How to Fill Out and Submit Texas Form 130-U: Fees and Deadline

Texas Form 130-U is the Application for Texas Title and/or Registration, the single form you submit to your county tax assessor-collector to title a vehicle, register it, or do both at once.¹ It applies whether you bought the car in a private sale, received it as a gift, or brought it in from another state. Download it from TxDMV.gov or pick one up at any county tax office.

What to Bring Before You File

Gather everything before the trip. If a document is missing, the clerk will decline your application and you’ll come back another day.

Proof of insurance meeting Texas minimums: $30,000 bodily injury per person, $60,000 per accident, and $25,000 property damage.²³
A government-issued photo ID (Texas driver license, U.S. passport, or military ID). The name has to match the name going on the title.
Proof of ownership: for a private-party purchase, the original title signed over by the seller; for an out-of-state vehicle, the original out-of-state title.⁴
A passing emissions inspection if the vehicle will be registered in one of 18 emissions-testing counties (including Harris, Dallas, Tarrant, Travis, and Bexar starting in 2026). Since January 1, 2025, non-commercial vehicles no longer need a safety inspection to register.⁵
The odometer reading. On a change of ownership, the seller gives a written disclosure and the buyer records the reading on Form 130-U.⁶

Commercial vehicles still need a passing safety inspection in every county.⁵

Filling Out the Form

Form 130-U is a single two-sided page. Careless entries are where most delays start, so work with the title and your insurance card in front of you. The buyer’s signature must be original; a photocopy or electronic signature won’t be accepted on the buyer’s side, though the seller’s signature can be a faxed or photocopied version.¹

Vehicle Information

Enter the full 17-character VIN exactly as it appears on the dashboard plate or door jamb, then the year, make, model, and body style. Record the current odometer reading in the designated box when the transaction transfers ownership. Check the VIN against the title character by character. One transposed digit gets the application rejected.

Owner and Lienholder Information

List the full legal name and residential address of every person going on the title. If you financed the purchase, add the lienholder’s name and address (your lender provides this at closing). When there’s a lien, the title is mailed to the lienholder rather than to you.

Sales Price and Tax Information

Report the actual purchase price. For private-party sales, Texas uses a standard presumptive value (SPV) to test whether the price you reported is reasonable. If you paid at least 80 percent of the SPV, tax is calculated on what you paid. If you paid less, tax is calculated on 80 percent of the SPV, unless you provide a certified appraisal showing a lower value within 30 days of the sale.⁷ Active-duty military personnel have 60 days for that appraisal.

If the vehicle is a qualifying gift from an eligible family member, skip the sales price, mark the transaction as a gift, and complete a separate notarized Form 14-317 (Affidavit of Motor Vehicle Gift Transfer) jointly with the donor.⁸

Self-Certification of the VIN

For non-commercial vehicles that aren’t subject to emissions inspection, Form 130-U includes a section where you self-certify the VIN. This replaced the older inspection-based VIN verification for most private vehicles.⁴

What You’ll Pay

The county assessor-collector collects everything at once when you file.

Registration Fee

The base annual registration for a passenger vehicle or light truck at 6,000 pounds or less is $50.75. Counties add a local option fee that varies widely — some rural counties charge nothing while Bexar and Cameron charge $21.50.⁹ Expect a $4.75 processing and handling fee and a $1 insurance verification fee on top.⁴

Title Fee

The title application fee is either $28 or $33, depending on which county you file in.⁴ If you’re only transferring registration to a vehicle already titled in your name, you pay a $2.50 registration transfer fee instead.

Inspection Program Replacement Fee

Even without safety inspections for most vehicles, a $7.50 inspection program replacement fee is collected at registration. Brand-new vehicles (current or prior model year, never previously registered anywhere) pay $16.75 upfront to cover two years.⁵

Motor Vehicle Sales Tax

Texas charges 6.25 percent motor vehicle sales tax on the purchase price minus any trade-in.¹⁰ For private-party used purchases, the taxable value may be the SPV instead of the stated price. Qualifying gifts between eligible family members owe a flat $10 gift tax instead of 6.25 percent.⁸

Where and How to Submit

Texas law directs you to apply through a county tax assessor-collector — either the county where you live, the county where you bought the vehicle, or any county willing to take the application.¹¹ Most people file in their home county. You can submit in person or by mail with payment; in-person visits let the clerk catch mistakes on the spot.

Bring the completed Form 130-U, every supporting document listed above, and payment for all fees and taxes. Once the clerk processes and verifies the application, you leave with a registration sticker and a registration receipt. If you applied for a title as well, allow at least 20 business days for it to arrive. When there’s no lien, the title is mailed to you; contact TxDMV if it hasn’t shown up within 30 business days.¹²

The 30-Day Deadline

You have 30 calendar days from the date of sale to title a vehicle you bought in a private sale. Miss it and you owe an automatic $25 penalty, plus another $25 for every additional month the title is late.¹³ Neither the county tax office nor TxDMV can waive or reduce these penalties.

Active-duty military personnel get 60 calendar days before penalties apply.¹³ New residents moving to Texas also have 30 days from arrival to register.¹⁴

Out-of-State and Imported Vehicles

Bringing a vehicle from another state uses the same Form 130-U with a few additions. You’ll need the original out-of-state title, proof of any sales tax paid to the previous state (or you pay the 6.25 percent Texas tax), and proof of insurance meeting Texas minimums.⁴ If the vehicle isn’t subject to commercial or emissions inspection, you self-certify the VIN on the form.

Vehicles imported from outside the United States have a stricter rule: a trained auto theft law enforcement investigator must physically inspect the VIN and give you a completed Form VTR-68-A (Law Enforcement Identification Number Inspection). U.S. military personnel and their immediate family returning to a Texas military base are exempt.⁴

Gift Transfers

A qualifying gift to an eligible family member is taxed at a flat $10 instead of 6.25 percent of value. The trade-off is paperwork. Both donor and recipient sign and notarize Form 14-317 (Affidavit of Motor Vehicle Gift Transfer) describing the transaction and their relationship, and you file the affidavit with Form 130-U at the county tax office. A no-money transfer that doesn’t meet the Comptroller’s definition of a gift is taxed as a regular sale, and the SPV rules apply.⁸ Handing over the keys for free isn’t automatically a “gift” for tax purposes.

1
Texas Department of Motor Vehicles. Application for Texas Title and/or Registration (Form 130-U)
2
Texas Constitution and Statutes. Texas Code Transportation Code 502.046 – Evidence of Financial Responsibility
3
State of Texas. Texas Code Transportation Code 601.072
4
Texas Department of Motor Vehicles. Out of State and Imported Vehicles
5
Texas Department of Public Safety. Vehicle Safety Inspection Changes Take Effect January 2025
6
Texas Constitution and Statutes. Texas Code Transportation Code 501.072 – Odometer Disclosure Statement
7
Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. Standard Presumptive Value (SPV) – Motor Vehicle Tax Guide
8
Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. Gift Tax – Motor Vehicle Tax Guide
9
Texas Department of Motor Vehicles. Texas Registration Fees
10
Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. Motor Vehicle – Sales and Use Tax
11
State of Texas. Texas Transportation Code 501.023 – Application for Title
12
Texas Department of Motor Vehicles. Buying or Selling a Vehicle
13
Texas Department of Motor Vehicles. State Law Requires Private Sale Vehicle Buyers to Title in 30 Days
14
Texas Department of Motor Vehicles. Texas Department of Motor Vehicles FAQs