- Title fee
- $15base title fee
- Deadline
- 30 daysfrom the date of purchase or transfer of the vehicle
- Documents
- 3incl. VSA 17A
- Where
- State officein person
The Virginia title does most of the work: the seller completes Section A on the front — printing and signing as seller, entering the buyer's name and address, the odometer reading, the date of sale and the price — and the buyer completes Sections A, E, F, G and H. The buyer must apply to DMV for a certificate of ownership within 30 days of the purchase and pays a $15 titling fee plus 4.15% Motor Vehicle Sales and Use Tax on the gross sales price, with a $75 minimum. Nothing on the title itself is notarized; the seller keeps the plates and must notify DMV of the sale.
8 things this answer does not settle
- Local government charges are outside DMV's fee chart. Cities and counties in Virginia may charge a local vehicle registration fee and may require a local sticker or decal within 30 days of moving there, sold by the local Commissioner of the Revenue, Treasurer or Director of Finance. DMV does not publish those amounts and cannot issue the decal.
- Safety inspection prices in Va. Code § 46.2-1167 are statutory maximums an official inspection station may charge, not a fixed fee, and the Code states that no such charge is mandatory unless the station has previously contracted for it. The Virginia State Police, not DMV, run the inspection program, and the Virginia State Police web server presented an incomplete TLS certificate chain when checked on 2026-07-30, so its inspection pages are not cited here.
- Two current DMV publications give different small-estate thresholds for an inherited vehicle: DMV's Transfer Vehicle Ownership and Replacement Titles web pages say the estate must be under $50,000, while DMV's own Deceased Owner Title Transfer Guide, revised 03/10/2026, says less than $75,000. Confirm the current figure with DMV before relying on either.
- DMV's site returns a redirect loop for its Register Your Vehicle and License Plates landing pages, so registration and plate detail beyond what is recorded here could not be read from those pages on 2026-07-30.
- DMV does not publish a numeric deadline for the seller to notify it of a sale. Its plate-surrender service says only that plates must be surrendered immediately once the vehicle is sold, traded or no longer operated.
- Safety inspection prices are statutory maximums set in Va. Code § 46.2-1167, not fixed charges, and the actual price is set by the inspection station.
- Local vehicle registration fees and local stickers or decals are set by each city or county; DMV does not publish those amounts.
- This answer assumes the title carries no lien. If a lienholder still holds the title, see the lien scenario — DMV forwards a title with a recorded lien to the lender, and Va. Code § 46.2-617 makes it a Class 3 misdemeanor to sell a vehicle without legally having its certificate of title in your possession.
Do this first
- Check the vehicle's condition and history through the National Motor Vehicle Title Information System before you hand over money — DMV links it from its buying and selling page — and consider a $12 Prospective Purchaser Inquiry to see what DMV's own record shows for the vehicle.
- Before you accept the title, check that the seller has completed Section A on the front: the signature of every owner listed on the title, the correct odometer reading and its certification (for example "Actual Mileage"), your name and address, the correct date of sale and the correct sales price.
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 Virginia certificate of title with Section A (assignment by the owner) and Section H (Certification of Buyer) completedSection A carries the seller's and buyer's signatures, the buyer's name and address, the odometer reading and certification, the date of sale and the sale price. DMV's counter procedure accepts a fully completed Virginia title in place of a VSA 17A.
- One original proof of your residential address from the DMV 177 listThe name and address must match the title application. A P.O. box or business address is not acceptable, and DMV may verify the document with the issuer.
- Proof of purchase price — a buyer's order, a bill of sale, or the seller's declared sale price written on the titleA handwritten bill of sale must be signed by both the seller and the purchaser. DMV also accepts a Vehicle Price Certification (SUT 1) for a vehicle more than 5 years old.
Also required in some cases
You are applying by mail, or the Virginia title's own assignment and buyer certification sections are not fully completed.
- VSA 17AApplication for Certificate of Title and Registration (VSA 17A)
The vehicle is more than 5 years old and the sale price is not written on the title or an incorrect price was written.
- SUT 1Vehicle Price Certification (SUT 1)
The vehicle is 5 model years old or less and the sales price is not within a $1,500 variance of the current NADA trade-in value.
- SUT 1AAffidavit of Vehicle Purchase Price (SUT 1A)
Deadlines
- Deadline30 calendar days from the date of purchase or transfer of the vehicle — Buyer: Apply to DMV for a certificate of ownership within 30 days of the purchase or transferVirginia publishes no separate late-filing penalty for the title application itself, but the vehicle may not be operated on any highway in the Commonwealth until it is titled and registered.
- DeadlineRemove the plates before the buyer takes possession, then immediately surrender, inactivate or transfer them and notify DMV of the sale from the sale, trade or donation of the vehicle — SellerIf your insurer cancels liability coverage on a vehicle DMV still shows registered in your name, DMV may suspend your driver's license and vehicle registration privileges.
Fees and taxes
| Charge | Amount | Paid by |
|---|---|---|
| Base title fee | $15The $15 titling fee is the title charge only. It excludes the 4.15% Motor Vehicle Sales and Use Tax (minimum $75), vehicle registration fees, the $2 per year emissions surcharge in the Northern Virginia program area, and any local vehicle registration fee or decal charged by your city or county. | Buyer |
| Original title fee | $15Title charge only. It excludes the sales and use tax, registration fees and any local vehicle registration fee. | Buyer |
| Motor Vehicle Sales and Use Tax | 4.15%Varies by the vehicle's gross sales price — 4.15% of gross sales price or $75, whichever is greater.Gross sales price includes the dealer processing fee and is not reduced by a trade-in credit, unpaid liens or other unpaid credits.Official calculator | Buyer |
| Vehicle registration fee | From $30.75Varies by vehicle type and weight, the plate you choose, the registration period, and whether the vehicle is subject to a highway use fee.$30.75 is the annual fee for a passenger vehicle of 4,000 lbs or less; 4,001 to 6,500 lbs is $35.75. Charged only if you register at the same time as titling.Official calculator | Buyer |
| Registration transfer fee (moving plates from another vehicle you own) | $2Charged instead of buying a new plate when you move an existing plate to the vehicle. | Buyer |
| Emissions surcharge added to registration in the Northern Virginia program area | $2Per year, added by DMV at registration for vehicles garaged in Arlington, Fairfax, Loudoun, Prince William or Stafford counties or the cities of Alexandria, Fairfax, Falls Church, Manassas or Manassas Park.Charged even for vehicles that are exempt from the emissions test because of their age. | Buyer |
| Annual Virginia safety inspection | $12–$51Statutory maximums an official inspection station may charge: $12 for a motorcycle or autocycle, $20 for any other vehicle, and $51 for a tractor truck, a truck rated 26,000 lbs or more, or a vehicle seating more than 15 passengers. The Code states no such charge is mandatory unless the station has previously contracted for it, so stations may charge less.Paid to the inspection station, not to DMV. A reinspection within the rejection sticker's validity period is capped at $1. | Buyer |
| Prospective Purchaser Inquiry (optional pre-purchase check of DMV's record) | $12Optional. DMV links this service from its buying and selling page. | Buyer |
| Local vehicle registration fee or local sticker/decal | Not publishedDMV states the locality where you live may require you to register the vehicle and pay local fees, and directs you to your Commissioner of the Revenue, Treasurer or Director of Finance. DMV does not publish those local amounts and does not collect or issue the decal. | Buyer |
Virginia collects a 4.15% Motor Vehicle Sales and Use Tax at the time of titling whenever a vehicle is sold or ownership changes, based on the vehicle's gross sales price or $75, whichever is greater.
Inspection, emissions, notary and odometer
- Inspection
- RequiredVirginia requires an annual safety inspection sticker before a vehicle is operated in Virginia — it is not a condition of getting the title, but you cannot legally drive the vehicle without it.
- Emissions
- Sometimes required
- The vehicle is garaged in Arlington, Fairfax, Loudoun, Prince William or Stafford county, or in the city of Alexandria, Fairfax, Falls Church, Manassas or Manassas Park
- Exempt: motorcycles, autocycles, clean-fuel-only vehicles, most diesel vehicles, gasoline vehicles over 10,000 lbs GVWR, and gasoline vehicles more than 25 model years old
- Exempt: used vehicles of the current and three previous model years, for up to 4 years
- DMV will not register or re-register a vehicle subject to the program until it has passed or holds a repair-cost waiver
- Notarization
- Sometimes required
- The vehicle is 5 model years old or less and the declared sale price is not within a $1,500 variance of the current NADA Official Used Car Guide trade-in value — the buyer's signature on the Affidavit of Vehicle Purchase Price (SUT 1A) must be notarized
- Odometer disclosure
- RequiredOn every transfer the seller must record the actual odometer reading in the assignment section of the title and the buyer must record the same reading on the Application for Title and Registration — DMV tells sellers not to guess or estimate.
What happens to the plates
Virginia plates belong to the person, not the vehicle: the seller must remove the plates before the buyer takes possession, and the buyer must buy new plates or transfer plates from another vehicle they own for a $2 registration transfer fee.
- The seller keeps the plates
- The seller surrenders 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
A seller who is not moving the plates to a replacement vehicle must turn them in or inactivate them online, at a DMV customer service center or at a DMV Select, and should do so before telling the insurer about the sale. With six or more full months left in the registration period the seller may apply for a partial refund on the Vehicle Registration Refund Application (FMS 210), submitted with the plates; partial refunds exclude one-time plate reservation fees, Virginia Road Tax for heavy trucks and any late fees. Surrendering a plate through DMV's online plate-surrender service is permanent — a surrendered plate cannot be transferred or reused and carries no partial refund.
How to submit
- In person at a state title office
- In person at an authorized third-party office
- By mail
- Online
Virginia normally titles and registers in a single transaction: the Virginia title itself carries Section G, "Application for Registration", and the VSA 17A application covers both title and plates, so most people leave one DMV visit with a title record and license plates.
Official state links
Source: Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV). Checked July 30, 2026. Report a correction