Louisiana car registration and title fees

• Title fee — $68.50. Certificate of title, issued by the Office of Motor Vehicles. (R.S. 32:728(1); OMV fee page)
• OMV handling fee — $8.00. A state handling charge the Office of Motor Vehicles adds to a title or registration transaction. (R.S. 32:412.1(A))
• License plate fee (2 years) — varies. Louisiana's registration license tax on a car, paid two years at a time: $10 a year up to $10,000 of the car's value, then $1 a year for each $1,000 above that, rounded to the nearest $1,000. OMV bases it on the selling price. $20 is the minimum. (R.S. 47:463(A); OMV fee page)
• Lien recording fee — $15.00. Recording your lender's lien on the title: $15 when the lender files a UCC-1 financing statement, $10 for another kind of security agreement. A dealer may not charge it on a cash sale. (OMV Policy 69.00 (R.S. 32:710, 32:728); OMV fee page; LMVC Bulletin B-2015-003)

• Waste tire fee — $9.00 (government-mandated). $2.25 for each of the four road tires on a new car. The spare carries no fee. The dealer collects it as its own line on the invoice, and no tax applies to it. It is not charged on a used car. (LAC 33:VII.10521(B), 10535(B); R.S. 30:2418(I))
• Tag agent convenience fee (up to) (est.) — $27.00 (dealer fee). If the dealer or a tag agent handles your title and plate, it may add a convenience charge of up to $27 (raised from $23 on 2026-08-01). The money goes to the public tag agent. You can avoid it by registering at an OMV office yourself. No law requires it, so this is a dealer charge that belongs in the advertised price. (R.S. 47:532.1(C) as amended by Act 925 of 2026; R.S. 6:969.18(A)(3); LMVC Bulletin B-2026-006)

• Your plate fee covers two years. Louisiana has no yearly property tax on a car used on public roads (the state constitution exempts it), so the registration license tax is the recurring cost.
• Late tax costs money. The sales tax is due within 40 days of the sale. After that the OMV adds interest and a penalty of 5% of the tax for each 30 days, up to 25%.

• Electric cars pay a $110 road usage fee for each calendar year, billed by the OMV in April or May for the year before and due by June 30. A car owned for part of a year pays one-twelfth for each month, counting a partial month as a whole one. It is not collected at the sale, so it is not in the total.
• Plug-in hybrids pay a $60 road usage fee for each calendar year, billed by the OMV in April or May for the year before and due by June 30. A car owned for part of a year pays one-twelfth for each month, counting a partial month as a whole one. It is not collected at the sale, so it is not in the total.
• Hybrids that do not plug in owe a $60 road usage fee a year by law, but the legislature suspended it until August 1, 2027 (Act 966 of 2026). Plug-in hybrids and electric cars still pay.
• Hybrids that do not plug in pay a $60 road usage fee for each calendar year, billed by the OMV in April or May for the year before and due by June 30. It is not collected at the sale, so it is not in the total.

• You pay the tax to the Office of Motor Vehicles when the car is titled, and it is due within 40 days of the sale. Most dealers and public tag agents handle it for you at the sale. It is in the calculator's total because you pay it either way.
• Your trade-in reduces the taxable amount, on new and used cars, with no dollar limit. The title must be in your name (or your spouse's) and the dealer must list the trade on the invoice.
• Registering the car: a dealer has 20 days to deliver your title or the papers you need for a plate. Title, the $8 handling fee and your plate fee are paid to the OMV, usually through the dealer. A $27 tag-agent convenience charge is optional: you can register at an OMV office without it.

Source: Louisiana Department of Revenue — Motor Vehicle Sales Tax (Pub. R-20164) and Parish E-File Sales Tax Explorer · rules last verified Oct 11, 2026. Methodology.