To transfer a car title from PA to Delaware, you have 60 days from the day you establish Delaware residency to visit a Delaware DMV inspection lane with your Pennsylvania title, Delaware insurance, ID, and a completed Form MV-212. You’ll pass a VIN check or full inspection, pay a 5.25% document fee plus title and registration charges, and drive home the same day on new Delaware plates. The printed title arrives by mail later.
What To Bring to the DMV
Pull your original Pennsylvania certificate of title first. Delaware uses it to confirm ownership and check for liens. If a lender holds the title, skip ahead to the lienholder section, because you can’t bring it in yourself.
You also need proof of Delaware liability insurance from a carrier licensed in the state. Delaware law requires every registered vehicle to carry it, and the DMV won’t process your title without an active policy on file.1Justia. Delaware Code Title 21-2118 – Requirement of Insurance for All Motor Vehicles Required to Be Registered in This State Call your insurer before your DMV visit to switch the policy from Pennsylvania to Delaware; most companies handle it over the phone.
The paperwork itself is Form MV-212, the Application for Title. Download it from the Delaware DMV website or grab one at the inspection lane. It asks for your vehicle’s year, make, model, and current odometer reading. Federal law requires an accurate mileage disclosure on every title transfer, and false information can bring fines or criminal charges.2Delaware Division of Motor Vehicles. Application for Title Form No. 212
For identification, Delaware accepts a Delaware driver’s license or two other proofs of residency.3Division of Motor Vehicles. Vehicle Services Titling You don’t need the Delaware license yet, but you do need to show you actually live in the state. Utility bills, a lease, or bank statements showing your Delaware address will work.
If a Lender Holds Your Title
When a bank or credit union holds your title, Delaware uses a specific process. Fill out Form MV35, “Request of Title from Lienholder to DMV,” and send it directly to your lender, not to the DMV.4Delaware DMV. Request of Title from Lienholder to DMV (Form MV35) On the form you pick which Delaware DMV location should receive the title. Your lender mails the title and the form there.
Once the DMV has the title, they’ll contact you by email or postcard to come finish the transfer. Titles are held for a maximum of 60 days after they arrive, so don’t let the notice sit.4Delaware DMV. Request of Title from Lienholder to DMV (Form MV35) Call your lender first for the right mailing address and department. Sending MV35 to the wrong office is a common cause of delays, and the lender step alone can eat several weeks of your 60-day window.
The Inspection Lane
Before Delaware will issue a title, your vehicle has to be inspected. All four Delaware DMV facilities run inspection lanes, and you simply drive up.5Division of Motor Vehicles. Vehicle Services Inspections A technician verifies the VIN on the vehicle against your Pennsylvania title.
If your vehicle is within the newest seven model years, you only need a VIN verification rather than a full safety and emissions inspection.6Division of Motor Vehicles. Vehicle Services Inspections For a vehicle being titled in 2026, that generally means model year 2020 and newer are exempt from the full check.7Division of Motor Vehicles. Vehicles Purchased from Out of State Older vehicles go through a safety check of brakes, lights, and tires, plus an emissions test.
One trap that catches Pennsylvania drivers: Delaware prohibits window tint on the windshield below the manufacturer’s AS-1 line and on the front driver and passenger side windows entirely.8Division of Motor Vehicles. Vehicle Equipment Aftermarket tint on those windows will fail you. Remove it beforehand or plan on a return trip.
What You’ll Pay
After the inspection, you take the report plus your Pennsylvania title, insurance, ID, and MV-212 to the service counter. The clerk calculates the fees:
- Document fee of 5.25% of the vehicle’s value. This is the big one. As of October 1, 2025, Delaware charges 5.25% of the purchase price, or the NADA book value if no recent sale occurred. On a $20,000 vehicle, that’s $1,050. The rate was 4.25% before October 2025, so older guides online understate it.9State of Delaware News. DMV Fees Increase in October 2025
- Title fee of $35 with no lien, or $50 if a lienholder is recorded.10Division of Motor Vehicles. Fees – Division of Motor Vehicles
- Registration fee of $40 per year for a standard passenger car.10Division of Motor Vehicles. Fees – Division of Motor Vehicles
The DMV takes cash, personal checks, money orders, and major credit cards.10Division of Motor Vehicles. Fees – Division of Motor Vehicles
When You Can Skip the Document Fee
Two situations get you out of the 5.25% charge. If you bought the vehicle in Pennsylvania and paid Pennsylvania sales tax within 90 days before titling it in Delaware, you may qualify for an exemption from the document fee entirely.11Justia. Delaware Code Title 30-3002 – Motor Vehicle Document Fee; Claims for Refunds Bring your Pennsylvania bill of sale and proof of sales tax paid. If you bought the car years ago, that window is closed and the full fee applies.
Active-duty military, reservists, National Guard members, and their dependents stationed in Delaware can qualify for a full document fee exemption with orders showing a change of duty station within 90 days of relocating or within 90 days of purchasing the vehicle.12Division of Motor Vehicles. Military Services Ask for the credit at the counter; applying later is harder.
What You Leave With
Once the clerk processes everything, you walk out with new Delaware plates and a registration card. You drive home on the new plates the same day. The physical title certificate does not come with you. Delaware mails it to your home, or to your lienholder if the vehicle is financed. Keep the transaction receipt in the glove box until the printed title shows up.
Miss the 60 Days and Here’s What It Costs
Delaware law requires registration within 60 days of establishing residency, and the fines are not symbolic.13Justia. Delaware Code Title 21-2102 – Registration of Vehicles of New Residents; Penalty A first offense runs $400 to $600. Subsequent offenses carry $800 to $1,200, or 10 to 30 days of imprisonment, or both.14Delaware Code Online. Title 21 Chapter 21 Subchapter I – General Provisions
The 60-day clock is easy to misjudge. If you sign a Delaware lease on March 1 but don’t physically move until March 15, residency begins when you actually take up residence. And don’t wait until day 59, because a lienholder title request can take several weeks on its own.
Send Your PA Plates Back
Once Delaware plates are on the car, mail your Pennsylvania plates back to PennDOT:
Bureau of Motor Vehicles
Return Tag Unit
P.O. Box 68597
Harrisburg, PA 17106-859715Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Moving Out of Pennsylvania – Driver and Vehicle Services
Returning the plate protects you if someone later uses it fraudulently. PennDOT marks it as a “dead tag” in their system, which also closes out Pennsylvania insurance and registration obligations tied to that plate number.15Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Moving Out of Pennsylvania – Driver and Vehicle Services Pennsylvania doesn’t let out-of-state movers update their address online, so the mailed plate return is the cleanest way to close your PennDOT file.