How to Fill Out and Submit the Utah Title Transfer Form (TC-656)

The Utah TC-656 form is the application you file with the Motor Vehicle Division to title and register a vehicle, trailer, watercraft, or other titled property in Utah. You can download it from dmv.utah.gov or pick up a copy at any DMV office.¹ The form itself is short. What trips people up is the supporting paperwork, the VIN inspection, and the fees, so plan on gathering those before you fill anything in.

What the Form Is For

The checkboxes at the top of the TC-656 tell the DMV what you need: a new title, a registration, a change of ownership, a change of lienholder, a corrected title, a salvage title, a non-repairable title, or a dismantling permit.¹ Check every box that fits your situation. Utah law requires every owner of a motor vehicle, vessel, trailer, semitrailer, manufactured home, off-highway vehicle, or roadable aircraft to apply for a certificate of title through the Division.²

How to Fill Out Each Section

Section 1: New Owner Information

Enter your last name, first name, and middle initial exactly as they appear on your government-issued ID. For a business, use the full business name. The form accepts several types of ID numbers: driver’s license, passport, state ID, FEIN for businesses, military ID, or foreign ID.¹ Enter your street address (where the vehicle is physically kept) and a mailing address if it differs.

If you are adding a co-owner, choose “And” or “Or” to define how ownership works. “And” means both owners must sign to sell or transfer the vehicle later. “Or” means either owner can act alone. Pick carefully, because changing it later requires a corrected title.

Section 2: New Lessee Information

Skip this unless the vehicle is leased. If you are the lessee, enter your name, ID, and address the same way as Section 1. The leasing company is listed as the owner in Section 1 and you go here.

Section 3: Vehicle Information

Enter the year, make, model, color, and the full Vehicle Identification Number. Use the Hull Identification Number for watercraft. For any vehicle from 1981 or newer, the VIN is exactly 17 characters.³ Copy it from the dashboard plate or door jamb. One wrong character gets the application rejected and may trigger a physical inspection.

Fill in the MSRP and the purchase price. The DMV calculates sales tax from the purchase price, or from fair market value if that’s higher, so don’t leave it blank. Check the box for the vehicle type (passenger car, motorcycle, trailer, off-highway vehicle, motorhome, and so on) because the type determines which fee schedule applies.⁴ If the vehicle has ever been branded salvage, rebuilt, or non-repairable, mark the brand. That disclosure carries forward on every future title.

Section 3 also includes the odometer reading and a certification. Record the mileage shown (no tenths) and check one of three boxes: the reading is actual mileage, the mileage exceeds the odometer’s mechanical limits, or the reading is not actual mileage. Vehicles 20 years old or older are exempt from odometer disclosure under Utah law.⁵ For everything else, skipping or fudging this section creates legal problems and hurts resale value.

Section 4: Registration Information

Choose your license plate type. Utah offers several standard designs, including “In God We Trust,” “Life Elevated Arches,” and “Life Elevated Skier,” plus a title-only option if you don’t plan to put the vehicle on the road right away. You can also transfer plates from a vehicle you already own. If the vehicle will be kept at a different address than you listed in Section 1, enter that address here so the DMV assigns it to the correct county for emissions and fees.

Lienholder and Signatures

If a bank, credit union, or other lender financed the vehicle, enter the lienholder’s name and mailing address in the designated section. Utah participates in an electronic lien and title (ELT) program. If your lender is an e-lienholder, the lien is managed digitally and released automatically when the loan is paid off.⁶ If your lender does not participate, a paper title is issued and held by the lender until the debt is satisfied.

Every owner listed on the application must sign the form and present government-issued ID at submission.⁷

Documents You Need With It

The completed TC-656 by itself won’t get you a title. Gather these before you go:

Certificate of Title or Bill of Sale. For a private sale of a Utah-titled vehicle, the seller signs the back of the existing title to release ownership, fills in the purchase date and price, and completes the odometer disclosure if the vehicle is less than 20 years old. A dealer typically handles title paperwork for a new vehicle. If the seller’s title is lost, they complete Form TC-123 (Application for Duplicate Utah Title) and sign it in two places.⁷
TC-661 Certificate of Inspection. Any vehicle being registered in Utah for the first time (except new vehicles sold by licensed Utah dealers) needs a physical VIN inspection. A DMV employee, designated contractor, Utah peace officer, licensed dealer, certified safety inspector, out-of-state peace officer, or authorized agent of another state’s motor vehicle office can sign the TC-661. Out-of-state transfers get stuck here more than anywhere else.³
Proof of insurance. Utah requires motor vehicle liability insurance in effect at all times for every registered vehicle, and you must show evidence of coverage when you apply.⁸
Emissions certificate if you live in Salt Lake, Davis, Weber, Cache, or Utah County.
Lien release. If a previous lienholder is printed on the face of the old title, that lienholder must sign to release their interest before the DMV will process the transfer.⁷

Emissions and Safety Inspections

Utah dropped the general safety inspection as a registration prerequisite in 2018. The only vehicles that still need one for titling are salvage vehicles seeking a rebuilt title and first-time street-legal ATV registrations.⁹ Commercial vehicles have an annual safety inspection for law enforcement display, but it isn’t tied to registration.

Emissions testing depends on your county. Salt Lake, Davis, Weber, Cache, and Utah County all require it. Within those counties, vehicles with model years less than six years old are tested every two years on an even/odd cycle. Vehicles from model years 2020 through 1968 generally need testing every year. Vehicles from 1967 and older are exempt. Utah County adds a diesel-specific requirement for model years 1998 through 2021.⁹ Any other county, no emissions test.

Where to Submit the Form

In Person

In-person is the fastest route. The DMV processes title transfers and new registrations at offices in Ogden, Farmington, Taylorsville, South Valley (Draper), Provo, and Hurricane.⁷ You may need an appointment, so check dmv.utah.gov before you go. You walk out with plates and a registration card the same day.

Online

Utah’s Motor Vehicle Portal (MVP) handles renewals, address changes, and plate replacements online. For private-sale title transfers between two Utah residents, the Utah Person to Person (UPP) service lets you start the process online and get a temporary permit while you finish gathering paperwork.¹⁰ Out-of-state title transfers and more complex situations don’t qualify for UPP.

By Mail

Send the completed TC-656 and all supporting documents to:

Utah State Tax Commission
Motor Vehicle Division
P.O. Box 30412
Salt Lake City, UT 84130-8800

For express delivery, use:

Utah State Tax Commission
Motor Vehicle Division
210 North 1950 West
Salt Lake City, UT 84116¹¹

Send originals. The DMV will not process photocopies of titles. Use a trackable shipping method.

What You’ll Pay

Utah charges a uniform age-based fee instead of a traditional property tax for most personal vehicles. For passenger cars, light trucks, SUVs, and vans, the 2026 schedule is:

Model years 2024–2026: $150
Model years 2021–2023: $110
Model years 2018–2020: $80
Model years 2015–2017: $50
Model year 2014 and older: $10⁴

Motorcycles, trailers, motorhomes, watercraft, off-highway vehicles, and snowmobiles each have their own tables. Motorhomes are the steepest at $690 for a 2024–2026 model year unit. Medium and heavy-duty trucks, commercial trailers, and vessels 31 feet and longer pay a uniform fee-in-lieu of property tax at 1.5 percent of fair market value.⁴

Add to that:

Sales and use tax on the purchase price (or fair market value if no price is stated), at your local combined rate. Check tax.utah.gov/sales/rates for yours.¹²
Automobile driver education fee: $2.50 per vehicle (not motorcycles).
Uninsured motorist identification fee: $1.00 per year.
Corridor fee: $10 in participating counties.
Air pollution control fee: $3.00 in Salt Lake, Davis, and Cache counties; $2.00 in Utah and Weber counties.¹²

All fees and taxes are due before the DMV issues plates or a permit. You can pay by credit card, check, or cash at a DMV office. Underreporting the purchase price can draw a fraud penalty of 100 percent of the tax owed or $500, whichever is greater.¹²

After You Submit

If you need to drive the vehicle before everything is in order, the DMV can issue a temporary permit for $6.00. The permit gives you 30 days to produce missing items such as an emissions certificate or proof of ownership. All required titling and registration fees are still due when the permit is issued; it only buys time on paperwork. To move an unregistered vehicle short distances (to a mechanic, say), a 96-hour in-transit permit costs $2.50 and requires only proof of ownership and insurance.¹³

Once your application is processed, you get plates and a registration card. Same day if you applied in person, by mail otherwise. The Certificate of Title is printed and mailed separately. Duplicate titles take roughly 10 to 14 business days; the DMV does not publish a specific timeframe for original titles after a new application. If a lienholder is listed, the title goes to the lender, or is held electronically through the ELT program, until the loan is paid off.⁶

Mistakes That Delay Processing

Missing TC-661 inspection. If the vehicle has never been registered in Utah, you need the VIN inspection on the TC-661 before the DMV will accept your TC-656. New vehicles from licensed Utah dealers are the only exception.
VIN transcription errors. One wrong character in a 17-digit VIN and the application bounces. Copy it from the vehicle, not from an insurance card.
Unsigned seller’s title. The previous owner must sign the title to release ownership, and any existing lienholder printed on its face must sign too. A missing signature stops the transfer.
Skipped odometer disclosure. Vehicles under 20 years old need mileage recorded and certified on both the title assignment and the TC-656. You can use Form TC-891 if the title doesn’t have room.
Wrong county for emissions. The registered address determines whether you need a test. Listing an address outside your actual county to dodge the test is fraud.

If You’re Active-Duty Military Stationed in Utah

Under the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, active-duty service members can keep a vehicle registered in their home state while stationed in Utah. If you are domiciled elsewhere (you vote, hold a driver’s license, and pay taxes there), Utah cannot require you to re-register here as long as the vehicle remains properly registered in your home state. The Military Spouses Residency Relief Act extends the same protection to civilian spouses who share that state of domicile and moved to Utah because of a military reassignment.¹⁴ If you choose to register in Utah anyway, the standard TC-656 process applies, and military ID is an accepted identification type on the form.

1
Utah State Tax Commission. Utah Vehicle Application for Title and Registration
2
Utah Legislature. Utah Code 41-1a-501 – Certificate of Title Required
3
Utah State Tax Commission. TC-661 Certificate of Inspection
4
Utah Division of Motor Vehicles. Uniform Fees
5
Utah Legislature. Utah Code 41-1a-902 – Odometer Disclosure Statement
6
Utah Division of Motor Vehicles. Liens
7
Utah Division of Motor Vehicles. Transfer a Utah Title
8
Utah Division of Motor Vehicles. Vehicle Insurance Requirements
9
Utah Division of Motor Vehicles. Inspections
10
Utah Division of Motor Vehicles. Registering Your Vehicle in Utah
11
Utah Division of Motor Vehicles. UPP – Utah Person to Person Online Title Transfers
12
Utah Division of Motor Vehicles. Registration Taxes and Fees
13
Utah Division of Motor Vehicles. Temporary Permits
14
Offutt Air Force Base. Vehicle Registration and Drivers License