and the date of sale written on the back.

6 things this answer does not settle

Vermont's titling rule changed twice in quick succession and both changes are still visible in the published material. Act 41 of 2023 amended 23 V.S.A. §§ 2012, 2013 and 2017 to require titles for all vehicles from 1 January 2024, and Act 165 of 2024 provides that a title is issued to the new owner when a sold vehicle is registered. The practical effect the DMV publishes is that a vehicle more than 15 years old on 1 January 2024 that has been registered in Vermont and has not changed hands since stays exempt — in the DMV's shorthand, "a 2009 or older" vehicle already registered to you needs no title, and its registration certificate is the ownership document. The moment it is sold, the new owner gets a title.
23 V.S.A. § 2012(10) and § 2013 each appear twice in the current statute: one version "effective January 1, 2024" and a second "effective upon contingency being met" that has not yet taken effect. The contingent version would exempt every vehicle more than 15 years old on 1 January 2024 outright and would remove the optional "exempt vehicle title". This record follows the version currently in force.
Vermont registers a new motor vehicle up to 14,000 lbs GVWR only if it is California-certified or 50-state certified under the state's Low Emission Vehicle programme, and the LEV rules treat any vehicle with fewer than 7,500 miles on the odometer as new. A nearly new vehicle bought in a state that does not follow California standards can therefore be refused registration in Vermont.
The Certification of Tax Exemption (VT-014) carries two different revision stamps inside the same PDF — "VT-014 06/26" on page 1 and "VT-014 08/2025" on page 2. The form itself is the current one linked from the DMV's tax pages; the mismatch is in the stamps, not in two competing forms.
Vermont publishes no day count for a private buyer to file the title and registration application. The 15-calendar-day filing clock that appears on the DMV's Dealer Registration Guide is a duty on licensed dealers, not on private buyers. What is published for a private buyer is that the seller's registration expires at the moment of transfer, so the vehicle cannot lawfully be driven until it is registered in the buyer's name.
The cost of the annual safety and emissions inspection is set by each privately owned station rather than by the State, so no statewide figure is published.

Do this first

Take the Vermont certificate of title from the seller and check it before you hand over money: every owner named on the front must have signed the assignment of ownership on the back as seller, your name must be written on the "transferred to" line, and any lien shown on it must be released.
Get the seller's Bill of Sale and Odometer Disclosure Statement (VT-005) showing the make, year, VIN, purchase price, mileage, the seller's signature and the date of sale — Vermont will not process the registration without a bill of sale that identifies the vehicle to that level of detail.

Your checklist

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The seller's checklist

Sign the assignment and warranty of title on the back of the Vermont title at the moment you hand the vehicle over — every owner listed on the front must sign — write the buyer's name on the "transferred to" line and enter the odometer reading in the space provided.Official page
Give the buyer a completed Bill of Sale and Odometer Disclosure Statement (VT-005) carrying the make, year, VIN, purchase price, mileage, your signature and the date of sale. If the vehicle is jointly owned, both owners must sign it.VT-005Official page
Disclose in writing on the bill of sale — and out loud, before the sale — that the vehicle has been salvaged, salvaged and rebuilt, or declared a total loss, if any of those apply. Failing to disclose entitles the buyer to demand the purchase price back, including taxes and fees.Applies when: The vehicle has ever been salvaged, rebuilt from salvage, or totalled by an insurer.VT-005Official page
Take your registration plates off the vehicle immediately at the handover — the registration expired the moment ownership transferred, and the buyer cannot lawfully drive on your plates.Official page
Return the registration certificate to the Commissioner immediately, with the date of transfer and the buyer's name and residence endorsed on the back.Official page
Decide what happens to the plates: apply within 24 hours to transfer them to another unregistered vehicle you own (a $30.00 transfer fee, filed on a VD-119 with the plate number entered), or return them to the DMV at the end of five days after the transfer.VD-119Official page
Use the Registration & Plate Cancelation Request (VD-170) with the registration certificate or the plates if you are giving the registration up rather than moving it, and want any refund you qualify for. Cancelled plates cannot be reused.Applies when: You are not transferring the plates to a replacement vehicle.VD-170Official page
Hand over your Vermont registration certificate as the ownership document, along with the signed bill of sale, if the vehicle is a 2009 or older Vermont-registered vehicle that was never titled. The DMV recommends getting a title first if the buyer plans to register it out of state, and will issue one to you as the last registered owner.Applies when: The vehicle is model year 2009 or older, was registered in Vermont before the Act 165 change, and has no Vermont title.Official page

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Both of you, together

Complete the odometer disclosure together and both sign it: either both of you sign the odometer section on the back of the conforming Vermont title, or both sign the Odometer Disclosure Statement on the back of VT-005. It is required for any vehicle of model year 2011 or newer that is self-propelled and registered at 16,000 lbs or less.VT-005Official page

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Documents and official forms

Vermont certificate of title, assigned by every owner named on it, with the buyer's name on the "transferred to" line and all liens releasedFor a vehicle that was never titled because it is model year 2009 or older, the original or a certified copy of the last registration certificate plus every bill of sale since takes its place.
VT-005Bill of Sale and Odometer Disclosure StatementMust contain make, year, VIN, purchase price, mileage, the seller's signature and the date of sale.
VD-119Vermont Registration, Tax & Title ApplicationThis is the title application as well as the registration application; there is no separate Vermont title form.
Vermont driver's license or non-driver identification cardRegistration is limited to Vermont residents with a Vermont-issued credential; part-time residents, students and contract employees have named alternatives.
Liability insurance in effect on the vehicleNot filed with the DMV, but signing the VD-119 certifies the cover is already in force under 23 V.S.A. § 800(a).

Also required in some cases

You are registering by mail rather than at a counter.

J.D. Power valuation printout dated within the last seven days

The title is branded salvage, the vehicle is being titled under bond, or it carries a foreign-country registration including Canada.

VT-010Verification of VIN or HIN

NMVTIS shows no previous title and no previous registration for the vehicle in any jurisdiction.

VT-025Affidavit of Non-Titled Vehicle

The buyer will be the sole owner and wants a beneficiary named on the title.

VT-007Transfer on Death designation

You believe the vehicle is worth less than the J.D. Power clean trade-in value the tax would be based on.

VD-012Vermont Dealer Appraisal

The seller is giving up the registration and plates rather than transferring them.

VD-170Registration & Plate Cancelation Request

Deadlines

Deadline15 calendar days from the date the vehicle is registered in the State of Vermont — Buyer: Have the vehicle inspected at a Vermont-licensed inspection station within 15 days of registering it, if it does not already carry a current Vermont inspection sticker23 V.S.A. § 1222(c) forbids operating a vehicle without a valid certification of inspection affixed to it. The DMV states there is no grace period for inspection.
DeadlineImmediately return the registration certificate to the Commissioner with the date of transfer and the new owner's name and residence endorsed on the back from the transfer of ownership — SellerThe registration expires by operation of law at the moment ownership transfers. 23 V.S.A. § 321 allows the Commissioner to accept other satisfactory evidence of the date of transfer and the new ownership instead.
Deadline5 calendar days from the transfer of ownership — Seller: Return the plates to the DMV at the end of five days after the transfer, unless an application to transfer them to another vehicle has reached the Commissioner23 V.S.A. § 321 requires the number plates to be returned to the Commissioner at the end of five days after the transfer of ownership where no transfer application has been received.
Optional windowApply within 24 hours of the transfer to move the plates to another unregistered vehicle you own, if you want the 60-day grace period from the transfer of ownership — SellerMaking the transfer application within 24 hours is what buys the transferor 60 days during which they are not subject to a civil penalty for operating the replacement vehicle without the proper registration certificate. Miss it and the plates must go back to the DMV after five days.

Fees and taxes

Charge	Amount	Paid by
Base title fee	$42The Vermont certificate of title fee for a car, truck, trailer or motorcycle — the same figure for a new title, a title after a transfer, a corrected title and a replacement. ATV, motorboat and snowmobile titles are $27.00. It excludes the registration fee, the 6% Purchase and Use Tax, the $14.00 per-lien fee, the $8.00 warranty fee on a new vehicle and the cost of the annual inspection.	Buyer
Certificate of Title (car, truck, trailer or motorcycle)	$42The Vermont title fee alone. It excludes the registration fee, the 6% Purchase & Use Tax, the $14.00 per-lien fee, the $8.00 warranty fee on a new vehicle, any special-plate fee and the cost of the annual inspection. ATV, motorboat and snowmobile titles are $27.00.Charged the same for a first title, a title after a transfer, a corrected title and a replacement title.	Buyer
Vermont registration	From $91Varies by vehicle class, fuel type and registration term — an auto is $91.00 for one year on gas or diesel, $135.50 plug-in hybrid, $178.00 battery electric and $159.25 on other fuels, and $167.00 for two years on gas or diesel.Where applicable these figures already include the $2.00 Clean Air Fund fee and the EV infrastructure fee. Transferring an existing Vermont registration to the vehicle instead costs $30.00, plus the difference if the new vehicle's registration fee is higher.Official calculator	Buyer
Vermont Purchase and Use Tax	6%Varies by 6% of the purchase price or the J.D. Power clean trade-in value, whichever is greater, less any trade-in or allowable credit; trucks and off-highway tractors at 10,100 lbs curb weight or more, trailers and "all other vehicles" are capped at $2,486.00, while autos have no cap.Due at the time of registration and/or title, in the same transaction. If you register by mail you must enclose a J.D. Power valuation printed within the last seven days.Official calculator	Buyer
Transfer of a Vermont registration to another vehicle	$30Charged when the seller moves an existing registration and plates to a replacement vehicle. If the replacement vehicle's registration fee is higher, the difference is due on top.Set by 23 V.S.A. § 323 and listed on the DMV registration fee schedule.	Seller
Annual safety and emissions inspection	Not publishedVermont does not publish a statewide inspection price. Inspection stations are privately owned and 23 V.S.A. § 1222(b)(2) lets each station charge either its posted hourly rate or a flat fee, subject to the Commissioner's approval, with the fee posted beside its inspection certificate.Paid to the inspection station, not to the DMV.	Buyer

Vermont charges a 6% Purchase and Use Tax at the time of registration and/or title, calculated on the purchase price or the J.D. Power clean trade-in value, whichever is greater, less any trade-in or allowable credit.

Inspection, emissions, notary and odometer

Inspection: Required, unless you are exempt
Every registered Vermont vehicle takes an annual safety and visual emissions inspection.
A vehicle not currently inspected in Vermont must be inspected within 15 days following the date it is registered here.
Exempt: an exhibition vehicle of model year 1940 or before registered under 23 V.S.A. § 373, and a trailer registered under 23 V.S.A. § 371(a)(1)(A).
The DMV publishes that there is no grace period.
Every motor vehicle registered in Vermont must pass a safety and visual emissions inspection once each year, and a vehicle not currently inspected in Vermont must be inspected within 15 days following the date it is registered here.
Emissions: Required, unless you are exempt
A visual emissions check forms part of the annual inspection for every registered vehicle.
An emissions or OBD inspection is required each year only for vehicles 16 model years old or less.
Vehicles exempt from inspection altogether — pre-1941 exhibition vehicles and trailers registered under 23 V.S.A. § 371(a)(1)(A) — take no emissions test.
A visual emissions check is part of the annual inspection for every registered motor vehicle, and vehicles 16 model years old or less must also pass an emissions or on-board diagnostic (OBD) inspection each year.
Notarization: Sometimes required
Only where the buyer must file an Affidavit of Non-Titled Vehicle (VT-025) because NMVTIS holds no record of the vehicle in any jurisdiction — that affidavit must be signed in front of a notary.
The title assignment, the bill of sale (VT-005) and the registration and title application (VD-119) are not notarised in Vermont.
Vermont notarises almost nothing in a vehicle transfer: neither the title assignment, nor the bill of sale (VT-005), nor the registration and title application (VD-119) is notarised. One form is — the Affidavit of Non-Titled Vehicle (VT-025).
Odometer disclosure: Required, unless you are exempt
Required on every transfer of a vehicle of model year 2011 or newer.
Model year 2010 and older vehicles are exempt from the federal disclosure requirement.
Applies to self-propelled vehicles with a registered weight of 16,000 lbs or less.
The exemption is a rolling 20 years: sellers of a model year 2011 vehicle must keep disclosing until 2031.
An odometer disclosure is required on every transfer of a vehicle of model year 2011 or newer; either both parties sign the back of a conforming Vermont title, or they complete the Odometer Disclosure Statement on the back of VT-005.

What happens to the plates

Vermont plates belong to the person, not the vehicle: the moment ownership transfers the registration expires, and the seller must immediately take the plates off the vehicle.

The seller keeps the plates
The seller may move the plates to a replacement vehicle
The seller surrenders the plates
The buyer gets new plates
The buyer supplies a plate registered in their own name

Under 23 V.S.A. § 321 the transferor may move those plates to another unregistered vehicle they own, and is then protected from a civil penalty for 60 days while unregistered, provided an application to transfer the plates was made within 24 hours of the transfer. If no transfer application reaches the Commissioner, the plates must be returned to the DMV at the end of five days after the transfer of ownership. Transferring a registration to a replacement vehicle costs $30.00 under 23 V.S.A. § 323, plus the difference if the new vehicle's registration fee is higher. A registration and plates can instead be cancelled on form VD-170 — but cancelled plates cannot be reused. Plates must be displayed as issued: one plate goes on the rear, and where two are issued one goes front and one rear.

How to submit

In person at a state title office
By mail

In Vermont titling and registering are one errand and one form: the Registration, Tax & Title Application (VD-119) is the title application, and Act 165 of 2024 provides that when a vehicle is sold to a new owner the title is issued to that owner when the vehicle is registered.

Official state links

Source: Vermont Department of Motor Vehicles (Agency of Transportation). Checked July 31, 2026. Report a correction

Common questions about Vermont

How long do I have to transfer a vehicle title in Vermont?: Register and title the vehicle in your name before driving it — the seller's registration expired at the moment ownership transferred from the transfer of ownership. 23 V.S.A. § 321 provides that a registered vehicle's registration expires on transfer of ownership, and the seller must remove the plates immediately. 23 V.S.A. § 1222(c) separately forbids operating a vehicle without a valid inspection certificate affixed. Vermont publishes no day count for a private buyer to file the application; the 15-calendar-day clock in the DMV's Dealer Registration Guide is a duty on licensed dealers.
How much does a title transfer cost in Vermont?: The base title fee is $42. The Vermont certificate of title fee for a car, truck, trailer or motorcycle — the same figure for a new title, a title after a transfer, a corrected title and a replacement. ATV, motorboat and snowmobile titles are $27.00. It excludes the registration fee, the 6% Purchase and Use Tax, the $14.00 per-lien fee, the $8.00 warranty fee on a new vehicle and the cost of the annual inspection. Vermont charges a 6% Purchase and Use Tax at the time of registration and/or title, calculated on the purchase price or the J.D. Power clean trade-in value, whichever is greater, less any trade-in or allowable credit.
Does a vehicle title transfer need to be notarized in Vermont?: Sometimes required. Vermont notarises almost nothing in a vehicle transfer: neither the title assignment, nor the bill of sale (VT-005), nor the registration and title application (VD-119) is notarised. One form is — the Affidavit of Non-Titled Vehicle (VT-025).
Does the seller have to notify the title authority in Vermont?: Yes. Vermont Department of Motor Vehicles (Agency of Transportation). Immediately return the registration certificate to the Commissioner with the date of transfer and the new owner's name and residence endorsed on the back from the transfer of ownership. 23 V.S.A. § 321. The Commissioner may accept other satisfactory evidence of the date of transfer and of the new ownership instead. The transferor must also remove the plates immediately, and return them to the DMV at the end of five days after the transfer unless an application to move them to another vehicle has been received within 24 hours.
What happens to the license plates in Vermont?: Vermont plates belong to the person, not the vehicle: the moment ownership transfers the registration expires, and the seller must immediately take the plates off the vehicle.

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.

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