How to Complete and Submit Pennsylvania Form MV-371: Filing and Renewal

Pennsylvania Form MV-371 is the application that lets a qualifying retired resident register one personal vehicle for a $10 processing fee instead of the standard $48 annual registration fee.¹ You complete the form, certify that your income falls under the state threshold, and mail it to PennDOT along with your vehicle registration application and a $10 check. Once approved the first time, future renewals can be done online.

Confirm You Qualify Before You Fill Anything Out

There is no minimum age, but you must actually be retired. PennDOT’s fact sheet states that eligible applicants “regardless of age, must be retired and receiving Social Security, SSI payments, retirement benefits or other pensions and annuities.”² Someone still working full time with no retirement income does not qualify even if earnings are low. People receiving only unemployment compensation or public assistance, and students, are also excluded.

Your total gross income from all sources for the previous calendar year cannot exceed $30,778.³ PennDOT adjusts that figure each January using the Consumer Price Index, so check the current form for the number in effect when you apply.¹ “Total gross income” pulls in retirement income (Social Security, SSI, pensions, annuities), investment income (interest, dividends, capital gains), and any other income, including business or rental income, wages, public assistance, unemployment compensation, cash gifts, life insurance proceeds, and death benefits. Every dollar counts, and you sign the certification under penalty of law.

The vehicle has to be a passenger car or a truck with a registered gross weight of 9,000 pounds or less.² Heavier trucks and commercial vehicles are out. Only one vehicle per qualified applicant gets the retired rate.¹

You also have to be the principal driver. Joint ownership is fine, but the person claiming the retired rate needs to be the one behind the wheel most of the time. If you are physically or mentally unable to drive, another person may operate the vehicle on your behalf.³

How to Complete Form MV-371

Download the current version from PennDOT’s site (search “MV-371” at pa.gov).⁴ The form has four parts.

Vehicle Information

Copy the following directly from your Pennsylvania title and registration card:

Title number
Full 17-character VIN
Current license plate number
Make and model year exactly as shown on the title

One transposed digit in the VIN or title number is enough to delay processing.

Applicant Information

Enter your full legal name, date of birth, and residential address. If a spouse or other co-owner is listed on the vehicle, add them in the co-applicant field. The name on the form has to match the name on the registration; if you have changed your name, update your title first.

Income Certification (Section D)

This is where most mistakes happen. The form breaks income into numbered lines:³

Line 1: Social Security, SSI, and retirement benefits
Line 2: Pensions and annuities
Line 3: Interest, dividends, and capital gains
Other income: business and rental income, wages, public assistance, unemployment compensation

Enter the dollar amount for each line based on the previous calendar year, then total them. The total must be at or below the current threshold. Do not estimate. Use your tax return, your SSA-1099, and your pension statements for accurate figures. The sworn certification means generous rounding is not worth the risk.

Signature

Sign and date the form. If a co-applicant is listed, they may also need to sign. An unsigned form comes back to you.

Submitting the Initial Application

Your first retired-status filing has to go in by mail.⁴ Send the completed Form MV-371 together with your vehicle registration application and a check or money order for $10 made payable to “PA Department of Transportation.”³ Do not send cash. The mailing address is printed on the form itself, so use the address on the current version you downloaded.

Allow several weeks for PennDOT to verify the vehicle data and your eligibility. Once approved, you will receive a registration card reflecting the retired rate. Keep that card in the vehicle.

Renewing After the First Approval

After the initial paper filing, you can renew online through PennDOT’s Driver and Vehicle Services portal.⁴ The renewal link sits under “Online Driver and Vehicle Services” at pa.gov.⁵ The $10 fee applies each renewal period, and the standard Pennsylvania registration expiration timeline still applies. Watch for the renewal notice and act before the date on your card; driving on an expired registration can bring a citation whether or not you qualify for the reduced rate.

If your income moves above the threshold, or you stop receiving Social Security or pension payments, you no longer qualify, and your next renewal reverts to the standard $48 passenger-vehicle fee.⁶

Mistakes That Get Applications Rejected

PennDOT returns incomplete or incorrect applications without processing them. The avoidable problems come up over and over:

Wrong income total. Leaving out a source, even a small amount of bank interest, produces a false certification. Total every category.
Mismatched names. The form must match the title and registration. Update your title first if your name has changed.
Wrong payment. Cash gets rejected, and so does a check made out to the wrong payee.
VIN or title number errors. One wrong character means PennDOT cannot match your application to a vehicle record. Copy from the title itself.
Sending Form MV-371 alone. It has to accompany your vehicle registration application.

A returned application carries no penalty, but you do not have valid registration until the corrected packet clears. Fix the problem and resubmit.

1
Pennsylvania General Assembly. 75 Pa.C.S. 1901 – Exemption of Persons, Entities and Vehicles From Fees
2
Pennsylvania Department of Transportation. Retired Status Fact Sheet
3
Pennsylvania Department of Transportation. Form MV-371 – Application for a Retired Person’s Processing Fee
4
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Apply for a Retired Status Vehicle Registration
5
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Online Driver and Vehicle Services
6
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Payments and Fees – Driver and Vehicle Services