How to Get a Title for a Motorcycle in Pennsylvania

To get a title for a motorcycle in Pennsylvania, you submit a PennDOT title application with proof of ownership, proof of identity and Pennsylvania residency, proof of insurance, and the $72 title fee.¹ Which application form you use, and what you attach to it, depends on how the motorcycle came to you: new from a dealer, used from a private seller, brought in from another state, given as a gift, or inherited.

What You Need Regardless of How You Got the Bike

Every title transaction runs on the same foundation. You need to prove who you are, that you live in Pennsylvania, that the motorcycle is legally yours, and that it’s insured to Pennsylvania’s minimums before it goes on the road.

Pennsylvania’s minimum liability limits for motorcycles are $15,000 for bodily injury per person, $30,000 for bodily injury per accident, and $5,000 for property damage. PennDOT will not issue the registration without proof of insurance, so have your insurance card or policy information ready when you submit the application.

Two PennDOT forms do most of the work: Form MV-1, “Application for Certificate of Title,” and Form MV-4ST, “Vehicle Sales and Use Tax Return/Application for Registration.” Neither form is available online. You can only get them from an authorized PennDOT agent, which includes most dealerships and private tag-and-title services.²

New Motorcycle From a Dealer

Buying new is the easiest path. The dealer hands you a Manufacturer’s Certificate of Origin (MCO), which lists the VIN, make, model, year, and factory specifications. The dealer or an authorized PennDOT agent then completes Form MV-1 on your behalf, submits it with the MCO, and PennDOT issues the title in your name.² If you’re financing, the lienholder’s name and address go on the form, and PennDOT sends the title directly to the lienholder until the loan is paid off.

Used Motorcycle With a Pennsylvania Title

For a used bike that already carries a Pennsylvania title, the seller signs the title over to you on the back of the existing certificate. Buyer and seller then complete Form MV-4ST together to apply for a new title in your name.²

The title assignment and the buyer’s signature both need to be notarized. The cleanest way to handle this is for both parties to meet at an authorized PennDOT agent or a notary public and finish everything in one visit. Bring a separate bill of sale showing the purchase price, the date, and both parties’ information. Record what you actually paid: PennDOT’s Understated Value Program routinely reviews transactions where the reported price falls well below fair market value.³

Motorcycle Coming In From Another State

Bringing a motorcycle in from out of state requires the out-of-state title signed over by the seller, Form MV-1, proof of Pennsylvania insurance, and a VIN verification.⁴

In Section A of Form MV-1, you match the VIN on the out-of-state title to the VIN plate on the motorcycle itself and attach a physical tracing of the plate to the back of the white copy of the form. If you cannot get a clear tracing, a certified inspection mechanic or a notary public at a motor vehicle dealership can inspect and verify the VIN instead, recording their name and ID number in Section A and signing.⁵

Gifted Motorcycle

If someone gives you a motorcycle with no money or anything of value changing hands, you can avoid sales tax by filing Form MV-13ST, “Affidavit of Gift,” with your title application. The definition is strict. A vehicle exchanged for goods, services, money, or the forgiveness of a debt is not a gift, and the exemption does not apply.⁶

One extra requirement applies when a gifted motorcycle was originally purchased in another state. The giver must prove that sales tax was already paid in a state that has a reciprocal tax agreement with Pennsylvania. Acceptable proof includes the original bill of sale showing tax paid, written confirmation from the other state’s title agency, or the out-of-state title showing the tax amount. Without that proof, or if the tax was paid in a non-reciprocal state, you owe Pennsylvania sales tax on the motorcycle’s current fair market value.⁶

Inherited Motorcycle

The paperwork for a motorcycle that belonged to someone who died depends on how the title was held and whether an executor has been appointed. If the title was held jointly with right of survivorship, don’t sign the back of the existing title; submit Form MV-39, “Notification of Assignment/Correction of Vehicle Title Upon Death of Owner,” along with proof of death. No title fee is charged when a motorcycle passes between husband and wife. If sole ownership is involved, or if the estate is going through probate, the executor named by the Register of Wills signs the title over using Form MV-4ST plus a Short Form Certificate from the Register of Wills.⁷ PennDOT’s fact sheet on vehicle transfer after death walks through the less common scenarios, including the priority order among heirs when there is no will.

Where to Submit and Riding While You Wait

You can submit a title application in two ways: in person at an authorized PennDOT agent, or by mail to the address printed on the form. Most people use an authorized agent because errors get caught on the spot and you can leave with a temporary plate.

A metal temporary plate expires 60 days after issuance or when you receive your regular registration card, whichever comes first. Cardboard temporary plates issued for vehicles headed to another state for registration expire after 30 days. Temporary plates are not transferable between vehicles.⁸ Mail-in applications don’t come with a temporary plate, so the motorcycle can’t be ridden on public roads until the registration arrives, which typically takes several weeks.

Odometer Disclosure at Transfer

Every title transfer requires an odometer statement from the seller showing the motorcycle’s true mileage on the date of sale, along with the VIN and both parties’ names and addresses. If the odometer has rolled past its mechanical limit, or if the true mileage is unknown or disputed, the seller must disclose that by checking the “Warning – Odometer Discrepancy” box.⁹

Older motorcycles can be exempt from disclosure. Model year 2010 or older bikes become exempt once they are at least 10 years old. Model year 2011 or newer bikes become exempt once they are at least 20 years old. Once mileage is marked exempt on a Pennsylvania record, there is no way to revert to true mileage later. If a 2011-or-newer motorcycle was already branded “exempt” by another state, PennDOT records the reading with a “not actual mileage” status code.⁹

Sales Tax and Fees

The title fee is $72 and annual motorcycle registration is $25.¹ Pennsylvania charges 6% sales tax on the purchase price, rising to 7% in Allegheny County and 8% in Philadelphia.¹⁰ If the Department of Revenue believes the reported price is significantly below fair market value, it can review the transaction and assess tax on fair market value instead, plus penalty fees and interest.³

Private tag-and-title agents charge their own service fees on top of PennDOT’s. These vary by location and typically run between $65 and $80. Ask for a breakdown before the agent processes your paperwork.

Custom-Built or Reconstructed Motorcycles

A motorcycle built from parts, or one significantly reconstructed, gets a branded title rather than a standard one. It must pass an enhanced vehicle safety inspection at a station PennDOT has specifically authorized for that purpose; not every regular inspection shop qualifies, so confirm the station holds an enhanced designation before booking.¹¹ Expect to provide receipts for major components, photographs, and detailed build documentation. PennDOT publishes separate fact sheets for specially constructed vehicles and reconstructed vehicles, each with its own form requirements, and the process takes longer than a standard title transfer.

Replacing a Lost Title or Getting Your Title After a Payoff

If your title is lost, stolen, destroyed, or too damaged to read, apply for a replacement using Form MV-38O, “Application for Duplicate Certificate of Title by Owner.” That form is for owners whose lien has been satisfied or who never had one.¹² If a lienholder is still on record, the lienholder has to be involved in the duplicate request.

Pennsylvania uses an Electronic Lien and Title program for most financed vehicles. Once you pay off the loan, the lienholder releases the lien electronically and PennDOT generates a paper title and mails it to you the next business day.¹³ If several weeks pass after your final payment with no title in the mail, call your lender first. Until the lien is released you cannot sell or transfer the motorcycle, so follow up promptly.

1
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Payments and Fees
2
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Buying or Selling a Vehicle
3
Pennsylvania Department of Revenue. Motor Vehicle Understated Value Program
4
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Transfer Vehicle Registration from Another State
5
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Motor Vehicle Information for New Residents
6
Pennsylvania Department of Transportation. Affidavit of Gift, Form MV-13ST
7
Pennsylvania Department of Transportation. Vehicle Transfer after Death of Owner
8
PA Code and Bulletin. Title 67, Chapter 43 – Temporary Registration Cards and Plates
9
Pennsylvania Department of Transportation. Odometer Information
10
Pennsylvania Department of Revenue. Pennsylvania Sales and Use Tax Credit Chart
11
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Specially Constructed/Reconstructed/Modified Vehicle Inspections
12
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Get a Duplicate Title
13
Pennsylvania Department of Transportation. Pennsylvania’s Electronic Lien and Title Program