Connecticut DMV Form F-82: Registration Refund Amount, Filing, and Deadline

Connecticut DMV Form F-82, the Application for One Year or Two Year Refund on Registration, is how you claim back part of your registration fee after cancelling a vehicle registration early. To use it, cancel the registration and surrender your plates, then get the completed form to the DMV before your registration expiration date. You can also request the refund through the DMV’s online registration termination process instead of mailing the paper form.

How Much You Get Back

Connecticut General Statutes § 14-49 sets the refund as a fixed fraction of the registration fee, based on how much time is left when you cancel:

Three-year (triennial) registration: one-third of the fee if one to two full years remain, two-thirds if two or more years remain.
Two-year (biennial) registration: one-half of the fee if at least one full year remains.

Less than one full year left on either type means no refund. On a standard passenger vehicle with a $120 triennial fee, the refund works out to either $40 or $80 depending on timing.¹

Only the registration fee itself is refundable. Charges bundled into the same payment, like the $8-per-year Passport to the Parks surcharge, are not part of the calculation.²

Cancel the Registration and Return Your Plates First

You cannot apply for a refund on an active registration. Cancel the registration and surrender the plates to the DMV in person, by mail, or through the DMV self-service portal. When the plates come in, you receive a plate disposition receipt confirming the registration has been terminated. Keep it; you will need it with the refund application.³

If you cancel online, the DMV offers the refund request as part of the termination process, so filing a separate paper F-82 is not required. Refund checks from the online process are mailed by the Connecticut Office of the State Comptroller.³

Filling Out the Form

Form F-82 is a single page. It asks for your name as it appears on the registration, the plate number, the registration status and expiration date (copy these from your registration certificate or plate disposition receipt), vehicle information, a yes/no checkbox for a leased vehicle, an authorization-to-cancel section if cancellation has not already happened, and your signature as owner or lessee. The form cites Section 14-49(aa) of the General Statutes as the legal basis for the refund.²

Where the Check Actually Goes

The refund is mailed to the registration owner’s address on file at the DMV, not to whatever address you write on the form. If you have moved since registering the vehicle, include a completed Form B-58 (Change of Address/Voter Registration) with your F-82 so the DMV updates the record before issuing the check. Skip that step and the check can go to your old address.²

Where to Mail It and When It Has to Arrive

Mail the completed form, your plate disposition receipt, and a B-58 if needed to:

Department of Motor Vehicles
60 State Street
Wethersfield, CT 06161⁴

The application has to reach the DMV before your registration expiration date. If the registration expires first, the refund is gone. Sending with tracking gives you proof of delivery. Approved refunds come as a mailed check; the DMV does not issue refunds in person or electronically.²

Leased Vehicles, Lost Plates, and Deceased Owners

For a leased vehicle, the form has a checkbox and a signature line for the lessee, so you can file. The check still goes to the registration owner’s address on file, which for a leased vehicle is often the leasing company. Contact the lessor before filing to confirm who should sign and where the refund should land.²

If the plates were lost or stolen, file a police report with your local department and submit Form E-159 (lost or stolen marker plate notice) to the DMV in place of the physical plates. Once E-159 is processed, the registration is terminated in the system and you can move on to the refund.⁵

When the registrant has died, the executor or a family member can cancel the registration and claim the refund. The plates go back by mail together with an original probate document naming the estate’s administrator or executor; the DMV accepts several specific probate court forms (including PC-160, PC-212B, PC-260, PC-264/PC-264S, and PC-450). If those plates are also lost or stolen, submit Form E-159 with a copy of the acceptable probate document. The package goes to the DMV Registry Record Section, 60 State Street, Wethersfield, CT 06161-5057.³

Town Property Tax Is a Separate Refund

Form F-82 only recovers part of the state registration fee. Connecticut towns also assess a personal property tax on motor vehicles, and if you sold, moved, or otherwise disposed of a vehicle mid-year you may be owed a prorate on that tax bill as well. That claim goes through your town assessor’s office, not the DMV.

Under Connecticut General Statutes § 12-71c, you have 26 months from the assessment date (October 1 of the relevant Grand List year) to present proof of the change to your assessor. Miss that window and the adjustment is forfeited by law.⁶ The plate disposition receipt helps, but most towns want a second piece of proof such as a bill of sale or an out-of-state registration showing when the vehicle left Connecticut. Check with your local assessor for the exact documentation.⁷

1
Justia Law. Connecticut Code Title 14 – Section 14-49
2
Connecticut Department of Motor Vehicles. Application for One Year or Two Year Refund on Registration
3
Connecticut Department of Motor Vehicles. Cancel Your Registration and Plates
4
CT.gov. Contact the DMV
5
Connecticut Department of Motor Vehicles. Replace Your License Plate
6
easthartfordct.gov. Motor Vehicle Property Tax
7
Middlefield, CT. Motor Vehicles