How to Fill Out and Submit the MVR-330: NC Registration Plate Application

The MVR-330 is the North Carolina Division of Motor Vehicles application that lets the driver of a leased vehicle register it and get a license plate in their own name while the title stays with the lessor who owns it. Both the lessor and the lessee complete and sign sections of the form, and it’s filed together with the standard Title Application (MVR-1) at an NCDMV office or by mail.¹

When You Use the MVR-330

The form exists for one scenario: a vehicle titled in the lessor’s name that needs a North Carolina plate in the lessee’s name. The NC Title Manual puts it plainly, stating that “vehicles being leased are to be titled in the name of the lessor” and that “registration may be made in the name of the lessee” through this form.²

Common situations include:

You’ve leased a vehicle and need North Carolina plates issued in your name.
You’re transferring an existing plate from another vehicle to a newly leased one.
You’ve moved to North Carolina with a leased vehicle registered in another state and need NC plates.
You’re a farmer leasing a vehicle for farm operations and want a farm license plate.

One prerequisite controls everything else: the lessor must already have a certificate of title recorded in their name before the NCDMV will issue a plate to the lessee. The form’s own instructions state that “a certificate of title must be vested and recorded in the name of the owner before a registration plate can be issued.”³ If the vehicle is coming from out of state, the original title or current registration certificate must come with the application.

How to Fill Out the Form

You can download the MVR-330 from the NCDMV website or pick up a copy at any license plate agency.¹ The form has five parts that the lessor and lessee complete together.

Registration and Plate Options

At the top, check the boxes that apply: limited registration plate, truck weight class if applicable, for-hire status, and any plate number being transferred along with its expiration date. Initial the certification box to confirm the entries are correct.

Vehicle Information

Fill in the year, make, body style, series, model, fuel type, and the 17-character Vehicle Identification Number. Record the current odometer reading and the odometer brand (actual, exempt, or exceeds mechanical limits). Enter the lessor’s name, the state where the vehicle is currently registered, and the lease term.

Get the VIN right. A single transposed digit will cause the NCDMV to reject or delay the application. The easiest place to find it is the metal plate on the driver’s side of the dashboard, visible through the windshield, or on the door jamb sticker.

Disclosure

North Carolina keeps motor vehicle records closed to marketers by default. A checkbox lets you opt in to having your personal information available for disclosure. Leave it blank and your data stays restricted. Most people skip it.

Lessee Section

This is where the person driving the leased vehicle enters their details: ID number, full legal name (for up to two lessees), residence address, mailing address if different, and the physical location where the vehicle is kept if that differs from your home. The vehicle location address determines your tax county.

By signing, you certify two things: that the vehicle is leased from the listed owner and will be used by you, and that it carries liability insurance from a company authorized in North Carolina, as required by G.S. 20-309. Enter the insurance company name and policy number. The signature must be in ink. If the lessee is a company, an authorized representative signs; co-lessees both sign.³

Lessor Certification

The vehicle’s owner signs the bottom section, certifying that the vehicle has been leased to the named lessee, consenting to the plate being issued in the lessee’s name, and confirming liability insurance is in place. The signature must be personally in ink by the owner or an authorized company representative.

What to Submit With It

The MVR-330 does not go to the NCDMV by itself. It travels with the Title Application (MVR-1).⁴ Depending on your situation, also bring or include:

A valid North Carolina driver license, temporary NC driving certificate, or out-of-state license if processing in person.
The original title or current registration card if the vehicle is coming from another state.
Odometer Disclosure Statement (MVR-180) if the vehicle is less than 10 years old.
Damage Disclosure Statement (MVR-181) for vehicle transfers.
A lien release if any liens appear on the title and have been satisfied.
Co-owner documentation: notarized signatures on required documents, with a copy of each alternate owner’s valid ID or a Power of Attorney, if co-owners are being recorded.

⁵

Where to Submit It

You have two options:

In person at any NCDMV license plate agency with the completed paperwork and your driver license. This is the faster route; you’ll walk out with plates if everything checks out.
By mail to Vehicle Titles/Liens, 3148 Mail Service Center, Raleigh, NC 27697-3148.⁶

Mailing takes longer and you won’t have plates immediately. If the NCDMV needs more information, they’ll contact you by mail at the address on your application.

Fees and Taxes

The North Carolina certificate of title fee is $66.75, as set by G.S. 20-85.⁷ Registration plate fees vary by vehicle type and weight class.

North Carolina also imposes a 3% highway use tax on the retail value of any vehicle being titled, based on the sales price for dealer transactions or market value for other transfers. For commercial motor vehicles classified as Class A or Class B, the tax is capped at $2,000.⁸ In a lease arrangement, the lessor typically handles titling and the highway use tax before the lessee files the MVR-330 for the plate.

When the MVR-330 Is Not the Right Form

The MVR-330 is sometimes confused with forms used when a vehicle has no title documentation at all. Those are different processes. If you bought or found a vehicle and the previous owner never gave you a title, the MVR-330 is not what you need.

Under G.S. 20-76, the NCDMV can accept applications and require affidavits when an applicant cannot present a certificate of title because it was lost, destroyed, or withheld.⁹ For that situation, the NCDMV uses the MVR-92H (Affidavit of Facts), not the MVR-330.¹⁰ If you’re dealing with a missing title rather than a lease, start on the NCDMV’s special cases page.

1
North Carolina Department of Transportation. North Carolina Division of Motor Vehicles Vehicle Registration Forms
2
North Carolina Department of Transportation. Vehicle Registration Section Title Manual
3
North Carolina Division of Motor Vehicles. MVR-330 Application for a Registration Plate or Plate Transfer
4
North Carolina Division of Motor Vehicles. North Carolina Division of Motor Vehicles Title Application
5
North Carolina Department of Transportation. Official NCDMV – Vehicle Documents and Forms
6
North Carolina Department of Transportation. Official NCDMV – Mailing Addresses
7
North Carolina General Assembly. North Carolina Code 20-85 – Schedule of Fees
8
North Carolina General Assembly. North Carolina Code 105-187.3 – Rate of Tax
9
North Carolina General Assembly. North Carolina Code 20-76 – Title Lost or Unlawfully Detained, Bond as Condition to Issuance of New Certificate
10
North Carolina Department of Transportation. Official NCDMV – Vehicle Title Special Cases