A standard passenger car in Wisconsin costs $85 a year to register, and that fee includes your license plates. What you actually pay at the DMV depends on the vehicle: light trucks and SUVs run higher, motorcycles are on a two-year cycle, and hybrids and EVs owe an extra surcharge. Add a title transfer, a local wheel tax, or a personalized plate and the total climbs quickly.
Standard Cars
The annual fee for a regular passenger automobile is $85, plates included.1Wisconsin Department of Transportation. Vehicle License Plate Fees Wisconsin does not adjust that number based on the age of your car.
Hybrids owe a $75 surcharge on top of the $85. Fully electric vehicles owe $175.1Wisconsin Department of Transportation. Vehicle License Plate Fees Both surcharges apply to automobiles and to trucks at 8,000 pounds or less.
Light Trucks and SUVs
Pickups and SUVs classified as light trucks pay by gross weight. The rates below took effect October 1, 2025, and dual purpose vehicles use the same brackets.2Wisconsin Department of Transportation. Fee Schedule
- 4,500 lbs or less: $100 per year
- 6,000 lbs or less: $100 per year
- 8,000 lbs or less: $116.60 per year
The hybrid and EV surcharges apply here the same way they do to cars.
Motorcycles, Trailers, and Other Vehicles
Motorcycles and mopeds register for two years at $23 for the full period.1Wisconsin Department of Transportation. Vehicle License Plate Fees Farm trucks under a certain weight also renew biennially, at $45.
Trailer fees vary. Recreational vehicle and camping trailers cost $15 per year. Light trailers at 3,000 pounds or less are $50 per year. A semitrailer takes a one-time $50 fee for a plate that never expires.3Wisconsin Department of Transportation. Heavy Trucks and Trailers License Plates
Motorhome and bus fees are based on gross weight (including property and passengers) and start around $48.50 for a 5,000-pound motorhome.2Wisconsin Department of Transportation. Fee Schedule
Heavy trucks scale sharply. The chart runs from $100 per year at 4,500 pounds to $2,834 per year at 80,000 pounds.2Wisconsin Department of Transportation. Fee Schedule
Collector Plates
Cars, trucks, and motorcycles at least 20 years old with an unaltered body can qualify for collector plates. The cost is twice the regular annual fee for that vehicle type, plus a one-time $50 issuance fee for the first collector plate.4Wisconsin Department of Transportation. Collector License Plates For a car that works out to $220 for your first collector vehicle and $170 for each additional one. Collector registration then never expires as long as you own the vehicle.
The restrictions are real: no driving during January (except five consecutive days with a temporary permit), no commercial use, and you must own or lease another regularly registered Wisconsin vehicle. Collector plates cannot be personalized.4Wisconsin Department of Transportation. Collector License Plates
Personalized and Specialty Plates
A vanity plate adds $15 per year to your regular registration. On biennial cycles like motorcycles and farm trucks, personalization is $30 for the two years.5Wisconsin DMV Official Government Site. Personalized License Plates
Most specialty group plates follow a common pattern: a $15 issuance fee when you first get them, plus a $25 annual donation to the sponsoring organization, on top of your regular registration. Endangered Resources, Donate Life Wisconsin, and the Celebrate Children Foundation plates all work this way.6Wisconsin Department of Transportation. Special License Plates Personalizing a specialty plate adds another $15 per year.
Some designs break the pattern. Blackout and Retro Yellow carry the $15 issuance fee but no annual donation. Antique plates are $5 to issue. Disabled and disabled veteran plates carry only the basic annual fee, with no issuance charge or donation. Wisconsin Salutes Veterans plates take a $15 issuance fee at first order, then just the regular registration at renewal.6Wisconsin Department of Transportation. Special License Plates
Disabled parking placards are separate. Permanent-disability placards are free to obtain, renew, and replace. Temporary placards cost $6.7Wisconsin DMV Official Government Site. Special Identification Permits for Persons With Physical Disability
Costs People Forget to Budget For
Title Fee
An original title or title transfer costs $214.50 as of October 1, 2025, up from $164.50.8Wisconsin Department of Transportation. Vehicle Title Fees A replacement title for a lost or damaged document is $20.9Wisconsin Department of Transportation. DMV Fees
Local Wheel Tax
Many Wisconsin cities and counties charge a wheel tax on top of state registration, collected by WisDOT and passed back to the local government. Municipal amounts range from $10 in places like Boscobel, Kaukauna, and River Falls to $50 in Eau Claire. Milwaukee’s city wheel tax is $41. County-level wheel taxes generally run $15 to $35.10Wisconsin Department of Transportation. Municipal or County Vehicle Registration Fee (Wheel Tax) State law does not cap the amount, and new jurisdictions adopt one each year. Your renewal notice will show what applies where you live.
Late Fee
If your renewal reaches WisDOT after the expiration date, a $10 late fee is added. It applies to automobiles, light trucks, motorcycles, and mopeds. Vehicles over 8,000 pounds are exempt from the late fee, though driving on expired registration can still bring a citation.11Wisconsin Department of Transportation. DMV Fees
Counter Service
Handling things in person costs extra. At a DMV customer service center, title and registration work carries a $5 counter fee, and a registration renewal is $3. Third-party providers can charge up to $16.25 for a renewal and up to $38 for a title transaction.11Wisconsin Department of Transportation. DMV Fees
Replacing Lost or Damaged Plates
Replacement cost depends on the plate type. A new set for standard dual-plate vehicles (cars, trucks, motorhomes) is $12. Single-plate vehicles like motorcycles and trailers pay $6. Special group plates run $10, and University of Wisconsin group plates are $12.12Wisconsin Department of Transportation. Duplicate or Replacement License Plate Information and Application (MV2118) If you have personalized plates and want to keep the message, duplication is $6 per plate for standard designs.
Sales Tax When You Buy the Vehicle
Plate fees are separate from sales tax on the purchase, but you’ll pay both if you’re buying. Wisconsin charges a 5% state sales tax on the vehicle’s purchase price.13Department Of Revenue. Tax Rates Seventy of 72 counties add a 0.5% county tax, bringing the effective rate to 5.5% in most places. Milwaukee County charges 0.9%, and the city of Milwaukee layers on 2% more, so a vehicle kept in Milwaukee is taxed at 7.9%.
Some transfers are exempt: gifts, inheritances, transfers between immediate family (spouses, parents, children, stepparents, stepchildren, in-laws), and no-money trades. Sales tax paid to another state generates a credit against Wisconsin use tax so you’re not taxed twice.
Emissions Testing
Vehicles kept in seven southeastern counties must pass an emissions test before renewal: Kenosha, Milwaukee, Ozaukee, Racine, Sheboygan, Washington, and Waukesha.14Wisconsin DMV Official Government Site. Emission Test If a vehicle fails and its registration has already expired, a 30-day temporary plate is $3 by mail, or $3 plus the $5 counter fee at a DMV center.15Wisconsin DMV Official Government Site. Temporary License Plates Collector-plated vehicles from model year 1996 and newer may also need an emissions test.