Georgia Vehicle Title Transfer: MV-1, TAVT, and Deadlines

A Georgia vehicle title transfer runs through your local County Tag Office and must be completed within seven days of the purchase date. You’ll file an MV-1 Title/Tag Application, hand over the signed original title, show proof of Georgia liability insurance and your driver’s license, and pay a one-time Title Ad Valorem Tax (TAVT) of 7% of the vehicle’s fair market value plus an $18 title fee.¹ The exact paperwork shifts depending on whether you bought from a private seller, received the vehicle from a family member, moved to Georgia from another state, or inherited it from an estate.

The Seven-Day Deadline

Seven calendar days. That’s the window Georgia gives buyers to title and register a vehicle bought in a casual (private-party) sale, counted from the purchase date on the bill of sale.¹ Miss it and you pay a penalty. Drive the vehicle in the meantime and you’re operating an unregistered car, which complicates any insurance claim if something goes wrong on the road. Gather your documents before you close the deal, or the same day.

Documents You Bring to the Tag Office

The MV-1 Title/Tag Application is the core form. Download it from the Georgia Department of Revenue’s website or pick one up at the counter.² It asks for a description of the vehicle (make, model, body type, VIN, new or used), the purchase date, and your full legal name, driver’s license number, and mailing address.³

Bring these along with the MV-1:

The original title, with the seller’s assignment section fully completed and transferring ownership to you by name. No erasures or cross-outs. A botched assignment usually means the seller has to apply for a replacement title before you can move forward.
The odometer reading recorded on the title assignment at the time of sale, as Georgia law requires.⁴
A copy of your Georgia driver’s license or state ID. This is required whether you’re a resident, non-resident, or military member.⁵
Proof of Georgia liability insurance already on file. Your insurance company must have reported your coverage to the Department of Revenue.⁶

Small errors on these documents drive most rejected applications. Before you leave the seller, confirm that the VIN on the title matches the vehicle, that the seller’s signature and printed name are consistent, and that the odometer reading is legible.

What It Costs: Title Ad Valorem Tax

Georgia replaced its old annual vehicle property tax with a one-time Title Ad Valorem Tax paid every time a vehicle changes hands or a new resident registers a vehicle in the state.⁷ The standard rate is 7% of fair market value. For dealer purchases, the tax base is the retail selling price minus trade-in value and manufacturer rebates. For private-party sales, the Department of Revenue uses its own valuation of comparable vehicles.

Georgia offers a free TAVT calculator through its eServices portal that estimates your tax from the VIN or from year, make, and model. Run the estimate before you buy. On a $25,000 vehicle, TAVT alone runs $1,750, and that number surprises a lot of first-time buyers.

Reduced Rates and Exemptions

Not everyone pays the full 7%. New Georgia residents transferring a vehicle from another state pay 3%. Immediate family transfers can qualify for a 0.5% rate when TAVT has previously been paid on the vehicle in Georgia.⁷

Full or partial exemptions are available in a few categories:

Disabled veterans at 100% compensation, former prisoners of war, Purple Heart recipients, and Medal of Honor recipients can qualify for a full exemption using Form MV-30 and supporting military documentation.
Public safety first responders (or surviving spouses) receiving indemnification payments from the Department of Administrative Services for line-of-duty injuries qualify for an exemption on up to $50,000 in combined fair market value over any three-year period.
Non-resident military members stationed in Georgia may claim an exemption with Form PT-472NS.
Non-titled vehicles and trailers are exempt from TAVT but remain subject to annual ad valorem tax.

Each exemption requires specific forms filed at the County Tag Office.⁷

Transferring Between Family Members

Immediate family transfers get the biggest break in Georgia’s title system: a 0.5% TAVT rate instead of 7%. On a $30,000 vehicle, that’s $150 rather than $2,100. The condition is that TAVT must have been previously paid on the vehicle in Georgia.⁷

Georgia defines “immediate family member” as a spouse, parent, child, sibling, grandparent, or grandchild, including relationships established through a legal determination recognized in the state.⁸ Aunts, uncles, cousins, and in-laws do not qualify.

To claim the reduced rate, both the giver and the receiver must complete Form MV-16 (Affidavit to Certify Immediate Family Relationship), and both signatures must be notarized.⁹ Show up without a properly notarized MV-16 and you’ll pay the full 7% regardless of the actual relationship. Most banks and shipping stores handle notary work for a few dollars.

One thing families miss: if the vehicle’s fair market value exceeds the annual federal gift tax exclusion (the 2026 exclusion is $19,000 per recipient), the transfer may trigger a federal reporting obligation. A gift above the threshold doesn’t automatically mean tax is owed, but the giver may need to file IRS Form 709 to report it.¹⁰ This is a federal matter separate from anything Georgia collects at the tag office.

Transferring a Vehicle From Another State

New residents and anyone bringing in a vehicle titled elsewhere face a slightly different document list:⁵

Completed MV-1 application.
Original out-of-state title issued in your name or properly assigned to you.
Out-of-state registration certificate, if applicable.
Form T-22B (Certification of Inspection), which serves as Georgia’s VIN verification.
Georgia liability insurance on file with the Department of Revenue.
Emissions inspection certificate, if your county requires one.
Georgia driver’s license or state ID.
English translation of any document not printed in English.

Costs are the $18 title fee, a $20 license plate fee, and TAVT at the 3% new-resident rate.⁵ If your lender or leasing company holds the out-of-state title, the County Tag Office will contact them by mail to request it before your Georgia application can be fully processed.

Clearing a Lien Before You Transfer

You cannot transfer a Georgia title while a lien is still recorded on it. If the loan has been paid off, how you clear the title depends on whether the lien was electronic or paper.¹¹

For electronic liens, contact your lender directly and ask them to release the title electronically. The Department of Revenue will not release an electronically recorded lien; only the lender can. For paper titles, the lienholder completes the release section on the title itself by printing their name, signing, and dating. Once released, the lienholder must mail the title to the owner (or the next recorded lienholder) within five days. If the paper title isn’t on hand when the loan is paid, the lienholder should instead provide Form T-4 (Lien or Security Interest Release).¹¹

Inheriting a Vehicle

Transferring a deceased person’s vehicle takes more paperwork than a standard sale, and what you bring depends on whether the estate went through probate. In every case, you’ll need a completed MV-1, the original title (issued in or properly assigned to the deceased), any lien releases, and the $18 title fee.¹²

For the inheritance document, Georgia accepts:

Certified Letters of Testamentary from probate court, naming the executor.
A certified Year’s Support order from probate court.
Form T-20 (Affidavit of Inheritance) with a certified copy of the death certificate, when Letters of Testamentary are not available. If only one heir exists, a copy of a “No Administration Necessary” order from probate court can substitute for the T-20.

An important rule catches people off guard: if you inherit through a T-20 affidavit rather than Letters of Testamentary, you must title the vehicle in your own name first before you can sell or transfer it to anyone else.¹²

The tax treatment mirrors the family transfer rules. If the vehicle was already in the TAVT system, a qualifying family member pays 0.5% of fair market value. Bring a completed MV-16 with the inheritance documents to claim it.⁷

Emissions Testing in the Metro Atlanta Counties

Thirteen Georgia counties require a passing emissions inspection before registration: Cherokee, Clayton, Cobb, Coweta, DeKalb, Douglas, Fayette, Forsyth, Fulton, Gwinnett, Henry, Paulding, and Rockdale.¹³ Everyone else in Georgia can skip this step.

Even in those counties, several vehicle categories are exempt:

The three most recent model years (currently 2024 and newer).
Vehicles 25 model years old or more (currently 2001 and older).
Diesel vehicles, motorcycles, RVs, and motor homes.
Dedicated alternative-fuel vehicles running exclusively on natural gas, propane, battery electricity, or hydrogen.

Testing stations are widely available at service stations across metro Atlanta.¹³ Get the certificate before your tag office visit; the clerk won’t complete registration without it when the county and vehicle require one.

Where to File and What Happens Next

All title transfers go through the County Tag Office in your county of residence. You can visit in person or mail the documents with payment. Baseline costs are the $18 title fee and your TAVT amount, plus $20 if you also need a new license plate. Registration and tag renewal fees apply separately and vary by vehicle type.⁵

After the clerk processes your application, you’ll get a receipt or temporary operating permit. The state mails the official paper title to the address on your application. Hold onto the receipt; it’s your proof of ownership until the title arrives. When it does, check every detail against what you submitted. A misspelled name or wrong VIN on a title only gets harder to fix the longer you wait.

1
Georgia Department of Revenue. Title and Register a Vehicle Purchased in a Casual Sale
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Georgia Department of Revenue. Titles for Motor Vehicles
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Justia. Georgia Code 40-3-21 – Application for First Certificate of Title
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Justia. Georgia Code 40-3-25 – Entry of Odometer Reading on Certificate of Title
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Georgia Department of Revenue. Transfer Title and License Plate From Another State or Country
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Georgia Department of Revenue. Insurance Coverage
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Georgia Department of Revenue. Vehicle Taxes – Title Ad Valorem Tax (TAVT) and Annual Ad Valorem Tax
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Georgia Secretary of State. GAC 560-11-14 – State and Local Title Ad Valorem Tax
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Fastcase. GA Reg. 560-11-14-.06 – Family Transfer
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Internal Revenue Service. What’s New – Estate and Gift Tax
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Georgia Department of Revenue. How to Release a Lien and Security Interest on Title
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Georgia Department of Revenue. Vehicle Inherited or Purchased From an Estate
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Georgia’s Clean Air Force. Before You Test