Car Title and Registration Fees by US State in 2026

Motor vehicle fees change often, many depend on the car, and several state fee pages are hard to read reliably. So we set a strict rule: a fee appears here only if the vehicle table behind our state auto loan calculators recorded it from a primary source, such as the state's motor vehicle agency, its fee schedule or the statute, and didn't flag it as uncertain.

That rule leaves out the title fee in 23 states and the registration fee in 35. The reasons fall into a few groups:

• We couldn't confirm the figure on the state's own fee page, so it came only from unofficial summaries. We don't publish those.
• The fee depends on the car. In many states registration is based on the vehicle's weight, its age, its list price or even its horsepower. There's no single number to print without knowing your car.
• Sources disagree. In a few states, the figure on the state's page conflicts with other official material, or a recent law changed the fee and the change hadn't been confirmed.

Every n/a in the table carries a short note saying which of these applies. If your state is one of them, your county tax office or motor vehicle agency will quote the exact amount for your car.

Sort by any column. "Title plus registration" is filled in only where both fees are verified.

Montana tops the registration list at $217.00, but that's the fee for a light vehicle four years old or newer. Montana's fee steps down as the car ages, and very old vehicles can be registered permanently for a one-time payment. So the number that matters for a new car buyer is high, and it falls over time.

Be careful comparing these fees line by line, because the registration period isn't the same everywhere. Alaska's $100.00 fee covers two years, which makes it cheaper per year than it looks. New Jersey's base fee is $59.00 a year, but on a new car bought from a dealer the state collects several years up front, so the line on your purchase paperwork is a multiple of that.

The figures here are the state base fees for a standard passenger car. Your real bill at the counter is often higher because of things the table doesn't include:

• County and city fees. Many states let counties add a wheel tax, a road and bridge fee or a local registration fee. Texas adds mandatory county fees to the state registration fee, and many Tennessee counties add a wheel tax.
• Annual value-based taxes. Several states charge an annual tax tied to the car's value, collected with registration. In some of those states that tax is far bigger than the registration fee itself.
• Plates, liens and processing fees. New plates, recording a lien when you finance, and agent or clerk processing fees all add a few dollars to a few dozen.
• Electric vehicle surcharges. Many states now charge an extra annual fee for electric and plug-in hybrid cars to make up for lost fuel tax.

Title and registration usually add tens of dollars, or a few hundred at most, to a purchase. Sales tax adds thousands. If you're budgeting for a car, the fees matter less than the tax rate and the loan rate, but they're still worth knowing so the out-the-door price doesn't surprise you.

The state auto loan calculators include the title and registration fees that the vehicle table could pin down. You can see how they fit into the total with the Illinois auto loan calculator, the Pennsylvania auto loan calculator, the Montana auto loan calculator, or the general auto loan calculator. For the tax side of the bill, the sales tax calculator covers general retail rates in every US state.