To get a car title in Arkansas, bring the signed-over title (or Manufacturer’s Certificate of Origin for a new car), a bill of sale, a completed title application, proof of insurance, and a current personal property tax assessment to any Department of Finance and Administration (DFA) revenue office, then pay the $10 title fee, your registration fee, and sales tax. You have 60 days from the date of purchase to do this, and the physical title arrives in the mail a few weeks later.
What to Bring to the Revenue Office
Gather these before you go:
- Proof of ownership. For a used car, that’s the seller’s original title signed over to you. For a brand-new vehicle, the dealer provides a Manufacturer’s Certificate of Origin.
- A bill of sale showing the make, model, year, VIN, sale date, purchase price, and signatures of both buyer and seller. A combined bill of sale and odometer disclosure form is on the DFA website.
- The DFA’s Application for Title, downloaded ahead of time or filled out at the counter.
- An odometer disclosure for any model year 2011 or newer vehicle. Older vehicles are exempt.
- Proof the vehicle is listed on your current-year county property tax assessment and that your property taxes are paid.1Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration. Do You Have What You Need?
- Proof of active Arkansas liability insurance on the vehicle.
- A VIN inspection by a certified Arkansas law enforcement officer or the Arkansas State Police, if the vehicle is coming from out of state.
Two items trip people up. The odometer rule changed in 2021: every vehicle from model year 2011 forward still needs a disclosure, and that stays true through 2031.2eCFR. 49 CFR 580.17 – Exemptions The property tax step catches newcomers because Arkansas treats vehicles as personal property; the county assessor’s office has to list the car and your taxes have to be current before a revenue office will title it. Handle the assessor first or you’ll make two trips.
What You’ll Pay
The title fee is $10. Registration is based on vehicle weight: $17 for passenger vehicles up to 3,000 pounds, $25 from 3,001 to 4,500 pounds, and $30 above 4,500 pounds.3Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration. Motor Vehicle Registration Fee Schedule
Sales tax is the bigger line, and the rate depends on both the price and whether the car is new or used:
- Under $4,000: no state sales tax.
- Used vehicle, $4,000 to $9,999: a reduced state rate of 3.5%, plus local taxes at their full rate.
- Used vehicle, $10,000 or more: the full 6.5% state rate, plus local taxes.
- New vehicle, $4,000 or more: the full 6.5% state rate regardless of price, plus local taxes.
The new-versus-used distinction matters. The reduced 3.5% tier applies only to used vehicles in that middle price range.4Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration. Recent Changes in the Law A new car priced at $7,000 is still taxed at 6.5%.5FindLaw. Arkansas Code Title 26 Taxation 26-52-510
At the Revenue Office
Take your documents and payment to any DFA revenue office. The clerk reviews everything, collects your fees and taxes, and processes the application while you wait. You leave with license plates and a registration receipt. The certificate of title itself is mailed to your address a few weeks later.
If you financed the car, the lender is noted on the title as the lienholder, and the title is typically mailed to the lender rather than to you until the loan is paid off.
The 60-Day Deadline
Arkansas law gives you 60 days from the date of purchase to register and title the vehicle. If the car you bought had an existing lien, the 60 days starts from the date that lien was released rather than the sale date.6FindLaw. Arkansas Code Title 27 Transportation 27-14-903 You also cannot legally drive the vehicle on public roads past that 60-day mark without valid registration.
Miss the deadline and the late penalty is $3 for every 10 days past due, accumulating until it equals your annual license fee, which caps between $17 and $30 depending on weight.7Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration. Notice of Suspension of Arkansas Statutes Affecting Registration of Motor Vehicles The dollar amount is modest, but driving unregistered past 60 days creates bigger problems if you’re pulled over.
Replacing a Lost or Damaged Title
A replacement title costs $10, and the last titled owner of record must sign the application. If a lienholder is still on record, the lender can authorize the replacement by completing a Permission to Issue a Replacement Title form, and the new title is mailed to the lender rather than to you.8Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration. Replacement Titles
When the Car Has No Title at All
For a barn find, an informal sale with no paperwork, or a vehicle where the title was never transferred through prior owners, a bonded title is the fallback. Start by submitting a Statement of Facts for Issuance of a Bonded Title to the DFA’s Office of Motor Vehicle, along with a bill of sale and a VIN inspection by a certified law enforcement officer.9Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration. Statement of Facts for Issuance of a Bonded Title The DFA reviews its records to confirm the vehicle qualifies, and if approved, sends bond forms and instructions.
You then buy a surety bond for one and a half times the vehicle’s value as determined by the Commissioner of Revenue.10Arkansas Bureau of Legislative Research. 27 CAR 10-103 – Requirements for Bond The bond protects anyone who later surfaces with a legitimate ownership claim. You must submit the title application within 30 days of the bond’s effective date or the DFA will not accept it.11Code of Arkansas Rules. 27 CAR 10-104 – Procedure for Applying for Issuance of a Bonded Title Once the bond’s term runs out with no challenges, the bonded notation is removed from the title.
Titling an Inherited Vehicle
Heirs have a few paths to put a deceased owner’s car in their name without full probate.
Affidavit of Inheritance
If the estate is not being formally administered and any will is unlikely to go through probate, all surviving heirs can sign an Affidavit of Inheritance agreeing to transfer the vehicle to a specific person. That person takes the form to a revenue office and applies for a new title.12Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration. Affidavit of Inheritance of a Motor Vehicle If the estate does go through probate, you’ll need the death certificate and court documents such as Letters Testamentary instead.
Transfer-on-Death Beneficiary
Arkansas owners can add a beneficiary directly to the title so the car passes automatically at death, bypassing probate. The owner applies for a certificate of title with beneficiary, pays a $10 processing fee, and submits the current title.13Justia Law. Arkansas Code 27-14-727 – Certificate of Title With Beneficiary When the owner dies, the named beneficiary applies for a new title with a certified copy of the death certificate and the standard title fees. The designation only takes legal effect once the DFA has actually issued the title with the beneficiary noted, so writing a name on the existing title does nothing.