Yes, you can transfer license plates to another person in Massachusetts. Most standard passenger plates, including vanity plates, can be reassigned as long as the current plate owner provides written authorization. The reassignment happens at an RMV Service Center, and the new owner needs the paperwork, insurance, and fees in hand before the plates can be put on their vehicle.1Mass.gov. Passenger Plates Manual
The plates belong to the registered owner, not the vehicle. When a vehicle is sold or transferred, the registration on that vehicle ends by operation of law, and the owner is required to remove the plates before handing the car over.2General Court of Massachusetts. Massachusetts General Laws Part I, Title XIV, Chapter 90, Section 23General Court of Massachusetts. Massachusetts Code Chapter 90 – Section 2B From that point, the owner can reassign them to someone else.
How to Reassign Your Plates to Another Person
The current plate owner fills out a Request for License Plate Reassignment form. It carries their signature, the date of transfer, and the new owner’s information.4Mass.gov. Request for License Plate Reassignment That form goes to the RMV together with a Registration and Title Application completed by the new owner.
Before the RMV will process anything, the new owner’s insurance company has to stamp and sign the Registration and Title Application. No stamp, no transaction. The new owner also brings a valid driver’s license for identification and the vehicle’s assigned certificate of title.
This all happens in person at an RMV Service Center. If the plate being reassigned is a standard passenger or vanity plate, the counter transaction is straightforward. Lottery plates and veteran medal plates have extra steps covered below.
Plates That Can’t Be Reassigned
A small set of plate types stays with the original registrant and cannot be passed to another person. According to the RMV’s Passenger Plates Manual, the excluded categories are Foreign Organization, Governor’s Council, Ham Operator, Honorary Consular, House, Senate, U.S. Congress, and U.S. Senate plates.1Mass.gov. Passenger Plates Manual These are tied to a position or qualification, so they end when the registrant’s eligibility ends.
Low-number lottery plates have their own rule. A plate awarded through the annual MA250 low-number lottery is registered only to the winning applicant and cannot be transferred to anyone else.5Massachusetts Department of Transportation. MA250 Low Number Plate Lottery Rules and Eligibility Older low-number plates already in circulation can be reassigned, but the path is more involved: a notarized Application for Lottery Plate Re-Assignment, an appointment at an RMV Service Center, and processing through the Special Plates Department.1Mass.gov. Passenger Plates Manual
When the Vehicle Is Also Changing Hands as a Gift
Reassigning plates often happens alongside giving someone the car itself. Massachusetts waives the 6.25% sales tax on gift transfers of a vehicle, which on even a modestly valued car is worth several hundred dollars. The paperwork depends on who the recipient is.
Family Transfers
Transfers between a parent, child, spouse, or sibling qualify for the family sales tax exemption. The person giving the vehicle completes Form MVU-26, which is the affidavit claiming the exemption.6Mass.gov. Form MVU-26 Affidavit in Support of a Claim for Exemption From Sales or Use Tax for a Motor Vehicle Transferred Within a Family Grandparents, cousins, aunts, and uncles do not qualify as family for this purpose; those transfers are treated as gifts to a non-family member.7Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles. Family/Gift Transfers
The new owner brings the following to any RMV Service Center except Natick:
- A Registration and Title Application, signed by the new owner and stamped by their insurer.
- The previous owner’s certificate of title, assigned to the new owner on the back with the date, odometer reading, and “Gift” written as the purchase price, signed by both parties. If the vehicle is too old to have a title, the previous registration plus a bill of sale works.
- Form MVU-26, signed by the previous owner.
- A valid driver’s license.
Fees are a $75 title fee and a $25 non-refundable gift transfer fee.8Mass.gov. RMV Schedule of Fees The new registration certificate is issued at the counter; the Massachusetts certificate of title is mailed separately, typically within six to eight weeks.9Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Transfer Your Registration and Title From Out of State
Gifts to Someone Outside the Family
Gifting a vehicle to a friend, grandparent, cousin, or anyone who doesn’t fit the family definition follows the same process, with one swap: the previous owner completes Form MVU-24 rather than MVU-26. The recipient still pays no sales tax, still pays the $25 gift transfer fee and the $75 title fee, and the title must be assigned the same way with “Gift” as the purchase price.7Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles. Family/Gift Transfers
Transferring Plates From a Deceased Spouse
A surviving spouse in Massachusetts inherits a passenger vehicle or motorcycle titled in the deceased spouse’s name automatically, unless a will directs otherwise, and the deceased’s plates can go to the surviving spouse at no registration cost.10Mass.gov. Surviving Spouse Transaction EVR Policies – Job Aid
There are three options at the counter:
- Keep the deceased’s plates: no title fee, no registration fee, no sales tax, provided the deceased’s registration is active or only recently expired.
- Move a plate from the surviving spouse’s own current vehicle: a $25 plate transfer fee applies.
- Request new plates: standard registration fees apply, up to $60 for a passenger vehicle.
The required paperwork is the Registration and Title Application, the vehicle’s certificate of title, a copy of the death certificate, an Affidavit of Surviving Spouse, and a photocopy of the surviving spouse’s driver’s license or state ID.10Mass.gov. Surviving Spouse Transaction EVR Policies – Job Aid On the back of the title, the sale price is listed as $0, and the surviving spouse signs twice: once on the seller line for the deceased, and once as the purchaser. Bronze Star, Purple Heart, and Congressional Medal of Honor plates can’t be processed through the electronic system; those require an in-person RMV Service Center visit.
Federal Gift Tax if the Vehicle Is Valuable
Giving a vehicle to another person can count as a reportable gift for federal tax purposes. For 2026, the annual gift tax exclusion is $19,000 per recipient.11Internal Revenue Service. What’s New — Estate and Gift Tax If the vehicle’s fair market value is above that number, the giver files IRS Form 709 to report the gift. Filing doesn’t necessarily mean owing tax; it reduces the giver’s lifetime gift and estate tax exemption.12Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form 709 Married couples can split a gift between them, doubling the exclusion to $38,000, but both spouses must file a Form 709 to elect gift-splitting.