Michigan 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 Michigan the title is issued by Michigan Department of State (Secretary of State) (SOS). Michigan uses paper titles; some titles with a loan are kept electronically. Online transfer only works with a Michigan paper title and can take up to 3 days to process; if you buy a new plate online, you can print a 60-day permit.

Where it happens. At a Secretary of State office, by appointment (about 20 minutes). For a sale from one private person to another, with a Michigan paper title and no loan for the buyer, it can also be done online. It cannot be done by mail. Everyone whose name goes on the title must go in person or send an agent with form TR-128. 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: $15.

Case 1: you bought a car in Michigan (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: Michigan is a no-fault state. Minimum liability 50/100/10 ($50,000 per person, $100,000 per accident, $10,000 out-of-state property damage); if you do not choose, the policy defaults to 250/500/10. Also required: PPI (up to $1 million for damage to other people's property in Michigan), and you must pick a PIP medical level (from unlimited down to $50,000 or none, depending on your other health 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: The reviewed application provision, MCL 257.217, lists title and vehicle information but does not by itself establish a physical-VIN-inspection exemption. It carries rebuilt, salvage, scrap and flood status from another jurisdiction onto the Michigan title. Rebuilt-salvage inspections are separately addressed by MCL 257.217c. Ask the Secretary of State which inspections or documents apply to your vehicle.
• The original out-of-state title (or the bank's letter if it holds it for the loan).
• Tax: 6%. On a private purchase you pay 6% use tax at the Secretary of State when the title is transferred (it is on form TR-11L). A transfer is exempt when the new owner is the spouse, father or mother, brother or sister, child, stepparent, stepchild, stepbrother or stepsister, half-brother or half-sister, grandparent, grandchild, father-in-law or mother-in-law, brother-in-law or sister-in-law, son-in-law or daughter-in-law, grandparent-in-law, legal ward, or legally appointed guardian of the previous owner; the Department of Treasury may ask for proof of the relationship. The trade-in credit applies only when a dealer takes your car and the agreed-upon value is stated separately on the invoice: the limit was $5,000 from January 1, 2019 and rises $1,000 every January 1 (MCL 205.92(1)(f)(xii)), so in 2026 it is $12,000; from January 1, 2029 there is no limit.

Forms

• TR-11L — Application for Michigan Vehicle Title (includes use tax return)
• BDVR-108 — Odometer Mileage Statement (if the title has no space for it)
• TR-128 — Appointment of Agent (someone does the paperwork for you)
• ISS-TITLE — Out-of-State Resident Duplicate Title Application

Fees — confirm current amounts (SOS)

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%. On a private purchase you pay 6% use tax at the Secretary of State when the title is transferred (it is on form TR-11L). A transfer is exempt when the new owner is the spouse, father or mother, brother or sister, child, stepparent, stepchild, stepbrother or stepsister, half-brother or half-sister, grandparent, grandchild, father-in-law or mother-in-law, brother-in-law or sister-in-law, son-in-law or daughter-in-law, grandparent-in-law, legal ward, or legally appointed guardian of the previous owner; the Department of Treasury may ask for proof of the relationship. The trade-in credit applies only when a dealer takes your car and the agreed-upon value is stated separately on the invoice: the limit was $5,000 from January 1, 2019 and rises $1,000 every January 1 (MCL 205.92(1)(f)(xii)), so in 2026 it is $12,000; from January 1, 2029 there is no limit.

If you sell: protect yourself

Confirm which sale notice, plate return or registration cancellation applies to your situation; keep written proof of the handover. The plate belongs to the seller: they remove it right away and move it to another car they own; it must never stay on the sold car, and it can be handed to another person only if that person is an immediate family member. There is no notice of sale to file, but the seller must either go with the buyer to the SOS office or keep a record of the sale for at least 18 months: the buyer's name, address, driver license number and signature, plus the price and the date (MCL 257.240(2)). A seller who does neither pays a $15 civil fine and is also presumed to still be the last titled owner, which leaves them liable for towing and daily storage fees if the car is later abandoned (MCL 257.240(3) and (4)). The buyer may drive without a plate for 3 days, by the most direct route home, carrying the assigned title and proof of insurance, or buy a temporary permit. 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.