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

10 calendar days from the date of sale by a person other than a registered dealer. Driving a vehicle for which a certificate of title has not been issued or applied for is a misdemeanour under W. Va. Code §17A-3-1, punishable by a fine of not more than $500; a second or subsequent conviction carries a fine of not more than $500, up to six months in jail, or both.

How much does a title transfer cost in West Virginia?

The base title fee is $15. The $15 title fee is the title charge alone. It excludes the 6% titling sales tax (a flat $30 where the net purchase price is under $500), the $10-per-lien fee, the $10.50 license plate transfer fee, and the registration and plate fee — $51.50 for a standard Class A car or truck plate, more for specialty plates, plus $100 a year for hybrids and $200 a year for electric and alternative-fuel vehicles. West Virginia charges a 6% titling sales tax on the net purchase price of the vehicle, or a flat $30 where the net purchase price is under $500 — collected by DMV when the title is issued, not by the seller.

Does a vehicle title transfer need to be notarized in West Virginia?

Sometimes required. Neither the West Virginia title assignment nor the DMV-1-TR title application is notarized, but four specific documents are: the Bill of Sale, the gift affidavit, the Legal Heir Affidavit, and a lienholder's discharge on a duplicate-title application.

Does the seller have to notify the title authority in West Virginia?

Yes. West Virginia Division of Motor Vehicles (DMV). Retain your registration plates and immediately notify the Commissioner of Motor Vehicles of the transfer, delivering your certificate of registration; a $10 fee buys a new certificate showing what the plates will be used on from transferring or assigning title to the vehicle. The registration of the vehicle expires on transfer. If you want to move the plates to another vehicle you own, you must apply within 60 days of the date of purchase, and you may then operate that other vehicle for no more than 60 days from the date of the original transfer.

Transferring a vehicle title in West Virginia

Issued by West Virginia Division of Motor Vehicles (DMV). Choose your situation below — the buyer’s and seller’s obligations are listed separately, and every answer links to the official source.

Title fee: $15base title fee
Deadline: 10 daysfrom the date of sale
Documents: 4incl. DMV-1-TR
Where: State officein person

Seller and buyer both sign the back of the West Virginia title, with the odometer reading recorded in the assignment section, and the seller has 60 days from the date of sale to deliver the title. The buyer then files DMV-1-TR with a $15 title fee, 6% titling sales tax on the net purchase price (a flat $30 if the price is under $500), $10 per lien, and a plate fee. The buyer must apply before driving the vehicle on a highway, and may use the seller's registration for no more than 10 days and only while carrying the seller's written consent.

12 things this answer does not settle

Two current DMV pages contradict each other on the same duty: the Vehicle Inspection page says a vehicle acquired in West Virginia without a valid inspection sticker must be inspected within three days, while the Registrations page says 10 days. Work to three days.
West Virginia has moved to a Digital Title and says the Digital Title Reassignment of Ownership "effectively serv[es] the function of the 'back of the secure paper title'", but DMV's Titles page still describes signing the back of a paper certificate throughout. DMV publishes no citizen-facing instructions for generating a DTRO, and no way to tell which format your own vehicle is on. Its Digital Title portal also says both that the state "has transitioned to a secure, fully digital vehicle title process" and that residents "can now obtain digital vehicle titles in place of paper titles", which read as mandatory and optional respectively.
W. Va. Code §17A-4-2 requires the seller's assignment and statement of liens on the title to be "verified under oath by the owner", but no current DMV page or form instruction tells a private seller to have the title assignment notarized. The notarizations DMV actually publishes are the Bill of Sale (DMV-7-TR), the gift affidavit (DMV-5-TR), the Legal Heir Affidavit (DMV-185-TR) and the lienholder's discharge in Section D of DMV-4-TR.
DMV publishes the titling sales tax as 6%. The rate codified in W. Va. Code §17A-3-4(b) is five percent, and subsection (d) of the same section states that the tax imposed by (b) was abolished on 1 July 2008 and replaced by the tax under §11-15-3c. Use DMV's published 6%.
West Virginia publishes no affirmative statement that vehicle emissions testing is not required. The conclusion recorded here rests on W. Va. Code §17C-16-4, which limits the required periodic inspection to a vehicle's "mechanism, brakes, and equipment", and on the absence of any emissions requirement across DMV's titling, registration and inspection pages.
County personal property tax must be proved paid before any plate is issued, transferred or renewed, and that amount is set by your County Assessor and collected by your County Sheriff — DMV publishes no statewide schedule for it and it is not part of any DMV fee figure on this page.
DMV's Motor Vehicle Registration Fees brochure carries two different revision stamps in the same PDF: the fee panels are marked Revised 05/2024 and the vehicle classifications panel is still marked Rev 8/2019.
Two current DMV pages give different deadlines for inspecting a vehicle you have just bought in West Virginia: the Vehicle Inspection page says three days, the Registrations page says 10. Work to three days.
West Virginia has moved to a Digital Title, but DMV's Titles page still describes signing the back of a paper certificate. DMV publishes no citizen-facing instructions for how a private seller generates the Digital Title Reassignment of Ownership that replaces the back of the paper title, or how to tell which format your own vehicle is on.
W. Va. Code §17A-4-2 says the seller's statement of liens on the title assignment "shall be verified under oath by the owner", but no current DMV page or form instruction tells a private seller to have the title assignment notarized. If your county DMV counter asks for it, that statute is why.
DMV publishes no online calculator for the 6% titling sales tax and does not publish NADA Clean Loan Book values, so you cannot check the taxable figure yourself before you file.
Registration and plate fees, and the county personal property tax you must prove you have paid, are charged on top of the $15 title fee and are not part of any single published total.

Do this first

Before you pay, check that the vehicle identification number on the title matches the VIN on the vehicle, that the seller holds the title in their own name and can hand it over at the time of sale, and that the odometer reading on the vehicle is not lower than the reading on the face of the title.
If the vehicle is on a West Virginia Digital Title rather than a paper one, ask the seller to generate a Digital Title Reassignment of Ownership and accept it — the DTRO carries the odometer disclosure in your name and does the job of the back of the paper title. Verify the title and the DTRO at DMV's public verification portal before you hand over money.

Your checklist

Before you pay, check that the vehicle identification number on the title matches the VIN on the vehicle, that the seller holds the title in their own name and can hand it over at the time of sale, and that the odometer reading on the vehicle is not lower than the reading on the face of the title.Official page
If the vehicle is on a West Virginia Digital Title rather than a paper one, ask the seller to generate a Digital Title Reassignment of Ownership and accept it — the DTRO carries the odometer disclosure in your name and does the job of the back of the paper title. Verify the title and the DTRO at DMV's public verification portal before you hand over money.Applies when: The seller holds a West Virginia Digital Title instead of a paper certificate of title.Official page
Complete DMV-1-TR: the vehicle description and odometer reading, the purchase price, any trade-in and the net cost with the 6% sales tax worked out, your insurance company, agent, policy number and NAIC number, and any lien. Sign it as purchaser — if the title reads "AND", both owners must sign.DMV-1-TROfficial page
If you paid less than 50% of the current NADA Clean Loan Book value, attach a notarized bill of sale — DMV-7-TR or any notarized bill of sale — together with a copy of both your and the seller's driver's license. Without it the 6% tax is charged on book value instead of on what you paid.Applies when: The purchase price is below 50% of the current NADA Clean Loan Book value and the vehicle is more than two years old.DMV-7-TROfficial page
Decide the plate before you file: the seller's plates cannot come with the vehicle. Either move a plate already registered in your own name onto it — enter it under "Registration Plate Transferred From" on the DMV-1-TR and enclose a copy of both sides of that registration card, $10.50 — or buy a new plate, $51.50 for a standard Class A car or truck plate.DMV-1-TROfficial page
Enclose a statement of insurance or a copy of your Certificate of Insurance (WV-1), and a copy of your personal property tax receipt from your county sheriff or an Affidavit of Assessor (DMV-178-TR) — DMV cannot issue the plate without one. Insurance must already be in effect when DMV receives the application.DMV-178-TROfficial page
Send the assigned title, the DMV-1-TR and a cheque or money order payable to the Division of Motor Vehicles to DMV, 5707 MacCorkle Avenue SE, PO Box 17710, Charleston WV 25317 — or hand the package in at a DMV Regional Office or a privately-owned licensed service. Do not send cash; a dishonoured cheque costs a $10 service charge.DMV-1-TROfficial page
If the vehicle has no valid inspection sticker, take it to a station licensed by the West Virginia State Police and have it inspected — maximum sticker fee $19 for the two-year period. Carry the registration card and a current certificate of insurance in the vehicle when you go.Applies when: The vehicle you bought has no valid, unexpired West Virginia inspection sticker.Official page

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The seller's checklist

Endorse the assignment and warranty of title on the certificate of title with a statement of all liens and encumbrances on the vehicle, and deliver the title to the buyer within 60 days of the date of sale.Official page
Write the purchase price on the title truthfully and do not attach a bill of sale showing a different figure — DMV rejects those outright, and the fix is for you to apply for a duplicate title and start the assignment over.Official page
Take your registration plates off the vehicle and keep them. Notify the Commissioner of Motor Vehicles of the transfer immediately and send in your certificate of registration; a $10 fee buys a new certificate showing what the plates will be used on.Official page
To put those plates on a replacement vehicle of the same class, apply within 60 days of the date of purchase; you may then operate the replacement vehicle for 60 days, but no longer than 60 days from the original transfer. If the replacement needs a higher license fee, pay the difference.Applies when: You are moving your plates onto another vehicle you own.DMV-1-TROfficial page
If the buyer wants to drive the vehicle home on your registration, give them your written consent — the law lets them use it for no more than 10 days and only if they can produce that written consent to an officer on demand.Applies when: The buyer will drive the vehicle before their own plate is on it.Official page

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Both of you, together

Both the seller and the buyer sign the back of the West Virginia title. If the names on the front are joined by "AND", every owner must sign; if they are joined by "OR" or "AND/OR", either owner may sign.Official page
Record the odometer reading in the assignment section of the title at the time of transfer and mark it Actual Mileage, Not Actual Mileage, Mileage Exceeds Mechanical Limits, or Exempt. If the title has no such section — a West Virginia title issued before 1 January 1991 — use DMV-TM-1 instead, which both of you must acknowledge.DMV-TM-1Official page

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Documents and official forms

The West Virginia certificate of title, assigned on the back and signed by both seller and buyer, with the odometer reading recorded in the assignment sectionWhere the vehicle is on a West Virginia Digital Title, DMV says the Digital Title must be submitted together with the Digital Title Reassignment of Ownership, which carries a federally compliant odometer disclosure in the buyer's name.
DMV-1-TRApplication for Certificate of Title (DMV-1-TR), signed by the purchaserCarries the purchase price, trade-in and net cost, the 6% sales tax line, the plate being transferred, any lien, and the insurance details.
A statement of insurance, or a copy of your Certificate of Insurance (WV-1), showing the vehicle description, the VIN, the policy number and the insurer's NAIC numberInsurance must be in effect when DMV receives the application. Not required for Class C, R or T trailer registrations.
DMV-178-TRA copy of your personal property tax receipt from the county sheriff, or an Affidavit of Assessor (DMV-178-TR) from your County AssessorRequired for all registration renewals and transfers. A one-year registration needs proof for the previous tax year; a two-year registration needs proof for the previous two.

Also required in some cases

The purchase price is below 50% of the current NADA Clean Loan Book value.

DMV-7-TRA notarized bill of sale (DMV-7-TR or any notarized bill of sale), with a copy of both the buyer's and the seller's driver's license

The certificate of title has no odometer certification section on the back — West Virginia titles issued before 1 January 1991.

DMV-TM-1Odometer Disclosure Statement (DMV-TM-1)

You are transferring a license plate already registered in your own name.

A copy of both sides of the registration card for the plate you are moving onto the vehicle

The title being submitted shows an individual — not a financial institution — as the lienholder.

A copy of the loan agreement or contract

Deadlines

Deadline10 calendar days from the date of sale — Buyer: Apply for registration and a new certificate of title before you drive the vehicle on a highway; you may use the seller's registration for no more than 10 days, and only while carrying the seller's written consentDriving a vehicle for which a title has not been issued or applied for is a misdemeanour: a fine of not more than $500, and on a second or subsequent conviction a fine of not more than $500, up to six months in jail, or both.
Deadline3 calendar days from purchasing or otherwise acquiring the vehicle in West Virginia — Buyer: Have the vehicle inspected at a West Virginia State Police-licensed station if it carries no valid inspection sticker — DMV's Vehicle Inspection page says three days, its Registrations page says 10Operating without a current and valid certificate of inspection displayed is a misdemeanour with a fine of not more than $100. If you get the vehicle inspected and produce the receipt to the court within five days of the citation, and the previous certificate had not been invalid for more than three months, the violation does not stand.
Deadline60 calendar days from the date of sale — Seller: Deliver the endorsed certificate of title to the buyer
DeadlineRetain the plates and immediately notify the Commissioner of Motor Vehicles of the transfer, delivering your certificate of registration from transferring or assigning the title — SellerThe vehicle's registration expires on transfer, so leaving the plates on the car means the new owner is driving on an expired registration in your name.
Deadline60 calendar days from the date of purchase of the replacement vehicle — Seller: Apply to have the retained plates transferred to another vehicle you ownYou may operate the replacement vehicle on those plates for 60 days, but in no event longer than 60 days from the date of the original transfer.

Fees and taxes

Charge	Amount	Paid by
Base title fee	$15The $15 title fee is the title charge alone. It excludes the 6% titling sales tax (a flat $30 where the net purchase price is under $500), the $10-per-lien fee, the $10.50 license plate transfer fee, and the registration and plate fee — $51.50 for a standard Class A car or truck plate, more for specialty plates, plus $100 a year for hybrids and $200 a year for electric and alternative-fuel vehicles.	Buyer
Title fee	$15The title charge alone. It excludes the 6% titling sales tax, the $10-per-lien fee, the plate transfer or new plate fee, and the inspection sticker.	Buyer
Titling sales tax	6%Varies by the net purchase price after any West Virginia trade-in credit — or the NADA Clean Loan Book value where you paid under 50% of book value without a notarized bill of sale, or where the vehicle is two years old or less and was not bought from a registered dealer.6% of the net purchase price where that price is over $500; a flat $30 where it is under $500. A trade-in reduces the taxable amount only if it is titled in West Virginia in your name and the tax was paid on it; rebates are taxable. West Virginia gives no credit for tax paid to another state. DMV publishes no online calculator for this tax.	Buyer
Lien fee	$10Charged per lien recorded on the new title. Nothing is charged if you are not financing the vehicle.The DMV-1-TR has room for two liens; each one costs $10.	Buyer
License plate transfer fee	$10.50Charged when you move a plate already registered in your own name onto the vehicle. It does not include any registration renewal that may fall due.If the plate you are moving expires within the next 60 days, DMV recommends paying for the transfer and the renewal together.	Buyer
New registration plate	From $51.50Varies by the vehicle class and the plate design you choose.$51.50 for a standard graphic Class A plate on a car or truck up to 10,000 lbs. Specialty designs run from $61.50 to $86.50 new. Add $100 a year for a hybrid and $200 a year for an electric or alternative-fuel vehicle. A $1.00 litter fee and $0.50 insurance enforcement fee are already inside these figures.Official calculator	Buyer
Safety inspection sticker	$19This is the maximum sticker fee set when West Virginia moved to two-year inspections on 1 January 2024, and it covers the whole two-year period. It is paid to the State Police-licensed inspection station, not to DMV; a station may charge less.	Buyer
New registration certificate when the seller keeps the plates	$10Paid by the seller when they notify the Commissioner of the transfer and ask for a new certificate showing what the retained plates will be used on.	Seller
County personal property tax on the vehicle	Not publishedPersonal property tax is assessed by your County Assessor and collected by your County Sheriff, not by DMV, and no statewide schedule is published. DMV links to the counties that publish tax information online.You cannot get or renew a plate without proof that this tax has been paid, or an Affidavit of Assessor in its place.	Current owner

West Virginia charges a 6% titling sales tax on the net purchase price of the vehicle, or a flat $30 where the net purchase price is under $500 — collected by DMV when the title is issued, not by the seller.

Inspection, emissions, notary and odometer

Inspection: Required, unless you are exempt
A vehicle that already carries a valid, unexpired West Virginia inspection sticker does not need re-inspection until that sticker expires
Stickers issued by Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, New Hampshire, New York, Oklahoma, Texas, Utah and Wyoming are accepted in West Virginia until they expire
Class A farm-use vehicles exempt from registration are inspected only at the owner's request
West Virginia requires a safety inspection every 24 months at a station licensed by the West Virginia State Police, and it is illegal to drive without a valid inspection sticker — a vehicle acquired in West Virginia with no valid sticker must be inspected promptly after purchase.
Emissions: Not requiredNo emissions or smog test is part of getting a West Virginia title or registration — the state's periodic inspection is a safety inspection covering a vehicle's mechanism, brakes and equipment only.
Notarization: Sometimes required
A notarized bill of sale (DMV-7-TR or any notarized bill of sale) is required when the purchase price is below 50% of the current NADA Clean Loan Book value — without it the 6% tax is assessed on book value
Neither the West Virginia title assignment nor the DMV-1-TR title application carries a notary block, and DMV's titling page does not tell a private seller to have the title assignment notarized
Neither the West Virginia title assignment nor the DMV-1-TR title application is notarized, but four specific documents are: the Bill of Sale, the gift affidavit, the Legal Heir Affidavit, and a lienholder's discharge on a duplicate-title application.
Odometer disclosure: Required, unless you are exempt
West Virginia exempts by vehicle class, never by the age of the vehicle: Class B over 16,000 lbs GVWR, Class C trailers, Class H buses and limos over 16,000 lbs GVWR, Class I recreational and off-road vehicles not titled for on-road use, Class R recreational trailers and pull campers, Class T trailers, Class M mobile equipment over 16,000 lbs GVWR, and Class X trucks over 16,000 lbs GVWR
Federal law separately requires disclosure for all model-year 2011 and newer vehicles for 20 years from the date of manufacture
The seller must record the odometer reading in the assignment section of the title at the time of transfer, and mark it Actual Mileage, Not Actual Mileage, Mileage Exceeds Mechanical Limits, or Exempt — West Virginia exempts by vehicle class, never by the age of the vehicle.

What happens to the plates

Plates follow the person, not the vehicle: the seller keeps the plates and the registration expires on transfer, so the buyer must move a plate already registered in their own name onto the vehicle for $10.50 or buy a new one.

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

To move your own plate, send a copy of both sides of the registration card with the DMV-1-TR. A standard graphic Class A plate for a car or truck up to 10,000 lbs costs $51.50 new. DMV states expressly for gifts that "the original owner's plates cannot be used by the new owner. They must either have a valid plate in their name to transfer or purchase a new plate. Husband/wife can use each other's plates." A seller moving plates to a replacement vehicle must apply within 60 days of the date of purchase. A duplicate plate costs $10.50 and a duplicate decal or registration card $10.00; report a lost or stolen plate to the West Virginia State Police immediately.

How to submit

In person at a state title office
In person at an authorized third-party office
By mail

West Virginia titles and registers in one transaction: DMV may not issue registration or plates unless the applicant already holds a West Virginia title or applies for one at the same time, and the DMV-1-TR carries the plate-transfer, lien and registration fee lines on the same form.

Official state links

Source: West Virginia Division of Motor Vehicles (DMV). Checked July 31, 2026. Report a correction

Common questions about West Virginia

How long do I have to transfer a vehicle title in West Virginia?: 10 calendar days from the date of sale by a person other than a registered dealer. Driving a vehicle for which a certificate of title has not been issued or applied for is a misdemeanour under W. Va. Code §17A-3-1, punishable by a fine of not more than $500; a second or subsequent conviction carries a fine of not more than $500, up to six months in jail, or both.
How much does a title transfer cost in West Virginia?: The base title fee is $15. The $15 title fee is the title charge alone. It excludes the 6% titling sales tax (a flat $30 where the net purchase price is under $500), the $10-per-lien fee, the $10.50 license plate transfer fee, and the registration and plate fee — $51.50 for a standard Class A car or truck plate, more for specialty plates, plus $100 a year for hybrids and $200 a year for electric and alternative-fuel vehicles. West Virginia charges a 6% titling sales tax on the net purchase price of the vehicle, or a flat $30 where the net purchase price is under $500 — collected by DMV when the title is issued, not by the seller.
Does a vehicle title transfer need to be notarized in West Virginia?: Sometimes required. Neither the West Virginia title assignment nor the DMV-1-TR title application is notarized, but four specific documents are: the Bill of Sale, the gift affidavit, the Legal Heir Affidavit, and a lienholder's discharge on a duplicate-title application.
Does the seller have to notify the title authority in West Virginia?: Yes. West Virginia Division of Motor Vehicles (DMV). Retain your registration plates and immediately notify the Commissioner of Motor Vehicles of the transfer, delivering your certificate of registration; a $10 fee buys a new certificate showing what the plates will be used on from transferring or assigning title to the vehicle. The registration of the vehicle expires on transfer. If you want to move the plates to another vehicle you own, you must apply within 60 days of the date of purchase, and you may then operate that other vehicle for no more than 60 days from the date of the original transfer.
What happens to the license plates in West Virginia?: Plates follow the person, not the vehicle: the seller keeps the plates and the registration expires on transfer, so the buyer must move a plate already registered in their own name onto the vehicle for $10.50 or buy a new one.

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.

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