The Vermont VD-119 form is the single application you use to register a vehicle, title it, and pay the 6% purchase and use tax in one transaction. You can download it from the Vermont DMV website or pick one up at any of the state’s ten field offices.1Vermont Department of Motor Vehicles. Registration/Tax/Title Application New residents have 60 days after moving to Vermont to file it.2Vermont Department of Motor Vehicles. Registration, New
Gather Your Documents First
What you need to attach depends on where the vehicle came from. Missing paperwork is the most common reason applications get bounced or held on a 60-day temporary registration.
Bought From a Dealer
A new vehicle comes with a Manufacturer’s Certificate of Origin (MCO) proving it has never been titled. A used vehicle from a dealer comes with the existing title signed over to you. In both cases you also need a Bill of Sale showing the purchase price and an Odometer Disclosure Statement.2Vermont Department of Motor Vehicles. Registration, New
Bought Through a Private Sale
The seller signs the title over to you in the assignment section on the back. Every owner listed on the title must sign as a seller, and your name goes on the “transferred to” line. Any lien shown on the title has to be released before the transfer is valid. Include a Bill of Sale and Odometer Disclosure Statement. If you are filing by mail, add a J.D. Power value printout for the vehicle; the DMV uses it to check the purchase price you reported.2Vermont Department of Motor Vehicles. Registration, New
Salvage-Branded or Foreign Titles
A vehicle with a salvage-branded title, or one coming from another country including Canada, needs a physical VIN verification. That verification must be performed in Vermont by a Vermont law enforcement officer or a DMV employee designated by the Commissioner. The Chief Inspector’s office can authorize exceptions for military members or for Vermont residents whose vehicle cannot physically be brought to the state.3Vermont Department of Motor Vehicles. Vehicle Identification Number (VIN)
Odometer Disclosure Rules
Model year 2011 and newer vehicles require an odometer disclosure for their first 20 years. Model year 2010 and older vehicles fall under the previous 10-year exemption.4Vermont Department of Motor Vehicles. Truth in Mileage Act In practice, nearly every used vehicle on the road today needs one.
Filling Out the VD-119 Section by Section
The form is broken into numbered sections. Fill each one from the source documents rather than from memory.
Section 1 – Owner information. Enter the owner’s full legal name, physical address, and Social Security number. Co-owners go here as well. Whatever names you write in this section are the names that will appear on both the registration and the title, so check the spelling.
Section 2 – Vehicle information. Enter the 17-digit VIN, along with make, model, year, body type, and fuel type. Copy the VIN directly off the title or MCO. A single transposed digit will hold up processing.
Section 4 – Tax and fee calculation. Enter the purchase price, any trade-in credit, and the resulting tax, then add the registration, title, and any lien fees. The math for this section is covered below.
Section 7 – Signatures. Every owner listed in Section 1 must sign. If someone else is signing for you, attach a completed Vermont DMV Vehicle Power of Attorney (VN-101). The owner still has to sign and date the VN-101 itself; the agent cannot appoint themselves.5Vermont Department of Motor Vehicles. Vehicle Power of Attorney
Do not use white-out or make erasures. A corrected entry can look like tampering, and the DMV will not process it. If you make a mistake, start over on a clean form.
Calculating the Tax and Fees
Vermont’s purchase and use tax is 6% of either the purchase price or the J.D. Power clean trade-in value, whichever is greater, less any allowable credits.6Vermont Department of Motor Vehicles. Purchase and Use Tax Understating the price on your Bill of Sale will not lower your tax; it just draws questions.
Trade-In and Private Sale Credit
A trade-in reduces the taxable cost, provided the trade-in was registered or titled in your name. If you sold your old vehicle privately instead of trading it in, you can still claim a credit for the sale amount, but the credit cannot exceed the J.D. Power clean trade-in value for that vehicle, and the private sale must occur within three months of the new purchase.7Vermont General Assembly. Vermont Code 32 VSA 8902 – Definitions
Credit for Tax Paid to Another State
If you already paid sales or use tax on the same vehicle to another state, Vermont applies a dollar-for-dollar credit. Pay as much as Vermont would charge and you owe nothing more; pay less and you owe the difference. Bring a receipt from the other state’s DMV or tax authority. Federal taxes, import fees, personal property taxes, and luxury taxes do not qualify.8Legal Information Institute. Vermont Code 14-013 – Motor Vehicle Purchase and Use Tax
Heavier Vehicle Cap
For vehicles outside the standard categories of passenger cars, motorcycles, motor homes, and trucks up to 10,099 pounds, the tax is capped at the lesser of 6% of taxable cost or $2,486 per vehicle.9Vermont General Assembly. Vermont Code 32 VSA 8903 – Tax Imposed
Fixed Fees to Add
- Passenger car registration, one year: $9110Vermont Department of Motor Vehicles. Registration Fees
- Passenger car registration, two years: $16710Vermont Department of Motor Vehicles. Registration Fees
- Certificate of title: $4211Vermont Department of Motor Vehicles. Fees
- Lien filing, per lien: $1411Vermont Department of Motor Vehicles. Fees
If you financed the car, the lien fee is not optional. Skip it and the application will come back. Total the tax and all fees, and write your check for that amount.
Late Payment Penalty
If you do not pay the tax when due, the DMV adds a penalty of 1% of the taxable cost or $150, whichever is smaller.12Vermont General Assembly. Vermont Code 32 VSA 8905 – Collection of Tax
Family Gifts and Tax Exemptions
A true gift of a vehicle between certain family members is fully exempt from purchase and use tax. The vehicle must be titled or registered in the donor’s name and transferred with zero payment of any kind. Attaching a lienholder to the new registration disqualifies the exemption entirely. Eligible relationships include parents, children, siblings, grandparents, grandchildren, in-laws, stepfamily, spouses, ex-spouses, and trusts established for those people.13Vermont Department of Motor Vehicles. Gifts
Submit the VD-119 along with a properly assigned title, a Bill of Sale and Odometer Disclosure Statement (required even though no money changed hands), and a Certification of Tax Exemption form. Divorce transfers must include a copy of the court decree and be filed within one year of the divorce becoming final. If the donor is deceased, the executor or administrator signs and attaches court documentation of their appointment.13Vermont Department of Motor Vehicles. Gifts
Where to Submit
By Mail
Send the completed VD-119, all supporting documents, and payment to:
Vermont DMV
120 State Street
Montpelier, VT 05603-000114Vermont Department of Motor Vehicles. What Is the Mailing Address for DMV
Mail-in payment must be by check or money order made payable to the Vermont DMV. For a private-sale vehicle, remember the J.D. Power printout; the DMV requires it whenever you are not applying in person.2Vermont Department of Motor Vehicles. Registration, New
In Person
You can walk into any Vermont DMV office. Appointments are recommended but not required for registration transactions, and a list of office locations is on the DMV website.15Vermont Department of Motor Vehicles. Locations In-person payments can be made with Visa, Mastercard, or Discover, in addition to checks and money orders.16Vermont Department of Motor Vehicles. Can I Pay Using a Credit Card?
What Happens After You Submit
Temporary Registration If Something Is Missing
If you apply in person but a required document is not yet in hand, such as a delayed title, an unfinished VIN verification, or a missing odometer disclosure, the DMV can issue a temporary registration and plate valid for 60 days. The temporary cannot be renewed or extended, so use the window to close the gap.17Vermont Department of Motor Vehicles. Temporary Registration Authorization
Permanent Registration and Title
Once your application clears review, the DMV mails your permanent registration certificate and license plates to the address in Section 1. The certificate of title arrives separately. Keep copies of the VD-119 and Bill of Sale until the originals show up, as they are your proof of the transaction if anything is lost in the mail.
Inspection Is Separate
Registration does not include inspection. Vermont requires safety and emissions inspection with no grace period.18Vermont Department of Motor Vehicles. Vehicle Inspections If the vehicle has not been inspected in Vermont, get it to an authorized inspection station promptly. A vehicle that fails inspection cannot be driven legally on Vermont roads until the issues are corrected.
Mistakes That Get Applications Rejected
A short list of avoidable errors accounts for most bounced applications. Missing signatures come first. Both owners listed in Section 1 have to sign Section 7. Unreleased liens on the incoming title are the next most common issue, because the prior lienholder must sign off before the title can be reassigned to you. Payment errors, especially forgetting the $14 lien fee on a financed vehicle, will also send the packet back.
On a private sale, listing a suspiciously low price does not save tax. The DMV taxes the higher of your stated price or the J.D. Power clean trade-in value.6Vermont Department of Motor Vehicles. Purchase and Use Tax If the actual sale price was legitimately below book value because of high mileage, visible damage, or mechanical problems, bring documentation of the condition so the reviewer can see what you saw.