Utah 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 Utah the title is issued by Utah State Tax Commission — Division of Motor Vehicles (Utah DMV). Utah issues paper titles. If the loan is with a lender in the e-lien program, the lien is removed automatically when paid off. A Utah title can be transferred online (Person-to-Person on MVP); the seller can also give you a signed TC-123 instead of the title.

Where it happens. At any Utah DMV office: every office serves any resident regardless of county, and county offices also do title work. The state-run offices in Ogden, Farmington, Taylorsville, South Valley/Draper, Provo and Hurricane ask for an appointment. A Utah title can also be transferred online with the MVP portal's Person-to-Person service; a title from another state can only be handled in person. Utah sets no number of days to title: you must title and register before you drive the car, and driving it first is an infraction (Utah Code § 41-1a-703). The law sets no late-title fee. 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 Utah (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: 30/65/25 (policies issued or renewed on or after January 1, 2025), or a $90,000 single limit. Utah is no-fault: PIP of at least $3,000 per person is also required.
• 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: Every vehicle titled in Utah for the first time needs a VIN inspection (except a new car from a Utah dealer). It can be done by a DMV employee at no extra charge, a DMV contractor, a Utah peace officer, a licensed dealer or a safety inspector. For cars, trucks and motorcycles, the safety or emissions inspection document works if the VIN on it is correct.
• The original out-of-state title (or the bank's letter if it holds it for the loan).
• Tax: 4.70% state plus local taxes: for a vehicle the total runs from 6.35% to 8.45% depending on the locality, in the chart in effect October 1, 2026. The higher combined rates on that chart (up to 10.05%) include the resort communities tax, which does not apply to motor vehicle sales. In a private sale you pay it at the DMV when titling, at the rate where you will register the car; with a dealer, the rate where you buy. Sales between family members are taxed too. Only a vehicle-for-vehicle trade in the same transaction lowers the base; any other trade is valued and taxed. Without a signed bill of sale showing the net purchase price, the DMV charges the tax on the car's fair market value (depreciated cost new, Utah Code § 59-2-102), which can be far more than you paid: get the bill of sale. If you disagree with that value, you can produce a proper bill of sale or a valuation from a licensed and bonded Utah dealer or an authorized insurance adjusting firm. Reporting a false price can bring a penalty of 100% of the tax or $500, whichever is greater.

Forms

• TC-656 — Application for Utah Title and Registration
• TC-123 — Application for Utah Duplicate Title (the seller can sign it in place of the title)
• TC-843 — Bill of Sale
• TC-891 — Odometer Disclosure Statement
• TC-661 — VIN/HIN inspection form (trailers, boats, off-highway vehicles and snowmobiles)

Fees — confirm current amounts (Utah 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

4.70% state plus local taxes: for a vehicle the total runs from 6.35% to 8.45% depending on the locality, in the chart in effect October 1, 2026. The higher combined rates on that chart (up to 10.05%) include the resort communities tax, which does not apply to motor vehicle sales. In a private sale you pay it at the DMV when titling, at the rate where you will register the car; with a dealer, the rate where you buy. Sales between family members are taxed too. Only a vehicle-for-vehicle trade in the same transaction lowers the base; any other trade is valued and taxed. Without a signed bill of sale showing the net purchase price, the DMV charges the tax on the car's fair market value (depreciated cost new, Utah Code § 59-2-102), which can be far more than you paid: get the bill of sale. If you disagree with that value, you can produce a proper bill of sale or a valuation from a licensed and bonded Utah dealer or an authorized insurance adjusting firm. Reporting a false price can bring a penalty of 100% of the tax or $500, whichever is greater.

If you sell: protect yourself

Listed seller-notice or transfer document: TC-502. Check its conditions and the state process below. The plate stays with the seller unless it is included in the sale; in that case the buyer asks the DMV to assign it to their name. If the seller keeps it, within 20 days they must return it to the DMV or move it to another car (§ 41-1a-701); leaving your plate on the car you sold can leave you answering for its parking and traffic tickets. The DMV asks the seller to report the car as sold: online on the MVP portal, by phone, or by mail with form TC-502. The seller hands over the signed title and the registration at delivery or within 48 hours (§ 41-1a-702). The buyer leaves with a DMV temporary permit ($6.00) using the title or the bill of sale — all title and registration taxes and fees are due at that moment — or with a 96-hour in-transit permit ($2.50). 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.