How to Transfer a Car Title in Oregon: Documents, Fees, and Deadline

To transfer a car title in Oregon, file an Application for Title and Registration (Form 735-226) with the DMV within 30 days of the sale, together with the seller’s signed original title and any required lien release or odometer disclosure. The title fee runs from $101 to $192 depending on the vehicle’s fuel efficiency, and Oregon charges no sales tax on the purchase. If you also need registration and plates, plan on a combined total somewhere between $225 and $425.

What the Seller Has to Give You

Before you can file anything, the seller has to hand over a properly completed title. That means signing and dating the back of the original Oregon title in the transfer section. If the vehicle had a loan, the lienholder must have signed the front of the title or provided a separate signed lien release.¹

For most vehicles model year 2011 or newer, the seller also has to write the current odometer reading on the back of the title, and both of you sign it. Model year 2010 and older vehicles are exempt, and 2011-and-newer vehicles become exempt once they turn 20.²

If the seller’s name is not on the title, they need to provide a Bill of Sale that includes the VIN, a statement releasing interest in the vehicle, their printed name and signature, and the date of sale. Oregon DMV has a standard Vehicle Bill of Sale form, but any document with those elements works.¹

What You File as the Buyer

You file the completed Application for Title and Registration, Form 735-226, which you can download from the DMV site or pick up at any field office.³ It asks for your full legal name, residential address, and vehicle details including make, model year, body style, and VIN. If a bank or lender is financing your purchase, list them on the application as the security interest holder.

With the form you submit the original signed title, any lien releases, and the odometer disclosure if one is required. Check that the VIN on your paperwork matches the VIN on the vehicle’s dashboard plate before you file. A mismatch stalls the whole application.⁴

What It Costs

The title fee has a $77 base plus a surcharge tied to the vehicle’s fuel efficiency. The combined totals, effective after December 31, 2025, are:⁵

0–19 MPG: $101
20–39 MPG: $106
40+ MPG: $116
All-electric: $192

Motorcycles, mopeds, travel trailers, motor homes, ATVs, and similar vehicles pay a flat $101, unless all-electric, in which case the $192 fee applies. Heavy trucks over 26,000 pounds GVWR pay $90, and salvage titles cost $27.⁵

Oregon is one of five states with no sales or use tax on vehicle purchases, so you owe no percentage-based tax when you transfer the title, whether you bought from a dealer or a private party. If dealer paperwork lists a line item labeled as tax, the Oregon Department of Justice notes those are taxes assessed to the dealer, not the buyer.⁶ The one narrow exception: a brand-new vehicle, or one with 7,500 miles or fewer bought from an out-of-state dealer, may require a Use Tax Certificate. The DMV flags that during processing.⁴

Registration, Plates, and County Fees

If you plan to drive the vehicle on public roads, you also need current registration and plates. Oregon registers passenger vehicles in two-year cycles:⁵

0–19 MPG: $126
20–39 MPG: $136
40+ MPG: $216
All-electric: $376
Motorcycle or moped: $88

New plates cost $26. Transferring plates you already own from another vehicle costs $30. Portland-area residents owe an additional county fee: $112 in Multnomah County, and $60 each in Washington and Clackamas Counties.⁵

A typical 20–39 MPG vehicle in Multnomah County, with new plates, lands at $106 + $136 + $26 + $112 = $380. The same vehicle outside the Portland metro runs $268. Those county surcharges often catch people off guard when they only budgeted for the title fee.

The 30-Day Deadline and Late Fees

Oregon law requires you to submit the title application within 30 days of the sale date.⁷ Miss the window and the DMV adds a late fee to the regular title cost:

31–60 days late: $25
More than 60 days late: $50

These late fees apply only to Oregon-titled vehicles. The DMV may waive the fee if you can show you made a good-faith effort to transfer the title or that the delay was beyond your control.⁵

Where to Submit and How Long It Takes

You can mail the complete package to DMV Headquarters in Salem, drop it in a secure box at a local field office, or schedule an in-person appointment. In person is the safest option if you have any doubt about your paperwork, because an agent can catch errors on the spot instead of mailing you a correction letter two weeks later.

DMV offices accept cash, checks, money orders, mobile payments, debit cards, Discover, Mastercard, and Visa. Checks and money orders go to “Oregon DMV.” Bring exact change if you pay cash.⁸

Current DMV estimates put Oregon and out-of-state transfers at about two to three weeks. Dealer-submitted titles run closer to four weeks. If something is wrong with your application, expect a letter within about a week asking for the missing piece.⁹ The finished title certificate arrives by mail at the address on your application. When it shows up, verify the printed name, address, VIN, and vehicle details match. If anything is wrong, contact the DMV right away for a correction.

Situations That Change the Process

Vehicle From Another State

Bringing a vehicle in from out of state adds a VIN inspection, which costs $9 and can be done at your DMV appointment. You surrender the title issued by the previous state. Everything else, including the fee schedule, is the same.⁴

Vehicle With an Active Loan

If the seller still owes money on the vehicle, the lienholder must sign the front of the title or provide a separate signed lien release before the DMV will process anything. Without that release, the application goes nowhere.⁴ When the seller’s bank still physically holds the title, they typically need to pay off the loan and get the release from the lender before handing over clean paperwork. Some people handle this through escrow or by meeting at the lender’s office. Do not pay for a vehicle until you have the title with the signed lien release in your hand.

DEQ Emissions in Portland and Medford

If you live in the Portland or Medford metro areas, most vehicles need to pass a DEQ emissions test before the DMV will complete your registration. Motorcycles, trailers, diesel vehicles over 8,500 pounds GVWR, and vehicles still within their first four model years are exempt. Outside those two metro areas, no emissions test is required.¹⁰

Salvage and Rebuilt Titles

Vehicles declared a total loss by an insurer carry a salvage title in Oregon. The salvage title stays with the frame or unibody, and when the vehicle changes hands, the new owner must apply for a salvage title in their own name unless they are a licensed dealer or dismantler.¹¹ The salvage title fee is $27, but getting a rebuilt vehicle back on the road involves additional inspection steps beyond a normal transfer. Ask the seller for complete repair documentation and expect a longer DMV process.

Gifted Vehicles

Gifting a vehicle follows the same process as a private sale. The seller signs the back of the title and records the odometer reading if required, and the recipient files Form 735-226. You can list the sale price as $0 on the Bill of Sale. Oregon has no separate gift tax and does not require a gift affidavit, and because there is no sales tax, a $0 price does not save anything the way it would elsewhere.¹ For a valuable vehicle, keep federal gift tax rules in mind: for 2026, the IRS annual gift tax exclusion is $19,000 per recipient. Gifting above that does not necessarily create a tax bill, but you would need to file a federal gift tax return.¹²

Lost Title

If the original title has been lost, stolen, or destroyed, the owner named on the most recent title can apply for a replacement using an Application for Replacement Title and paying the standard title fee based on MPG. If you are buying a vehicle whose seller has lost the title, insist that they get the replacement before you complete the sale. You cannot transfer a title you do not physically have.⁴

Power of Attorney

If the buyer or seller cannot sign in person, Oregon allows a designated representative to handle the paperwork using DMV Form 735-500. The form must include the representative’s name, the vehicle’s plate number or VIN or title number, and the owner’s signature. The representative signs title documents by writing the owner’s name followed by their own signature.¹³

1
Oregon Department of Transportation. Buying or Selling a Vehicle
2
Oregon Secretary of State. OAR 735-028-0010 Vehicles Exempt from Odometer Disclosure Requirements
3
Oregon Department of Transportation. Application for Title and Registration Form 735-226
4
Oregon Department of Transportation. Titling and Registering Your Vehicle
5
Oregon Department of Transportation. Vehicle Title, Registration and Permit Fees
6
Oregon Department of Justice. Buying a Vehicle
7
Oregon State Legislature. Oregon Revised Statutes 803.092 – Application for Title Upon Transfer of Interest
8
Oregon Department of Transportation. Fees Home – Oregon Driver and Motor Vehicle Services
9
Oregon Department of Transportation. DMV Newsroom
10
Oregon Department of Environmental Quality. DMV Registration and VIN Inspection
11
Oregon Public Law. OAR 735-024-0170 Salvage Title Assignment and Transfer
12
Internal Revenue Service. IRS Releases Tax Inflation Adjustments for Tax Year 2026
13
Oregon Department of Transportation. Power of Attorney Form 735-500