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

45 calendar days from the date of the transfer of ownership. The same 45 days is the only authority to drive the vehicle unregistered. WYDOT tells clerks and treasurers that a transferee "may operate a vehicle without registration for 45 days from the date of purchase/acquisition with a properly executed title"; after that the vehicle may not be driven until it is registered.

How much does a title transfer cost in Wyoming?

The base title fee is $15. W.S. 31-3-102(a)(vii), "Certificate of title, original or duplicate ... $15.00", confirmed on the Natrona, Carbon, Big Horn and Crook county clerk fee lists. It excludes the $10 VIN inspection, the county and state registration fees paid to the county treasurer, and the sales or use tax. Sales or use tax is due to your county treasurer within 65 days of the purchase, at the rate for the county where you actually live - 4% statewide plus any county optional tax.

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

Required. Wyoming is a notary state at both ends of the deal: the seller's assignment on the title must be signed before a notarial officer, and county clerks also require the buyer's purchaser's application to be notarized.

Wyoming vehicle title transfer: documents, deadlines and fees

Title fee: $15base title fee
Deadline: 45 daysfrom the date of the transfer of ownership
Documents: 6incl. MV-300A
Where: Countytax office, in person

Wyoming runs this on notary signatures and a 45-day clock. The seller writes the buyer's name into the Assignment of Ownership box on the back of the title, then signs the assignment before a notary and hands the dated title over with the vehicle; the buyer signs the purchaser's application before a notary too. The buyer has 45 days from the transfer to apply to the county clerk for a new title and register - the same 45 days is the only authority to drive on the signed title - and 65 days to pay the sales or use tax to the county treasurer, which the clerk must see a receipt for before releasing the title. Title fee $15.

13 things this answer does not settle

Wyoming has no single statewide title office. Titles are issued by each of the 23 county clerks and registration by each county treasurer, and every county publishes its own instructions and its own fee schedule. The figures here are the ones fixed in Wyoming Statutes and confirmed across several counties; document lists and recording fees genuinely differ between counties, so check your own clerk's page before you travel.
Two official publications disagree on the sales tax deadline. W.S. 39-15-107(b)(ii), the Department of Revenue's Form 107 and the Crook, Park and Hot Springs county pages all say 65 days from the date of purchase. Big Horn County's title page says "Sales tax on motor vehicles is due within 60 days of the date of purchase" and refers to 50 days in the next sentence. Sixty-five days is the statutory limit; paying earlier is never wrong.
The combined sales or use tax rate is the state 4% plus each county's optional taxes. We did not find a current published county rate table on the Department of Revenue site, so this record cannot tell you your own rate - Park County publishes 4%, and the treasurer charges the rate for the county of your principal residence, not the county of purchase.
County affidavit-of-distributee forms print small-estate thresholds that contradict the statute and themselves: Teton County's form reads "one hundred fifty thousand dollars ($200,000.00)" and Albany County's (6/2024) reads "two hundred thousand dollars ($400,000.00)", against $400,000 in W.S. 2-1-201(a)(i).
On duplicate titles, W.S. 31-2-105(a) says "'owner' means any one (1) person listed as owner on the face of the title", but every county duplicate-title application we read requires all owners to sign before a notary. The counter rule is the stricter one.
WYDOT prices the same MV-220 title search at $15 on its Title Search page and at $5.00 on the MV-147 instruction sheet, both currently published on its own site.
The MV-300A carries no notary jurat, yet county clerks state that the purchaser's application must be notarized. In practice the notarized purchaser signature is usually the one printed in the block on the back of the Wyoming title. Ask your clerk which document they want notarized.
No official Wyoming source we read makes an emissions test or a periodic safety inspection a condition of titling or registration, and none states an exemption either. This record therefore says "not published" rather than "not required" - absence from a checklist is not the same as a published rule.
Wyoming's sales tax exemption for transfers between immediate family members, W.S. 39-15-105(a)(xi), appears in the current statute compilation with no delayed-effective-date note, but we did not locate the session law that created it and so could not verify its effective date from a primary source.
Several sections of Title 31 carry a "Note: Effective 7/1/2027" variant introducing an electronic lien and title system under W.S. 31-2-113, electronic signature of title assignments and electronic delivery. Everything in this record is the paper procedure in force now.
Big Horn County's title page says vehicle sales tax is "due within 60 days of the date of purchase" and refers to 50 days elsewhere on the same page, while W.S. 39-15-107(b)(ii), the Department of Revenue's Form 107 and the Crook, Park and Hot Springs county pages all say 65 days. Treat 65 days as the statutory outside limit and pay earlier if your county says so.
The combined sales tax rate is the state 4% plus whatever optional tax your county levies, and we did not find a current published county rate table, so this record cannot give you your own rate. Park County publishes 4%. Ask your county treasurer for yours.
The MV-300A itself carries no notary block, yet county clerks say the purchaser's application must be notarized. In practice the notarized signature is usually the one in the purchaser's block on the back of the title. Ask your county clerk which document they want notarized before you pay a notary.

Do this first

Before the seller signs, check that your name and address are written into the first box on the back of the title, the "Assignment of Ownership" box. Platte and Goshen counties both require the purchaser's name to be entered there before the seller's signature is notarized, and a title signed with that box blank is an open assignment the clerk can reject.
Look at the front of the title for a recorded lien. If one is shown it must be cleared before the title can transfer - either a deputy county clerk releases it on the face of the title, or the seller gives you a lien release or termination statement from the lienholder. Do not hand over money on a title with a live lien noted on it.

Your checklist

Before the seller signs, check that your name and address are written into the first box on the back of the title, the "Assignment of Ownership" box. Platte and Goshen counties both require the purchaser's name to be entered there before the seller's signature is notarized, and a title signed with that box blank is an open assignment the clerk can reject.
Look at the front of the title for a recorded lien. If one is shown it must be cleared before the title can transfer - either a deputy county clerk releases it on the face of the title, or the seller gives you a lien release or termination statement from the lienholder. Do not hand over money on a title with a live lien noted on it.
Sign the purchaser's application on the back of the Wyoming title in front of a notary. Big Horn County states that where the vehicle was bought from an individual, "at least one of the buyer's must sign the purchaser's application and have their signature notarized" - and several county clerks will notarize it at their own counter, so this is usually done when you file.
If the county wants a separate application rather than the block printed on the title, complete the MV-300A Application for Certificate of Title and sign it as purchaser, again before a notary. Natrona County's rule is blunt: "Notarization is required on all Wyoming titles, applications, and dealer reassignment forms."Applies when: Your county clerk uses the separate application rather than the purchaser's block on the back of the title.MV-300AOfficial page
Take the notarized title, your notarized purchaser's application, the completed odometer disclosure, the bill of sale and $15 to the county clerk in the county where you live, within 45 days of the transfer. Wyoming titles are issued by the county clerk, not by WYDOT, and the clerk in your county of residence is the right office even if you bought the car elsewhere in the state.Official page
Pay the sales or use tax to your county treasurer within 65 days of the sale and keep the receipt. W.S. 31-2-103(d) stops the county clerk delivering the title "until presentation of a receipt for payment of sales or use tax", which Goshen County describes as retaining all titles pending sales tax payment through the treasurer's office. Where you did not buy from a dealer, the price is declared on the bill of sale or the affidavit referred to in W.S. 39-15-104(b)(ii) rather than a dealer invoice.Official page
Register the vehicle and get plates at the county treasurer, bringing proof of insurance and the title or title number. The seller's plates go with the seller, so budget for the county registration fee (3% of a declining share of factory price, minimum $5) plus the state fee - $30 for a passenger car.
While the 45 days run, carry the properly executed title in the vehicle. WYDOT's 2023 memorandum to county clerks and treasurers confirms a transferee "may operate a vehicle without registration for 45 days from the date of purchase/acquisition with a properly executed title for the vehicle that transfers ownership to the transferee" - the signed title is your temporary authority to drive, so keep it with you rather than filing it away.Official page

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The seller's checklist

Write the buyer's name and address into the "Assignment of Ownership" box on the back of the title first, then sign. Platte County: the purchaser's name must be written on the back of the title in the first box before the title is signed and notarized by the seller.
Sign and date the assignment and warranty of title in front of a notarial officer, listing all liens and encumbrances, and hand the dated title to the buyer when you hand over the vehicle. That sequence is the statute itself - W.S. 31-2-104(a) requires the assignment "signed and dated by the owner before a notarial officer and acknowledged thereby ... to be dated and delivered to the transferee at the time of delivering the vehicle."Official page
If more than one name is on the front of the title, work out who has to sign. Every owner must sign before a notary if the title was issued before 1 January 2020, or if the names are joined by "and" or "and/or", or if it is held as joint tenants with right of survivorship. On a title issued from 2020 onward where the names are joined by "or", one owner can sign alone - but a title reading both "OR" and "JTWROS" needs everybody.Applies when: The title names more than one owner.
Remove your license plates from the vehicle immediately. W.S. 31-2-214(a): "upon transfer of ownership of a vehicle the registration of the vehicle expires and the original owner shall immediately remove the license plates from the vehicle." The plates are yours, not the car's.Official page
If you are replacing the vehicle, apply to the county treasurer within 60 days to move the license registration number onto the new one. You pay what a new registration would cost as at the date of transfer, less credit for the unused portion of the old registration; if the new vehicle is cheaper to register there is no refund of the difference.Applies when: You buy a replacement vehicle for which the plates would be proper.Official page
Give the buyer a bill of sale. Teton County lists a bill of sale as the proof-of-ownership document for a private purchase, and for a private sale it is also what the county treasurer uses to establish the price the sales tax is charged on.

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Both of you, together

Complete the odometer disclosure on the back of the title together, in actual miles with no tenths. Carbon County requires both the seller and the purchaser to complete disclosure statements. If the block printed on the title does not meet federal standards, use a separate odometer disclosure statement instead.

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Documents and official forms

Original Wyoming certificate of title with the assignment and warranty completed, signed before a notarial officer and datedNot a photocopy. The buyer's name must be in the Assignment of Ownership box before the seller signs, and the title must be delivered to the buyer at the time the vehicle changes hands.
Purchaser's application on the back of the Wyoming title, signed by the buyer before a notaryWhere the county uses the separate MV-300A instead, that form takes its place and is notarized the same way.
Federal odometer disclosure, completed on the back of the title or on a separate statementRequired for 2011 and later model years until they are 20 years old; 2010 and earlier are exempt once more than 10 years old.
Bill of saleTeton and Albany counties list it as the proof of ownership for a private purchase; it is also the price declaration the county treasurer taxes on where there is no dealer invoice.
$15 title fee, payable to the county clerkW.S. 31-3-102(a)(vii). Registration fees and the sales or use tax are separate and go to the county treasurer.
Proof of insurance, for the registration step at the county treasurerNeeded for plates, not for the title itself.

Also required in some cases

A lien is recorded on the front of the title.

Lien release or termination statement from the lienholder

The county clerk uses a separate application rather than the purchaser's block printed on the back of the title.

MV-300AMV-300A Application for Certificate of Title and VIN/HIN Inspection Form

Natrona County asks for a notarized bill of sale in certain circumstances; ask your own county clerk before assuming a plain bill of sale is enough.

Notarized bill of sale

Deadlines

Deadline45 calendar days from the date of the transfer of ownership — Buyer: Apply to the county clerk for a Wyoming certificate of title and register the vehicle within 45 days of the transferThe same 45 days is the only authority to drive the vehicle unregistered. WYDOT tells clerks and treasurers that a transferee "may operate a vehicle without registration for 45 days from the date of purchase/acquisition with a properly executed title"; after that the vehicle may not be driven until it is registered.
Deadline65 calendar days from the date of sale, or for a vehicle brought into Wyoming the date it was brought into the state — Buyer: Pay the sales or use tax to the county treasurer within 65 daysInterest runs at 1% of the tax per month from the sixty-fifth day, and the county treasurer adds a civil fee. The county clerk cannot hand over the title until the treasurer's receipt is presented, so an unpaid tax also stalls the title.
DeadlineRemove the license plates from the vehicle immediately on transferring ownership from the transfer of ownership — SellerThe registration expires the moment ownership transfers, so plates left on the vehicle are no longer valid registration for it.
Optional window60 calendar days from acquiring another vehicle for which the plates would be proper — Seller: Apply within 60 days to move the license registration number to a replacement vehicleMiss the window and the unused portion of the original registration fee cannot be credited against the replacement vehicle's registration.

Fees and taxes

Charge	Amount	Paid by
Base title fee	$15W.S. 31-3-102(a)(vii), "Certificate of title, original or duplicate ... $15.00", confirmed on the Natrona, Carbon, Big Horn and Crook county clerk fee lists. It excludes the $10 VIN inspection, the county and state registration fees paid to the county treasurer, and the sales or use tax.	Buyer
Wyoming certificate of title	$15Set by W.S. 31-3-102(a)(vii) for an original or duplicate title and charged at the same $15 by every county clerk fee schedule we read. It does not include the county and state registration fees paid separately to the county treasurer, the sales or use tax, or the $10 VIN inspection.Paid to the county clerk in the county of residence. One dollar of it is credited to the county abandoned vehicle account.	Buyer
Wyoming sales or use tax on the vehicle	4%Varies by the purchase price (or, for a gift, fair market value) and the combined state and county rate at the buyer's principal Wyoming residence.Collected by the county treasurer at the tax rate in effect in the county of the owner's principal residence, not the county where the vehicle was bought. Wyoming's statutory rate is 3% plus an additional 1%, administered as 4%; individual counties levy optional taxes on top of that, and Park County publishes its combined rate as 4%. The county clerk will not release the title until the treasurer's receipt is produced (W.S. 31-2-103(d)).	Buyer
County registration fee	From $5Varies by the vehicle's factory price plus special equipment value and its year of service - 3% of 60%, 50%, 40%, 30%, 20% then 15% of factory price in years one to six and after.W.S. 31-3-101(a)(i): the computed amount or $5.00, whichever is greater. Paid to the county treasurer, not the county clerk, and separate from the $15 title fee.	Buyer
State registration fee	From $5Varies by vehicle type, and for house trailers and other noncommercial vehicles the unladen weight.W.S. 31-3-101(a)(ii): $30.00 for passenger cars, $25.00 for motorcycles, autocycles and multipurpose vehicles, $25.00 for school buses, and $5.00 to $90.00 by unladen weight for house trailers and other noncommercial vehicles. Commercial vehicles are charged on gross vehicle weight instead.	Buyer

Sales or use tax is due to your county treasurer within 65 days of the purchase, at the rate for the county where you actually live - 4% statewide plus any county optional tax.

Inspection, emissions, notary and odometer

Inspection: Not requiredWyoming's only titling inspection is a VIN check, and it is triggered by where the vehicle was last titled - not by its age or condition.
Emissions: Not publishedNo official Wyoming source we read makes an emissions test part of titling or registering a vehicle, and no county clerk document list mentions one - but we found no page that states an exemption either, so we are recording this as unpublished rather than as a definite no.
Notarization: RequiredWyoming is a notary state at both ends of the deal: the seller's assignment on the title must be signed before a notarial officer, and county clerks also require the buyer's purchaser's application to be notarized.
Odometer disclosure: Required, unless you are exempt
Model year 2010 and earlier: exempt once more than 10 years old.
Model year 2011 and later: exempt only after 20 years.
A separate odometer disclosure statement may be used where the disclosure printed on the title does not meet federal standards.
The odometer disclosure goes on the back of the Wyoming title and both parties complete it; the exemption age depends on whether the vehicle is a 2011 or later model year.

What happens to the plates

Plates follow the seller, not the vehicle: on a sale the registration expires and the seller must take the plates off immediately, while the buyer registers and plates the vehicle afresh at the county treasurer.

The seller keeps the plates
The seller may move the plates to a replacement vehicle
The buyer gets new plates

W.S. 31-2-214(a): "upon transfer of ownership of a vehicle the registration of the vehicle expires and the original owner shall immediately remove the license plates from the vehicle." The seller then has sixty days to apply to move the license registration number onto a replacement vehicle, paying the difference and getting credit for the unused portion of the old registration; if the replacement is cheaper to register there is no refund. Family and joint-owner transfers are the deliberate exception under 31-2-214(b) - the treasurer issues a new registration for the changed ownership and "The vehicle may then be operated with the same license plates for the remainder of the registration year", for a $4.00 fee. Wyoming plate numbers carry a county prefix, so a move between counties means new plates.

How to submit

In person at a county office
By mail

Two offices, two errands. The county clerk issues the title; the county treasurer issues the registration and plates - and the clerk will not release the title until you show a receipt for the sales or use tax you paid at the treasurer.

Official state links

Source: Wyoming county clerks, under the Wyoming Department of Transportation (WYDOT) Motor Vehicle Services. Checked July 26, 2026. Report a correction

Transferring a vehicle title in Wyoming

Do this first

Your checklist

The seller's checklist

Both of you, together

Documents and official forms

Also required in some cases

Deadlines

Fees and taxes

Inspection, emissions, notary and odometer

What happens to the plates

How to submit

Official state links

Common questions about Wyoming

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