Delaware 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 Delaware the title is issued by Delaware Division of Motor Vehicles (Delaware Department of Transportation) (DMV). The title is paper: seller and buyer fill in the sections on the back. The DMV recommends going to the office together. If there is a loan, the DMV mails the title to the lender.

Where it happens. In person at one of the four DMV offices (Wilmington, Delaware City, Dover or Georgetown). Delaware does not use county offices for this. If the car comes from another state, it first goes through a DMV inspection lane. 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. Late-fee information in the state sources: $35.00.

Case 1: you bought a car in Delaware (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: 25/50/10 liability ($25,000/$50,000/$10,000) plus PIP of $15,000 per person and $30,000 per accident, on a Delaware policy. The DMV does not accept insurance from other states to title and register. Driving without that insurance costs a $1,500 fine the first time and $3,000 after that, plus suspension of the registration; and before you cancel insurance on a car with an active registration you must surrender the plate to the DMV.
• 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: Yes. Cars seven model years old or newer bought out of state need a VIN verification at a DMV recheck inspection lane; all others get the full inspection at a DMV lane before a title is issued. A new-car dealer can do it on new cars.
• The original out-of-state title (or the bank's letter if it holds it for the loan).
• Tax: Delaware has no sales tax. Instead it charges a 5.25% document fee (since October 1, 2025) on the price or the NADA average trade-in value, whichever is higher; minimum $8.00. It is not an exact 5.25%: § 3002(c) uses a table — $8.00 if the price is under $400, $13.75 from $400 to $500, and $5.25 more for each additional $100 or any fraction of it, rounded to the dollar — so a part of $100 is charged in full. It is paid at the DMV when titling, or to the dealer. There is no local add-on. With a trade-in you pay only on the difference; if you sell your old car privately within 60 days before or after titling the new one, you get the same credit (form MV347), but there is a deadline: if you sold after buying, the MV347 must be submitted or postmarked within 30 days of the sale date; if you sold first, no later than 30 days after titling the new one. The credit is given for only one vehicle or trailer per application, and the car you sold must be Delaware titled in the name of at least one of the people titling the new one. If the car was titled or registered in another state and you paid sales tax, transfer tax or a similar levy there within the 90 days before registering it in Delaware, you do not pay the document fee; the DMV says it enforces the 90-day rule strictly.

Forms

• MV212 — Application for Title
• Report of Sale — Seller's Report of Sale (with buyer's info)
• MV213 — Application for Duplicate / Sold Out of State Title
• MV35 — Request of Title from Lienholder to DMV
• MV347 — Document Fee Credit/Refund Application

Fees — confirm current amounts (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

Delaware has no sales tax. Instead it charges a 5.25% document fee (since October 1, 2025) on the price or the NADA average trade-in value, whichever is higher; minimum $8.00. It is not an exact 5.25%: § 3002(c) uses a table — $8.00 if the price is under $400, $13.75 from $400 to $500, and $5.25 more for each additional $100 or any fraction of it, rounded to the dollar — so a part of $100 is charged in full. It is paid at the DMV when titling, or to the dealer. There is no local add-on. With a trade-in you pay only on the difference; if you sell your old car privately within 60 days before or after titling the new one, you get the same credit (form MV347), but there is a deadline: if you sold after buying, the MV347 must be submitted or postmarked within 30 days of the sale date; if you sold first, no later than 30 days after titling the new one. The credit is given for only one vehicle or trailer per application, and the car you sold must be Delaware titled in the name of at least one of the people titling the new one. If the car was titled or registered in another state and you paid sales tax, transfer tax or a similar levy there within the 90 days before registering it in Delaware, you do not pay the document fee; the DMV says it enforces the 90-day rule strictly.

If you sell: protect yourself

Listed seller-notice or transfer document: Seller's Report of Sale (o el reverso de la tarjeta de registro / or the back of the registration card). Check its conditions and the state process below. The plate belongs to the owner: the seller removes it. The seller can leave it in retention at the DMV (kept up to 365 days after it expires) and move it to another car later for $20.00, or return it. Retention is not free and the DMV publishes two different amounts: its "Retaining a Delaware License Plate" sheet charges $35 without a lien and $55 with a lien, while its fee table lists a Retain Tag Fee of $20.00. Ask the amount at the office before you pay. If not, toll, red-light or parking tickets can reach the seller. The Report of Sale only flags the vehicle record: it does not change the owner, so the seller stays answerable until the buyer titles the car. The buyer may not drive the car until the new title is in the buyer's name; the DMV sells a $20.00 temporary tag with proof of 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.