Texas 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 Texas the title is issued by Texas Department of Motor Vehicles (TxDMV). Texas mails a paper title; allow at least 20 business days. With a loan, the lender holds the lien electronically (ELT program) and the paper is issued when it is paid off. Always take the county tax office receipt with you.

Where it happens. At your county Tax Assessor-Collector's office (county tax office), not at a TxDMV office. TxDMV recommends the seller go with you. Keep two clocks in mind: 30 days for the title and 20 working days for the tax. 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: $25.00 (venta entre particulares); + $25.00 por cada periodo de 30 días, o parte de un periodo de 30 días, después del día 60; máximo $250.00 (Tex. Transp. Code § 501.146). Si el vendedor es dealer, la tarifa tardía es $10.00 y la paga el dealer. Dos excepciones: si eres militar en servicio activo tienes 60 días en lugar de 30 para presentar los documentos (§ 501.145(c)), y no se cobra tarifa tardía a un auto que califica para placas de classic vehicle (§ 504.501) o antique vehicle (§ 504.502)..

Case 1: you bought a car in Texas (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: 30/60/25: $30,000 per injured person, $60,000 per accident and $25,000 property damage (Tex. Transp. Code § 601.072(a-1), in force since January 1, 2011). Texas is an at-fault state; there is no no-fault system. Two coverages the law makes the insurer offer you, and that go away only if you reject them IN WRITING: PIP, which pays medical costs and lost income regardless of who was at fault (Tex. Ins. Code §§ 1952.151–1952.155; the law does not require the insurer to provide more than $2,500 per person, § 1952.153), and uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage (UM/UIM, § 1952.101). If you never signed a rejection, you should have both. Note: UM will not pay for a hit-and-run you did not report to police.
• 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: No physical VIN inspection for a car coming from another state: you self-certify the VIN on Form 130-U if the car needs no commercial or emissions inspection. Since January 1, 2025 non-commercial cars no longer take a safety inspection (H.B. 3297 repealed subchapters B and C of Transportation Code ch. 548; only the commercial and emissions inspections are left). There are 18 counties where a non-commercial car does need a passing emissions inspection before registration: Bexar, Brazoria, Collin, Dallas, Denton, El Paso, Ellis, Fort Bend, Galveston, Harris, Johnson, Kaufman, Montgomery, Parker, Rockwall, Tarrant, Travis, Williamson. Bexar (San Antonio) is the newest: TCEQ states that "Enhanced inspections will begin in Bexar County on November 1, 2026" — that is today, so if you live in San Antonio and read this last week, the rule changed. Emissions testing applies to gasoline vehicles 2 through 24 model years old, each year starting at the car's second anniversary. If it fails, fix it and bring it back to the SAME station within 15 days for a free re-test; after 15 days, or at a different station, you pay again. The law-enforcement VIN inspection (Form VTR-68-A) applies only to cars imported from another country, and U.S. military personnel and immediate family returning to a Texas base are exempt.
• The original out-of-state title (or the bank's letter if it holds it for the loan).
• Tax: 6.25% state, no local add-on. In a private sale you pay it at the county tax office when titling, within 20 working days (see the deadline note); if you paid less than 80% of the standard presumptive value (SPV) set by TxDMV, tax is figured on that 80%, unless you bring an independent valuation (Comptroller form 14-128) within 30 days. Late: 5% penalty (1–30 days) or 10% (over 30). A dealer collects the tax at sale. On a trade-in only the difference is taxed. Car bought out of state: 6.25% minus tax paid to the other state. New resident with a car already in their name: flat $90. Gift between close family: $10.

Forms

• Form 130-U — Application for Texas Title and/or Registration
• VTR-130-UIF — Detailed Instructions for Form 130-U
• VTR-346 — Texas Motor Vehicle Transfer Notification (seller)
• VTR-34 — Application for a Copy of Title (lost title)
• VTR-61 — Rebuilt Vehicle Statement (salvage to rebuilt)
• VTR-271 — Limited Power of Attorney for Eligible Motor Vehicle Transactions
• 14-317 — Affidavit of Motor Vehicle Gift Transfer (Comptroller)

Fees — confirm current amounts (TxDMV)

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

6.25% state, no local add-on. In a private sale you pay it at the county tax office when titling, within 20 working days (see the deadline note); if you paid less than 80% of the standard presumptive value (SPV) set by TxDMV, tax is figured on that 80%, unless you bring an independent valuation (Comptroller form 14-128) within 30 days. Late: 5% penalty (1–30 days) or 10% (over 30). A dealer collects the tax at sale. On a trade-in only the difference is taxed. Car bought out of state: 6.25% minus tax paid to the other state. New resident with a car already in their name: flat $90. Gift between close family: $10.

If you sell: protect yourself

Listed seller-notice or transfer document: VTR-346 (Texas Motor Vehicle Transfer Notification) o en línea en txdmv.gov. Check its conditions and the state process below. The plate belongs to the seller, and removing it is their choice: they can move it to their next car of the same classification, keep it for later, or — if they do neither — they must dispose of it by defacing the front with permanent black ink. The registration sticker never transfers. If the sale falls on a Saturday or Sunday and the seller takes the plates, the buyer prints a Vehicle Transit Permit: there is no fee for it, it is good for 5 calendar days starting the day it is printed, it covers ONE trip between the point of origin and the destination, and only one may be issued per vehicle sale. Buying from a dealer: since July 1, 2025, under H.B. 718, paper temporary tags no longer exist — a licensed dealer must hand you METAL LICENSE PLATES at the time of sale, and you keep the Buyer's Receipt in the car until registration is complete. If someone presenting themselves as a dealer sends you off with a paper tag, something is wrong. The seller should file the Vehicle Transfer Notification within 30 days: if TxDMV receives it in that window, the buyer becomes the rebuttably presumed owner for tickets, tolls and crimes committed with the car (Tex. Transp. Code § 501.147(c)); if the seller does not file it, § 501.147(e) says the law imposes no civil or criminal liability on them for that alone, but the record stays in their name and the tickets and tolls go to them. The case that catches people out: if you hand your car to a dealer as a trade-in, the dealer is NOT required to title it in the dealership's name, so it can stay in your name for months or years until it sells. File the notification anyway. 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.