Connecticut car registration and title fees

• Title fee — $25.00. The DMV's fee for a certificate of title. The dealer files it for you. (C.G.S. 14-192(a)(1); DMV fee table)
• Registration (three years) — $120.00. Connecticut registers a passenger car for three years at $120. Drivers 65 and older can choose a one-year registration at a prorated fee. (C.G.S. 14-49(a), 14-22(a); DMV fee table; DEEP Passport to the Parks page)
• Plate fee — $5.00. The $5 safety fee the DMV adds when it issues reflectorized number plates. (C.G.S. 14-49(w); DMV fee table)
• DMV administrative fee — $10.00. The DMV charges $10 for a transaction that includes an electronic check of the vehicle identification number. (C.G.S. 14-12s; DMV fee table)
• Federal Clean Air Act fee (three years) — $15.00. $15 for a three-year registration. The statute exempts electrically powered vehicles. (C.G.S. 14-49b(a)(1))
• Passport to the Parks fee (three years) — $24.00. $8 a year, charged for the three years up front. It gives a car with Connecticut plates free parking at state parks and beaches. It was $15 before July 1, 2025. (C.G.S. 14-49b(b) as amended by P.A. 24-81, sec. 43 (effective 2025-07-01))
• Greenhouse gas reduction fee — $15.00. $15 when a new car is registered for the first time. (C.G.S. 22a-201c(a))
• Greenhouse gas reduction fee (three years) — $7.50. $7.50 for a three-year registration of a car that is not new. (C.G.S. 22a-201c(b))
• Emissions exemption fee — $40.00. $40 charged when a new car is registered. It covers the DMV's exempt-status sticker; the car skips emissions testing until it is four model years old. (C.G.S. 14-164c(k)(3); DMV fee table)
• Emissions exemption fee — $40.00. The DMV lists this $40 fee for any car four model years old or newer. The statute ties it to a car that has not been registered in Connecticut before, so a used car that already carries a Connecticut exempt sticker may not owe it again. (C.G.S. 14-164c(k)(3); DMV fee table)
• Lien fee — $10.00. The DMV's fee to note your lender's lien on the title. (C.G.S. 14-192(a)(2); DMV fee table)

• The big yearly cost is the town's property tax on the car. It is a separate bill from your town, not part of this total. Since the October 2024 assessment, the town values the car at a share of its original sticker price that falls each year (85% in year one, 80% in year two, down to 15% in years 15 to 19; a town can choose a schedule that starts at 90%), assesses 70% of that, and multiplies by its mill rate. State law caps the car mill rate at 32.46 mills and a town can set it lower. Example at the cap: a $40,000 car pays about $770 in its first full year and about $590 in year five. A $25,000 car pays about $480 in year one; a $70,000 car about $1,350.
• A car registered after October 1 is added to the town's list and billed for part of the year, counted in months from the registration to the next October 1. Connecticut will not renew a registration while the property tax is unpaid.
• Registration lasts three years. At renewal the DMV charges the $120 registration fee plus the Clean Air Act, Passport to the Parks and greenhouse gas fees, about $165 for a gas car. A late renewal adds $10 after five days.
• Emissions testing starts when the car is four model years old and repeats every two years. The test costs $20. Full electric cars are exempt.
• If you keep your old plates, the DMV credits the unused time on your old registration. That credit depends on your renewal date, so it is not in this estimate.

• Connecticut has no extra state registration fee for electric cars. A 2026 bill to raise it (H.B. 5568, $345 for three years) did not pass. An electric car also skips the $15 Clean Air Act fee.

• Most dealers file the title and registration with the DMV for you. If you would rather register the car yourself, the dealer has to lower its conveyance fee by a proportional amount.
• The registration, plate, title and other DMV charges in the total are the amounts the DMV collects for a three-year registration.

Source: Connecticut DMV — Sales tax on first-time vehicle registrations · rules last verified Oct 11, 2026. Methodology.