Connecticut title and registration, step by step

Which forms, which fees and which deadlines. For a car bought in the state and for one you bring from another.

In Connecticut the title is issued by Connecticut Department of Motor Vehicles (CT DMV). Connecticut titles are paper: the state does not use electronic titles or liens. The seller signs the back of the title and hands it to you; the DMV mails your new title about 30 days after registration. Cars more than 20 model years old do not need a title: the previous owner's registration is used instead.

Where it happens. In person, by appointment, at a DMV hub or branch office: personal cars and SUVs cannot be registered online. If you bought from a private seller, you can also do it at a dealership in the DMV's program; that dealer should not charge you more than $25 to process it. Confirm the deadline and the event that starts it for your transaction: a purchase, receipt of the signed title or a move into the state can have different rules.

Case 1: you bought a car in Connecticut (private seller)

What the seller hands you

• The title with the transfer section completed: your name and address, sale price, date, odometer reading and the seller's signature (both owners if two names are joined by "and").
• If there was a loan: a lien release from the bank, or the lien already removed from the title.
• A bill of sale with VIN, price and signatures. You need it for the sales tax.

What you bring to the office

• The state forms (below), completed.
• The signed title and the bill of sale.
• Applicable insurance or financial-responsibility documents: Liability 25/50/25 ($25,000 per person, $50,000 per accident, $25,000 property damage), plus uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage with at least the same injury limits. The policy must stay in effect continuously for the whole registration period (§ 38a-371(a)); driving without it is a class C misdemeanor (§ 38a-371(d)). The amounts come from § 14-112(a), applied to auto policies by § 38a-335(a) and § 38a-336(a). Connecticut requires no PIP coverage and has no no-fault system: the required security is liability plus uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage.
• Valid photo ID.
• Payment: title, registration, plate and sales tax if not paid yet.

Case 2: you bring a car from another state

• Everything above, plus: A car coming from another state needs the report from its emissions test or, if it is exempt from emissions, a VIN check at an official inspection station ($10). Salvage, homemade, kit and grey-market cars go to the DMV inspection lane in Wethersfield.
• The original out-of-state title (or the bank's letter if it holds it for the loan).
• Tax: 6.35% state rate, or 7.75% on the entire price if the car costs more than $50,000. There is no local add-on. In a private sale you pay it to the DMV when registering, on the higher of the bill-of-sale price or the NADA average trade-in value; the price goes on form H-13B. When you buy from a dealer, the trade-in is fully credited. If you already paid tax in another state, it is credited and you pay only the difference. Between immediate family members there is no tax if the car was in the relative's name for at least 60 days.

Forms

• H-13B — Connecticut Registration and Title Application
• H-31 — Bill of Sale
• H-6B — Application for Replacement Certificate of Title
• J-23T — Title Copy Records Request (title search)

Fees — confirm current amounts (CT DMV)

Amounts come from the linked state sources and can change. This guide distinguishes source checkpoints from narrow claim reviews; confirm the total for your transaction before you go. A dash means an amount has not been confirmed here.

Sales tax

6.35% state rate, or 7.75% on the entire price if the car costs more than $50,000. There is no local add-on. In a private sale you pay it to the DMV when registering, on the higher of the bill-of-sale price or the NADA average trade-in value; the price goes on form H-13B. When you buy from a dealer, the trade-in is fully credited. If you already paid tax in another state, it is credited and you pay only the difference. Between immediate family members there is no tax if the car was in the relative's name for at least 60 days.

If you sell: protect yourself

Listed seller-notice or transfer document: Registration and plate cancellation (CT DMV online, free). Check its conditions and the state process below. The plate belongs to the seller: they remove it, cancel their registration with the DMV (online and free) and keep the receipt. Until they cancel, the town keeps charging them property tax on the car and they must keep the insurance. The registration expires when the car is transferred (§ 14-16(a)), so you cannot drive on the seller's plate. Connecticut gives you no deadline in days to title: you simply cannot drive, tow or park the car on a public highway until it is registered in your name, and doing so is an infraction (§ 14-12(a)). One separate case: if the car sold has no certificate of title (for example, more than 20 model years old), the seller must certify the sale under oath to the DMV within 48 hours, and until the DMV has that certification it will not issue a new registration (§ 14-16(g)). If you need to take the car to an inspection before registering it, the DMV issues a temporary registration ($21 per 10 days) with the signed title, the bill of sale, form H-13B and your Connecticut insurance. Keep copies of the title, filed notices and handover date to answer later registration, toll or ownership questions.

Mistakes that cost

• Missing the deadline. Check the deadline and consequence for your transaction; filing periods and penalties do not all start from the same event.
• Title with cross-outs or correction fluid. Ask the issuing agency which correction or replacement document it accepts before using it.
• Buying with an "open" title (signed by a previous owner, not the person selling to you). Confirm the ownership chain and the documents the agency requires before paying.
• Showing up without in-state insurance. Confirm the insurance or financial-responsibility documents required for your situation.