How to Fill Out and Submit the Georgia MV-1 Title Application

Georgia’s MV-1 is the single form you use to apply for a vehicle title, registration, or both at your county tag office, and you have 30 days from the purchase or transfer date to file it before a $10 late penalty is added.¹ You can download the Georgia MV-1 title application from the Georgia Department of Revenue website, fill it out by hand in blue or black ink, or start it online through the DRIVES e-Services portal before your office visit.²

What To Bring With the Form

A completed MV-1 by itself won’t get you a title. The tag office needs supporting documents to confirm ownership, residency, and insurance. Missing any one of these means a wasted trip.

Proof of ownership. For a new vehicle, that’s the Manufacturer’s Certificate of Origin from the dealer. For a used Georgia vehicle, it’s the signed-over Georgia title. For a vehicle titled elsewhere, bring the original out-of-state title, not a photocopy.³
A valid Georgia driver’s license or state ID. An out-of-state license won’t work.
Insurance on file with GEICS. Your insurer must electronically transmit your policy to the Georgia Electronic Insurance Compliance System before the tag office can process your application.⁴
A passing emissions inspection certificate if you live in one of Georgia’s emissions-testing counties, generally the metro Atlanta area.³
Payment for the title fee and TAVT. Call your county tag office ahead of time; some don’t take credit cards.

Inherited vehicles and gifts from immediate family need extra paperwork, covered further down.

How To Fill Out the MV-1

The form must be typed, printed from the online portal, or legibly hand-printed in blue or black ink, with every field completed in the current owner’s full legal name and current Georgia address. If someone else prepares the form for you, they sign as your authorized representative and attach a power of attorney.⁵

Vehicle Information

Georgia law requires the application to describe the vehicle: make, model, identifying number, body type, number of cylinders, and whether it’s new, used, or a demonstrator.⁶ The 17-digit VIN sits on the driver’s side dashboard near the windshield or on a sticker inside the driver’s door jamb. Copy it carefully. A single transposed digit will hold up your application.

Odometer Disclosure

Record the exact mileage at the time of transfer. This is a federal requirement. Under current National Highway Traffic Safety Administration rules, any vehicle less than 20 model years old requires an odometer disclosure.⁷ An incorrect entry can trigger a “not actual mileage” brand on the title, which cuts the vehicle’s resale value and is very hard to reverse.

Owner and Lienholder Details

Enter your full legal name, Social Security or taxpayer identification number, and Georgia residential address. Georgia is authorized by federal law to require your SSN for motor vehicle administration, and the tag office will not process the form without it.⁸ If you’re financing the vehicle, the lienholder’s name and address go in the security interest section. The physical title will be mailed to the lienholder rather than to you until the loan is paid off.

Seller Information and Purchase Date

Fill in the seller’s name and the exact date of purchase or transfer. Georgia uses this date to calculate whether you filed within the 30-day window. Altering the purchase date on a title or transfer document triggers a separate $10 penalty.¹ For a leased vehicle, enter the lessor’s information in the designated section so the title reflects the correct legal owner.

What You’ll Pay

Two charges hit at the time of filing:

The title fee is $18 for an original title application.¹
The Title Ad Valorem Tax (TAVT) is 7.0% of the vehicle’s fair market value, and it replaces the old annual ad valorem property tax for most vehicles.⁹

The Georgia Department of Revenue offers an online TAVT estimator you can run before your visit. Fair market value comes from state records rather than what you paid, so on newer vehicles the state’s number can come in higher than a private-sale price.

One important boundary: if the vehicle is coming to you from a spouse, parent, child, sibling, grandparent, or grandchild, and TAVT was already paid on the vehicle’s current Georgia title, the rate drops from 7.0% to 0.5% of fair market value. The same 0.5% rate applies to inherited vehicles already in the TAVT system.⁹ Both sides sign a notarized Form MV-16 (family gift) or Form T-20 (inheritance).

How To Submit It

File your MV-1 at the county tag office in your county of residence, either in person or by mail.² Starting the form online through the DRIVES e-Services portal pre-fills your information so the clerk can pull it up on arrival, but you still bring the supporting documents and payment in person.

If you’re mailing it, send the completed MV-1, supporting documents, and payment to your county tag office.³ Certified mail with return receipt gives you proof of delivery. Keep copies of everything, because originals accepted for processing don’t come back.

After You Submit

Expect the physical title to arrive by mail within seven to ten business days after the tag office accepts the application.¹⁰ If there’s a lienholder, the title goes to the lender. Your registration card and plate or decal are usually issued over the counter at an in-person visit.

If nothing has arrived after two weeks, call the county tag office to check for holds. The most common causes are insurance that hasn’t cleared GEICS, a missing signature on the MV-1, or a VIN mismatch between the form and the supporting documents. When the office puts a file on hold, it sends a letter asking for the missing item. You have 60 days to respond before another $10 penalty is added.¹

Situations That Change the Paperwork

Vehicle Titled in Another State

If you just moved to Georgia or bought a vehicle titled elsewhere, you still file the MV-1 at your county tag office and bring the original out-of-state title. You’ll pay the full 7.0% TAVT on the vehicle’s fair market value, the $18 title fee, and applicable registration fees.¹¹ Georgia residents have 30 days from the purchase date to register.³

Inherited Vehicles

An inherited vehicle needs one of three documents in addition to the MV-1: certified Letters Testamentary, a certified Year’s Support order, or a completed Form T-20 Affidavit of Inheritance paired with a certified death certificate. A sole heir may substitute a legible copy of a “No Administration Necessary” order for the T-20.¹² If you submit a T-20, you must title the vehicle in your own name before you can sell or transfer it to anyone else.

Gifts From an Immediate Family Member

Immediate family means spouse, parent, child, sibling, grandparent, or grandchild. Both the giver and receiver sign Form MV-16, the Affidavit to Certify Immediate Family Relationship, before a notary.⁹ If the vehicle is still under the older annual ad valorem tax system, the receiving family member can keep it in that system or elect to move it to TAVT by filing a written election with the county tag agent.

Insurance Verification Problems

Georgia requires insurers to electronically report your policy to GEICS within 30 days of coverage starting.¹³ If you just bought a policy or switched providers, the transmission may not have cleared by the time you show up. Call your insurer beforehand and specifically ask whether your vehicle’s VIN has been reported to Georgia’s system. Without that electronic confirmation on file, the tag office will not process your title application, regardless of how many paper insurance cards you bring.⁴

1
Georgia Department of Revenue. Motor Vehicles Fees, Fines, and Penalties
2
Georgia Department of Revenue. MV-1 DOR Motor Vehicle Title/Tag Application
3
Georgia.gov. Register a Vehicle
4
Georgia Department of Revenue. Insurance Coverage
5
Georgia Independent Automobile Dealers Association. Department of Revenue Motor Vehicles Titles Manual
6
Justia. Georgia Code 40-3-21 – Application for First Certificate of Title
7
Texas Independent Automobile Dealers Association. Odometer Disclosure Exemption Update
8
U.S. Department of Justice. Disclosure of Social Security Numbers
9
Georgia Department of Revenue. Vehicle Taxes–Title Ad Valorem Tax (TAVT) and Annual Ad Valorem Tax
10
Cobb County Tax Commissioner. Titling a Vehicle
11
Georgia Department of Revenue. Transfer Ownership of a Vehicle
12
Georgia Department of Revenue. Vehicle Inherited or Purchased from an Estate
13
Georgia Department of Revenue. Georgia Electronic Insurance Compliance System