How to Fill Out the Arkansas Vehicle Registration Application (Form 10-381)

Arkansas Form 10-381 is the vehicle registration application you file with the Department of Finance and Administration (DFA) to title and register a motor vehicle in the state. You can pick up a blank copy at any State Revenue Office or download it from the DFA website, and you have 60 days from the purchase date to submit it with your supporting documents and payment.¹ Once accepted, the DFA issues a certificate of title in your name, a license plate, and a registration decal.

What to Gather Before You Start

The form itself is one page, but it doesn’t stand alone. Assemble these first, because a missing item sends you home.

The certificate of title signed over by the previous owner, or, for a new vehicle, the manufacturer’s certificate of origin assigned to you.²
A bill of sale showing the VIN, date of sale, purchase price, and signatures of both buyer and seller.²
Proof of Arkansas liability insurance meeting the state minimums of $25,000 for bodily injury to one person, $50,000 for bodily injury to two or more people, and $25,000 for property damage.³
Proof from your county assessor that the vehicle has been assessed or will be assessed for personal property tax.⁴
The 17-character VIN from the dashboard or driver-side door jamb, ready to copy exactly onto the form.

The form does not ask for a Social Security number.⁵

Filling Out the Form Section by Section

Most of the fee boxes at the bottom of the form are for the revenue office clerk to complete. Your job is to give clean, accurate information in the fields above.

Vehicle Information

Enter the VIN, year, make, model, body style, number of cylinders, color, and fuel type exactly as they appear on the title or certificate of origin you’re surrendering. The “UNLADEN WT” field is the empty weight of the vehicle, which drives your registration fee for passenger cars; it appears on the title or on the manufacturer’s label inside the driver’s door.⁵

Odometer Disclosure

The “OD READING” field takes the current mileage exactly as it appears on the odometer. The “OD CODE” indicates whether that reading is actual, exceeds the odometer’s mechanical limits, or is not actual due to a discrepancy. Federal and state law require this disclosure on any title transfer.⁵

Owner and Address Information

List the full legal name of everyone who will appear on the title, using the last name, first name, and relationship code fields. Use the “COMPANY” field instead if the vehicle is owned by a business. Three address blocks follow: your physical Arkansas address, a title mailing address, and a renewal mailing address. These can all match, but the physical Arkansas address must reflect your true county of residence, because that county assesses your personal property tax.⁵

Lienholder Information

If you financed the vehicle, enter the lender’s name, address, and the contract date in the “FIRST LIENHOLDER” section. The form has room for up to two lienholders. If you paid cash, leave these fields blank.

Signatures

Every owner listed on the application must sign at the bottom. If a lienholder is involved, they sign on the separate line provided. An unsigned form will be rejected.⁵

Fees and Sales Tax

The revenue office collects registration fees, the title fee, and sales tax together when you file.

Passenger car registration fees are based on unladen weight:⁶

3,000 lbs or less: $17.00
3,001–4,500 lbs: $25.00
4,501 lbs and over: $30.00

Personal-use trucks and vans rated at one ton or less pay a flat $21.00 regardless of weight. Commercial trucks are registered by gross loaded weight class, starting at $6.50 per thousand pounds for Class Two vehicles (6,001–20,000 lbs).⁷

On top of the registration fee, expect a $2.50 annual decal fee, a $10.00 title fee, and a $1.00 plate transfer fee if you’re moving a plate from another vehicle.⁶

Sales tax runs 6.5% on vehicles with a gross purchase price of $4,000 or more, or 7% for Texarkana residents. It’s calculated on the total delivery price, including rebates, freight, and extra equipment.² If your total purchase price is under $4,000, no state sales tax is due.⁸ Local taxes may apply based on where you live, and each local tax is capped at $25 for every 1% of tax due.

If you traded a vehicle in at the dealer, sales tax applies only to the net difference between the new vehicle’s price and the trade-in allowance. If you sold your old vehicle privately, you can still claim a sales tax credit, but the private sale must happen within 45 days of the new purchase, either before or after, and the credit cannot exceed the price you paid for the new vehicle.⁹

Where to Submit the Form

You have three options once the form is complete.

In person. Bring the form, supporting documents, and payment to any State Revenue Office. You leave with a license plate, a registration decal, and a temporary registration document; the printed title arrives by mail later.

Online. The DFA’s MyDMV portal handles new registrations, title applications, plate transfers, and sales tax payments. The DFA says the process takes as little as 15 minutes.¹⁰

By mail. Send the package to the Office of Motor Vehicle, P.O. Box 1272, Little Rock, AR 72203, with a check or money order for all taxes and fees. Processing takes longer and you won’t have a plate immediately.⁵

The 60-Day Deadline and Late Penalties

You have 60 days from the date of purchase to register. New Arkansas residents have 60 days from the date they establish residency to register a vehicle they already own.¹¹

Miss that window and two penalties apply. The late registration penalty is $3.00 for every 10-day period, or fraction of one, after the deadline, capped at the vehicle’s full annual registration fee per year.² On top of that, the sales tax penalty is 10% of the total sales tax due.¹ On $650 in sales tax, the 10% alone adds $65. There is no grace period; penalties begin on day 61.

Out-of-State Titles

If you’re moving to Arkansas or bought the vehicle in another state, add the out-of-state title, the out-of-state registration, a bill of sale with an odometer disclosure, Arkansas insurance, and proof of assessment in your new county.⁴ Arkansas surrenders the out-of-state title and issues a new one. If the out-of-state title’s control number is below 3003001 (an older title format), you must provide a separate bill of sale and a conforming odometer statement in addition to the title.²

Salvage and Rebuilt Titles

If the vehicle carries a salvage brand and you’ve rebuilt it, Form 10-381 alone isn’t enough. You must complete an Affidavit of Reconstruction and surrender it with the existing salvage-branded title. The affidavit lists every part repaired or replaced, and for major components like the frame, engine, or transmission, it asks for the VIN of the donor vehicle. Water-damaged vehicles that were submerged above the dashboard require listing all replaced electrical components.¹²

Vehicles branded “Junk,” “Non-repairable,” or “Parts Only” cannot be registered for road use at all.¹²

One narrow exemption: vehicles that were registered in Arkansas and were more than seven model years old at the time the damage occurred don’t need to carry a salvage brand. The DFA calculates the cutoff by subtracting eight from the current calendar year. Out-of-state salvage or rebuilt brands, however, always carry forward onto the Arkansas title regardless of the vehicle’s age.¹²

1
Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration. DSMV FAQs
2
Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration. Vehicle Tag Renewal
3
Justia. Arkansas Code 27-22-104 – Insurance Required – Minimum Coverage – Definitions
4
Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration. Do You Have What You Need
5
Arkansas Department of Finance & Administration. Arkansas Form 10-381 Vehicle Registration Application
6
Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration. Motor Vehicle Registration Fee Schedule
7
Justia. Arkansas Code 27-14-601 – Fees for Registration
8
FindLaw. Arkansas Code 26-52-510 – Payment of Tax on Motor Vehicles by Consumers
9
Legal Information Institute (LII). 006.05.08 Ark. Code R. 12.1 – Sales Tax Credit for Private Sale of a Used Vehicle
10
Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration. MyDMV
11
Justia. Arkansas Code 27-14-723 – Registration and License
12
Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration. Affidavit of Reconstruction for a Salvage Motor Vehicle