North Dakota car registration and title fees

• Title fee — $5.00. Certificate of title, filed with the Motor Vehicle Division. If you finance, your lender's lien is recorded on the same title at no extra state charge. (N.D.C.C. 39-05-05(5); NDDOT Registration Manual, Passenger)
• Abandoned vehicle disposal fee — $1.50. A $1.50 tax on the first North Dakota title issued to a car. A used car that is being titled here for the first time, such as one brought in from another state, pays it too. A used car already titled in North Dakota does not. (N.D.C.C. 23.1-15-11; NDDOT Registration Manual, Abandoned Motor Vehicle Disposal Fee)
• Registration (by weight and age) — varies. One year of registration, with plates. North Dakota sets it by the car's weight and by the year it was first registered, not the model year. This car is first registered in the six most recent calendar years, including this one (2021 or later in 2026, 2022 or later in 2027). Every new car is here. Weight is the shipping weight on the title or certificate of origin, which we don't have, so this uses the 3,200 to 4,499 lb bracket that most cars and crossovers fall in. The schedule runs from $73 under 3,200 lb to $274 at 9,000 lb and over for the newest group. (N.D.C.C. 39-04-19(2)(a); NDDOT Passenger Fee Schedule MVD-2 (10-2025), effective 1-1-2026 to 12-31-2026, and MVD-2 (9-2026) for 2027)
• Registration (by weight and age) — varies. One year of registration, with plates. North Dakota sets it by the car's weight and by the year it was first registered, not the model year. This car is first registered 6 to 8 calendar years ago (2018 to 2020 in 2026, 2019 to 2021 in 2027). This is the seventh to ninth year. Weight is the shipping weight on the title or certificate of origin, which we don't have, so this uses the 3,200 to 4,499 lb bracket that most cars and crossovers fall in. The schedule runs from $73 under 3,200 lb to $274 at 9,000 lb and over for the newest group. (N.D.C.C. 39-04-19(2)(a); NDDOT Passenger Fee Schedule MVD-2 (10-2025), effective 1-1-2026 to 12-31-2026, and MVD-2 (9-2026) for 2027)
• Registration (by weight and age) — varies. One year of registration, with plates. North Dakota sets it by the car's weight and by the year it was first registered, not the model year. This car is first registered 9 to 11 calendar years ago (2015 to 2017 in 2026, 2016 to 2018 in 2027). This is the tenth to twelfth year. Weight is the shipping weight on the title or certificate of origin, which we don't have, so this uses the 3,200 to 4,499 lb bracket that most cars and crossovers fall in. The schedule runs from $73 under 3,200 lb to $274 at 9,000 lb and over for the newest group. (N.D.C.C. 39-04-19(2)(a); NDDOT Passenger Fee Schedule MVD-2 (10-2025), effective 1-1-2026 to 12-31-2026, and MVD-2 (9-2026) for 2027)
• Registration (by weight and age) — varies. One year of registration, with plates. North Dakota sets it by the car's weight and by the year it was first registered, not the model year. This car is first registered 12 or more calendar years ago (2014 or older in 2026, 2015 or older in 2027). This is the thirteenth year or later. Weight is the shipping weight on the title or certificate of origin, which we don't have, so this uses the 3,200 to 4,499 lb bracket that most cars and crossovers fall in. The schedule runs from $73 under 3,200 lb to $274 at 9,000 lb and over for the newest group. (N.D.C.C. 39-04-19(2)(a); NDDOT Passenger Fee Schedule MVD-2 (10-2025), effective 1-1-2026 to 12-31-2026, and MVD-2 (9-2026) for 2027)
• Registration (pickup, by weight rating and age) — varies. One year of registration, with plates. North Dakota prices a pickup with an open bed by its gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) and by the year it was first registered, not the model year. This pickup is first registered in the six most recent calendar years, including this one (2021 or later in 2026, 2022 or later in 2027). Every new car is here. Without the rating this uses a typical half-ton, 6,401 to 7,100 lb GVWR. The schedule runs from $73 under 4,551 lb to $274 above 12,800 lb for the newest group. (N.D.C.C. 39-04-19(2)(a); NDDOT Pickup Fee Schedule MVD-2A, effective 1-1-2026 to 12-31-2026, and the 2027 schedule)
• Registration (pickup, by weight rating and age) — varies. One year of registration, with plates. North Dakota prices a pickup with an open bed by its gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) and by the year it was first registered, not the model year. This pickup is first registered 6 to 8 calendar years ago (2018 to 2020 in 2026, 2019 to 2021 in 2027). This is the seventh to ninth year. Without the rating this uses a typical half-ton, 6,401 to 7,100 lb GVWR. The schedule runs from $73 under 4,551 lb to $274 above 12,800 lb for the newest group. (N.D.C.C. 39-04-19(2)(a); NDDOT Pickup Fee Schedule MVD-2A, effective 1-1-2026 to 12-31-2026, and the 2027 schedule)
• Registration (pickup, by weight rating and age) — varies. One year of registration, with plates. North Dakota prices a pickup with an open bed by its gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) and by the year it was first registered, not the model year. This pickup is first registered 9 to 11 calendar years ago (2015 to 2017 in 2026, 2016 to 2018 in 2027). This is the tenth to twelfth year. Without the rating this uses a typical half-ton, 6,401 to 7,100 lb GVWR. The schedule runs from $73 under 4,551 lb to $274 above 12,800 lb for the newest group. (N.D.C.C. 39-04-19(2)(a); NDDOT Pickup Fee Schedule MVD-2A, effective 1-1-2026 to 12-31-2026, and the 2027 schedule)
• Registration (pickup, by weight rating and age) — varies. One year of registration, with plates. North Dakota prices a pickup with an open bed by its gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) and by the year it was first registered, not the model year. This pickup is first registered 12 or more calendar years ago (2014 or older in 2026, 2015 or older in 2027). This is the thirteenth year or later. Without the rating this uses a typical half-ton, 6,401 to 7,100 lb GVWR. The schedule runs from $73 under 4,551 lb to $274 above 12,800 lb for the newest group. (N.D.C.C. 39-04-19(2)(a); NDDOT Pickup Fee Schedule MVD-2A, effective 1-1-2026 to 12-31-2026, and the 2027 schedule)
• Electric vehicle road use fee — $120.00. A $120 annual fee on every electric vehicle, charged at the start of each registration year on top of the registration fee. It does not transfer between owners, so a used electric car pays it again. (N.D.C.C. 39-04-19.2(1)(a); NDDOT Passenger Fee Schedule)
• Plug-in hybrid road use fee — $50.00. A $50 annual fee on every plug-in hybrid, charged at the start of each registration year on top of the registration fee. It does not transfer between owners. A hybrid without a plug does not pay it. (N.D.C.C. 39-04-19.2(1)(b); NDDOT Passenger Fee Schedule)

• North Dakota does not tax the car as property each year. Registration fees are charged instead of a state or local personal property tax, so there is no county bill on top of the registration.
• Registration renews every year and expires on the last day of the month you first registered. North Dakota has no grace period. The fee goes down as the car ages: for a car of 3,200 to 4,499 lb it is $93 in years one to six, $81 in years seven to nine, $69 in years ten to twelve and $57 from year thirteen on.
• Plates stay with you, not the car. If you sell or trade in a registered car, you keep its plates and get a credit for the unused months. The credit comes off the new car's registration, and a $5 credit transfer fee applies. The credit can be used on one replacement vehicle only, and any amount over the new registration fee is lost. This total does not subtract it.
• Title and register the car within 30 days of receiving the title. The dealer's 75-day certificate or the Motor Vehicle Division's 75-day temporary permit covers you until then. North Dakota has no safety or emissions inspection.

• The $120 electric vehicle road use fee comes back with every yearly registration renewal, on top of the registration fee.
• The $50 plug-in hybrid road use fee comes back with every yearly registration renewal, on top of the registration fee.

• North Dakota has no sales tax on a car. It charges a 5% motor vehicle excise tax on the purchase price, the same rate everywhere in the state. No city or county adds to it. You pay it to the Motor Vehicle Division when the car is titled. Most dealers collect it for you and send it in as a service, but the law does not require them to.
• Registration is for 12 months and is set by the vehicle's weight and by the year it was first registered, not the model year. The calculator cannot see your car's exact weight or first-registration year, so it uses typical values and marks the fee as an estimate.
• Title is $5, and a new car also pays a $1.50 abandoned vehicle disposal fee. An electric car pays a $120 road use fee every year and a plug-in hybrid $50, on top of registration.
• If you trade in or sell a registered car, its unused registration is credited to your new car, less a $5 transfer fee. The calculator does not know that credit, so your registration may come out lower than shown.
• If you buy from a dealer outside North Dakota and register here, you still pay North Dakota's 5%, with a credit for sales or excise tax paid to the other state if that state gives a similar credit. Enrolled tribal members living on a North Dakota reservation, and veterans with a 100% service-connected disability, are exempt. The calculator does not apply those exemptions.

Source: North Dakota Century Code Chapter 57-40.3 — Motor Vehicle Excise Tax, § 57-40.3-02 · rules last verified Oct 11, 2026. Methodology.