Virginia car registration and title fees

• Title fee — $15.00. Certificate of title. On a financed purchase the lienholder is recorded on this original title, so there is no separate lien fee. (Virginia DMV fee schedule DMV 201)
• Registration — $30.75. One year of registration for a passenger vehicle up to 4,000 lbs. Heavier vehicles (4,001-6,500 lbs, which includes many SUVs and crossovers) pay $35.75. Renews annually. (Virginia DMV fee schedule DMV 201; Va. Code Sec. 46.2-694)
• Temporary tag — $3.00. Virginia caps what a dealer may charge for temporary plates at $3 u2014 the same amount DMV charges the dealer. Some dealers issue them free. (Va. Code Sec. 46.2-1558)
• Highway Use Fee u2014 electric — $135.63. Annual Highway Use Fee for an electric vehicle, collected at registration. DMV recalculates it every July 1; this is the figure for the year beginning July 1, 2026. (Va. Code Sec. 46.2-772; DMV 2026 Highway Use Fee chart)

• Virginia localities charge an annual personal property tax on vehicles u2014 the 'car tax'. None of it is due at purchase; your county or city assesses and bills it on its own cycle. Rates vary widely by locality and it can be a significant recurring cost, so it is worth looking up before you buy.
• Registration renews every year. If your vehicle is garaged in Virginia Beach, the city's local registration fee is billed alongside the state fee and roughly doubles it.
• Virginia's Highway Use Fee is based on fuel economy, not on whether a car is electric. Any vehicle rated 25 MPG combined or better owes it u2014 an ordinary economy gas car pays somewhere between about $7 and $97 a year depending on its rating. Only the electric-vehicle amount is included in the total above, because we do not ask for your car's MPG.
• Northern Virginia localities add a $2 annual emissions surcharge to registration, and require an emissions test every two years. New vehicles are exempt for their first four model years.

• Virginia dealers handle the tax, title and registration for you, so the total above is what you should expect to pay at the dealership. One thing we cannot include: most dealers now e-file and pass through an 'on-line systems filing fee' set by their software vendor, which has no published amount.

Source: Virginia DMV - Motor Vehicle Sales and Use Tax (SUT) · rules last verified Oct 1, 2026. Methodology.