Getting a DC car title means an in-person trip to a DC DMV Service Center with your ownership documents, DC insurance, and ID, plus payment of a $30 title fee and an excise tax that runs from 1% to 11% of the vehicle’s fair market value depending on weight and fuel economy.1Department of Motor Vehicles. Vehicle Title and Excise Tax Fees You cannot title a vehicle online or by mail for the first time, whether you bought from a dealer, picked it up in a private sale, or moved to DC with an out-of-state title.
What to Bring to the DMV
DC DMV will turn you away if any item on its checklist is missing. Pack all of the following before your appointment:2Department of Motor Vehicles. How to Obtain Vehicle Title and Registration
- A completed Certificate of Title/Temporary Tag Application, signed.
- Proof of ownership. For a new car, the Manufacturer’s Certificate of Origin. For a used car, the previous owner’s signed-over title, plus a Title Reassignment Form if the title was reassigned through a dealer.
- Odometer mileage verification, certified by the seller on the title assignment or a separate disclosure form.
- A bill of sale showing the purchase price.
- Proof of valid DC liability insurance on the vehicle.
- Your DC driver license or non-driver ID. Businesses bring a DC business license and certificate of occupancy instead.
- Your lienholder contract if you financed the car. The title will be mailed to the lienholder, not to you.
One requirement surprises people: any outstanding debts you owe the DC government must be cleared before DMV will process a title application.2Department of Motor Vehicles. How to Obtain Vehicle Title and Registration That includes unpaid parking tickets, traffic fines, and past-due taxes. Settle those with the responsible agency first, or your trip is wasted.
How Much the Excise Tax Will Be
The excise tax is almost always the largest cost of titling a vehicle in DC, and it’s calculated on the fair market value, not on what you paid. DMV sets that value using the current National Automobile Dealers Association Business Guide for the Eastern Region, and if your purchase price is lower than the NADA value, DMV uses the NADA figure.1Department of Motor Vehicles. Vehicle Title and Excise Tax Fees Run your numbers through the DMV’s online excise tax estimator ahead of time; the agency asks you to bring a printout of the estimate to your visit.2Department of Motor Vehicles. How to Obtain Vehicle Title and Registration
Rates by Weight and MPG
Since February 17, 2025, excise rates depend on both the vehicle’s unladen weight and its fuel efficiency:1Department of Motor Vehicles. Vehicle Title and Excise Tax Fees
- 3,499 pounds or less: 1.0% (electric) up to 9.0% (20 MPG or less).
- 3,500 to 4,999 pounds: 2.0% (electric) up to 10.0% (20 MPG or less).
- 5,000 pounds or more: 3.0% (electric) up to 11.0% (20 MPG or less).
A 3,200-pound sedan rated at 28 MPG falls in the 3.1% bracket, so a $30,000 valuation produces $930 in excise tax. The same-weight vehicle rated at 18 MPG owes 9.0%, or $2,700 on the same value.
Electric Vehicles
DC’s full excise tax exemption for electric vehicles was repealed on February 17, 2025.3Alternative Fuels Data Center. Electric Vehicle (EV) Title Excise Tax Exemption EVs now pay the lowest rate in each weight class: 1.0%, 2.0%, or 3.0%. Those rates use the vehicle’s actual MPG rating, not MPGe.1Department of Motor Vehicles. Vehicle Title and Excise Tax Fees
If You Received the DC Earned Income Tax Credit
DC’s older weight-only excise schedule still sits in the code: 6% for vehicles 3,499 pounds or less, 7% for 3,500 to 4,999 pounds, and 8% for 5,000 pounds or more.4D.C. Law Library. District of Columbia Code 50-2201.03 Residents who claimed and received the DC Earned Income Tax Credit for the most recent tax year can choose whichever schedule produces the lower bill, the MPG-based rates or the weight-only rates.1Department of Motor Vehicles. Vehicle Title and Excise Tax Fees Bring documentation from the Office of Tax and Revenue if you want to claim the option.
At the Service Center
Bring your paperwork and a check or money order payable to “DC Treasurer” for the $30 title fee and the excise tax.1Department of Motor Vehicles. Vehicle Title and Excise Tax Fees You will not walk out with a title certificate. Once the clerk verifies your documents and processes payment, you receive temporary registration and tags so you can drive the vehicle. The permanent title is processed centrally and mailed within about 10 business days to the primary owner, or to the lienholder if you financed.5Department of Motor Vehicles. Vehicle Titles Keep your receipt. You can check status through DMV’s online tracking system.
Private Sales: Transferring the Title
In a private sale, the seller starts the transfer by completing the assignment of title section on the back of the existing title. That section needs printed names and signatures for both parties, the sale price, and the current odometer reading.
The buyer then goes to a DC DMV Service Center with the signed title, a completed title application, proof of DC insurance, a valid DC ID, and the bill of sale. The buyer pays the $30 title fee and excise tax based on the vehicle’s fair market value.1Department of Motor Vehicles. Vehicle Title and Excise Tax Fees Don’t delay. Late transfers can trigger penalties, and driving on someone else’s title creates liability exposure for both parties.
If the seller still had a loan on the car, the buyer needs a lien release from the lending institution proving the debt was paid off. DMV will not issue a clean title in the buyer’s name without it.2Department of Motor Vehicles. How to Obtain Vehicle Title and Registration
Gift Transfers Within the Family
DC waives the excise tax when a vehicle already titled in the District is gifted between spouses, domestic partners, or a parent and child.4D.C. Law Library. District of Columbia Code 50-2201.03 Both parties complete DC DMV’s Excise Tax Gift Exemption Form and provide proof of the qualifying relationship: a birth certificate or adoption order for parent-child, a marriage license for spouses, or a certified domestic partnership certificate.6District of Columbia Department of Motor Vehicles. Excise Tax Gift Exemption Form
The exemption applies only to vehicles already titled in DC. A car gifted from a parent in Virginia to a child in DC has never been titled in the District, so the gift exemption does not apply and the recipient owes the normal excise tax. False statements on the exemption form carry a fine of up to $1,000, up to 180 days in jail, or both.6District of Columbia Department of Motor Vehicles. Excise Tax Gift Exemption Form
If You Are the Seller: Handle the Tags
Sellers in DC cannot leave their license plates on a vehicle they’ve sold. You either transfer your tags to another vehicle you own, or cancel the registration and surrender or dispose of the plates. If you cancel online, DMV requires you to permanently mark through the tag number before disposing of the plates.7Department of Motor Vehicles. Tag Surrender
This step matters more than it sounds. You remain responsible for any ticket infractions tied to those tags until you surrender them or properly dispose of them after cancellation.7Department of Motor Vehicles. Tag Surrender Sellers who skip it sometimes get hit with parking tickets and automated traffic camera fines run up by the new owner. If you surrender by mail, allow 7 to 10 business days for processing and wait for the surrender receipt before you cancel the insurance, or you risk insurance lapse fines.
Replacing a Lost or Damaged Title
If your title is lost, stolen, or damaged, request a duplicate through DC DMV. The replacement fee is $30.1Department of Motor Vehicles. Vehicle Title and Excise Tax Fees You complete the Certificate of Title/Temporary Tag Application, verify your identity, and confirm the vehicle identification number.8Department of Motor Vehicles. DC Vehicle Title Replacement/Duplicate DMV checks for existing liens before issuing the duplicate, so if a bank holds a lien, the replacement title goes to the lienholder rather than to you. The duplicate arrives by mail on the same timeline as an original.