How to Transfer a Car Title in Connecticut: Steps, Fees, and Taxes

To transfer a car title in Connecticut, you and the buyer meet in person at a DMV hub or branch office with the signed title, a bill of sale, a completed Registration and Title Application (Form H-13B), photo ID, a Connecticut insurance card, and payment for the $25 title fee, registration fees, and 6.35% sales tax (7.75% if the price is over $50,000). The DMV does not process title transfers online or by mail.¹

What the Seller Signs Over

The seller’s job is to complete the assignment section on the back of the certificate of title: printed name, signature, date of sale, odometer reading, and the buyer’s name and address. That signed title goes to the buyer along with a bill of sale.²

The DMV’s Bill of Sale (Form H-31) works, but a homemade one is equally valid if it includes both parties’ names and addresses, a description of the vehicle (make, model, year, color, VIN), the sale price, the date, and the seller’s signature.² Keep copies of both documents.

Once the sale is done, cancel your registration. You can do it online, by mail, or in person at no charge; by mail, submit a Marker Plate Notice (Form E-159) and a Request for Registration Refund (Form F-82) to the DMV Registry Record Section in Wethersfield. After cancellation, the old plates can be thrown away.³

What the Buyer Brings to the DMV

Show up with all of the following:

The original certificate of title with the seller’s completed assignment on the back.
The bill of sale (Form H-31 or the seller’s own version) showing the purchase price.
A completed Connecticut Registration and Title Application (Form H-13B), including any lienholder if you’re financing.⁴
A valid driver’s license or state-issued ID.
A current Connecticut automobile liability insurance card in your name for the vehicle. Connecticut law requires continuous coverage on every registered vehicle.⁵
Payment for the title fee, registration fees, sales tax, and any add-ons.

Offices accept cash, exact-amount money orders, personal checks payable to “DMV,” bank checks, and major credit or debit cards. They will not take third-party checks or checks drawn on foreign banks.⁶

What It Costs

For a standard passenger vehicle, expect these fees at the counter:

Title fee: $25.⁶
Registration fee: $120 for a triennial (three-year) passenger vehicle registration.⁷
Registration transfer fee: $21 if you’re transferring an existing registration.⁷
Administrative fee: $10.⁶
Clean Air Act fee: $10.
Lien fee: $10, only if a lienholder is recorded on the title.⁶

An emissions test is generally required for vehicles that are not within the most recent few model years, and it runs about $20.

Sales Tax

Connecticut charges 6.35% sales tax on private vehicle sales. If the price is over $50,000, the rate is 7.75% on the full amount.⁸

For a private sale, the DMV calculates tax on the NADA average trade-in value or the bill of sale price, whichever is higher. That rule keeps buyers and sellers from writing an artificially low price on the paperwork. If you bought from a licensed dealer, tax is based on the actual purchase price.⁹

Watch the $50,000 line. Taxable add-ons like extended warranties and service contracts count toward it, and crossing it pushes the higher 7.75% rate onto the entire amount.⁸

Where to Go

Title transfers happen in person at a DMV hub or branch office. Book an appointment. Walk-in service is available at most locations on weekdays but not at the Cheshire, Putnam, or Stamford offices, and no office takes walk-ins on Saturdays. Without an appointment, wait times can be long.¹

Once your documents check out and payment is collected, you’ll usually walk out with a temporary registration. The official title with your name on it arrives by mail.

If the Title Is Missing

The transfer can still happen, but the seller has to replace the title first. That means an Application for Replacement Certificate of Title (Form H-6B) and an Original Connecticut DMV Supplemental Assignment of Ownership (Form Q-1). Both are required; the transfer isn’t valid without the Q-1.¹⁰

The replacement fee is $25. The seller can apply online (about 20 business days by mail), in person, or by mail (up to 90 days). If a lienholder is listed on the missing title, a lien release letter has to come with the application.¹⁰

If There’s a Lien on the Title

You need proof the loan is satisfied before the vehicle can change hands. The simplest version: if the lender stamped the title as “paid,” that stamped title is enough on its own.¹¹

Otherwise, get a lien release letter from the lender on official letterhead. It has to include the owner’s name, the vehicle description (year, make, VIN), a statement that the loan is paid in full, and an authorized signature. For very old loans where the lender no longer exists or won’t respond, you can substitute a Motor Vehicle Ownership Affidavit (Form H-115) if the loan is more than ten years old.¹¹

Gifts Between Immediate Family

A vehicle gifted between immediate family members can move without sales tax, but only if it was registered in the donor’s name for at least 60 days first. You’ll need a Motor Vehicle or Vessel Gift Declaration (Form AU-463) signed by the giver, and Section 5 of Form H-13B must be filled out to claim the exemption.¹

Connecticut defines “immediate family” as mother, father, sister, brother, son, daughter, husband, or wife. Gifts to anyone outside that list are taxed at the normal rate based on NADA value.¹

Inherited Vehicles

When an immediate family member dies, the executor or administrator of the estate signs the title assignment over to the family member receiving the vehicle. If two executors are named, both must sign.¹

The person receiving the vehicle brings a certified probate court document establishing that authority. The DMV accepts several probate forms, including PC-160 (decree), PC-212B (petitioner’s probate certificate, which must specifically state that transfer of ownership is allowed), PC-260, PC-264 or PC-264S, and PC-450.¹

The same 60-day rule and sales tax exemption used for gifts applies here: the vehicle must have been registered in the deceased family member’s name for at least 60 days. The exemption is blocked if the deceased had delinquent property taxes, unpaid parking tickets, or a suspended registration. Estate transfers require an appointment; you can’t walk in.¹

Vehicles Coming From Out of State

New Connecticut residents have 90 days to register a vehicle brought from another state.¹² Along with the standard documents, you need a VIN verification using the Out-of-State VIN Verification Form (Form AE-81).¹³ An emissions test is generally required for vehicles that aren’t within the most recent few model years.

Some vehicles have to be verified at the DMV Inspection Lane in Wethersfield rather than through the standard form. Grey-market vehicles, which are imported from another country (including Canada) and may not meet federal safety standards, fall into that group.¹⁴

Rebuilt Salvage Vehicles

A vehicle declared a total loss and then reconstructed carries a salvage brand on its title. Before Connecticut will register and title it, the vehicle must pass an inspection confirming it is properly equipped and in safe mechanical condition.¹⁵

The inspection is performed by a licensed dealer or repair shop authorized by the DMV commissioner. The inspector may ask for proof of lawful purchase of any major replacement parts that weren’t original to the vehicle. The inspection fee is $88, on top of the normal registration and title fees.¹⁵

If the Owner Can’t Come In Person

Someone else can handle the paperwork using a Special Power of Attorney (Form A-83). It authorizes an agent to complete and sign the registration and title application but does not cover anything related to the owner’s driver’s license or ID card.¹⁶

The form must carry original signatures from the vehicle owner, two witnesses, and a notary public, justice of the peace, or commissioner of the Superior Court. The DMV reviews the original and returns it to the owner. Photocopies aren’t accepted.¹⁶

Budget for Municipal Property Tax

This is the cost that surprises most new Connecticut vehicle owners. Every municipality assesses an annual property tax on registered motor vehicles. Once the DMV processes your registration, it automatically notifies the tax assessor in your town. You’ll get a bill prorated for the remaining months in the assessment year (October through September), and after that a full-year assessment each October.

Mill rates vary significantly from town to town, so the same vehicle can cost noticeably more to own in one municipality than another. This is separate from anything you pay at the DMV and continues for as long as the vehicle stays registered in Connecticut.

1
DEPARTMENT OF MOTOR VEHICLES. Transfer Ownership
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DEPARTMENT OF MOTOR VEHICLES. Sell Your Vehicle
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CT.gov. Cancel Vehicle or Vessel Registration
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CT.gov. Connecticut Registration and Title Application H-13B
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DEPARTMENT OF MOTOR VEHICLES. Learn How to Comply With Insurance, Tax, and Registration Laws
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CT.gov. DMV Fees
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Justia. Connecticut Code 14-49 – Fees for Registration, Transfer of Registration, and Issuance of Number Plates
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DEPARTMENT OF MOTOR VEHICLES. Sales Tax Calculator
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DEPARTMENT OF MOTOR VEHICLES. Learn About Sales Tax on First Time Vehicle Registrations
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CT.gov. Replace Your Title
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CT.gov. Make Changes to a Car Title at the DMV
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CT.gov. Transfer Your Vehicle Registration From Out of State
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CT.gov. Out-of-State VIN Verification Form AE-81
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DEPARTMENT OF MOTOR VEHICLES. Verify a Vehicle Identification Number (VIN)
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Justia. Connecticut Code 14-103a – Inspection of Altered, Composite, Grey-Market and Salvage Vehicles
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DEPARTMENT OF MOTOR VEHICLES. Special Power of Attorney A-83