If you are new to Arkansas, or you recently bought a vehicle, the Department of Finance and Administration says you must register within 60 days. MyDMV offers that registration online, including the title application, a plate transfer, and sales tax. You can also go to a state revenue office. The vehicle tag page states the same 60 calendar days for a motor vehicle, a motorcycle, or a commercial truck, measured from the date of transfer or from the date a prior lien is released.
Liability insurance has to be in place. The tag page and the "do you have what you need" page both require current insurance on the VIN that meets Arkansas liability requirements. They do not print the dollar limits. Insurance Department Bulletin 8-99, dated July 20, 1999, says Act 1527 of 1999 raised the minimum limits from 25/50/15 to 25/50/25 effective July 30, 1999. That is $25,000 per person, $50,000 per accident, and $25,000 property damage. The bulletin is the insurance page opened for this article. It is 27 years old. Confirm with the Insurance Department that no later act changed the minimums before you buy a policy from this sentence alone.
What has to happen, in order
- Assess the vehicle with the county assessor for the current year, and pay personal property taxes that were due by the previous October 15. The tag page says acceptable proof is the collector's receipt or a payment certification stamped on the assessment papers.
- Have liability insurance that meets the Arkansas minimums.
- If the out-of-state title is branded salvage, prior salvage, or something similar, get a VIN verification from a certified Arkansas law enforcement officer, the State Police, or a State Police designee.
- Apply within 60 days, online or at a revenue office, with the ownership papers below.
- Pay sales tax and the registration fees the office calculates. The pages opened on November 10, 2026, do not print one statewide passenger-car registration fee. MyDMV links a sales-tax calculator. Use that calculator rather than a number from another site.
Documents
The tag page asks for the manufacturer's certificate of origin if the vehicle is new, or the previous owner's title properly assigned to you if it is used. Bring an invoice or bill of sale with the full purchase price and any trade-in, including the trade-in VIN and the allowance. Vehicles less than 20 years old need an odometer disclosure signed by buyer and seller. If you are surrendering an out-of-state title, a separate bill of sale and a conforming odometer statement must come with it. A financed purchase needs the signed lien contract. All owners sign the title application when the names are joined by "and."
Inspections
There is no statewide safety inspection and no emissions test on the new-registration instructions for an ordinary out-of-state title. The VIN verification is limited to branded titles. The "do you have what you need" page does not add an inspection step.
Tax
The DSMV FAQ states the sales tax as 6.5 percent on a new vehicle. A used vehicle from $4,000 through $9,999 is 3.5 percent. A used vehicle of $3,999 or below has no sales tax due, according to that FAQ. If you miss the 60 days, the FAQ says the penalty is 10 percent of the sales tax due, plus $3 for each 10 days the vehicle is not registered. The FAQ does not say that tax you paid to another state is subtracted. The agency's FAQ does not state the credit. Confirm it at the revenue office.
Temporary tags, military, and a shipped car
The DSMV FAQ says a temporary tag is available at any state revenue office if you bring the bill of sale and your driver license, and that it must be issued within the first 10 days after purchase. That is a purchase rule. The pages opened today do not describe a transit permit for a car already titled in your name in another state, and they do not describe a military or student exemption from the 60-day registration rule. Ask the revenue office if you are stationed in Arkansas or in school.
A shipped car is still a vehicle that has to be registered within 60 days of your becoming a new resident, or within 60 days of the purchase if you just bought it. There is no emissions station to book unless the title is branded and you need the VIN check. You still need assessment, tax proof, and insurance before the registration will go through. See car shipping in Arkansas and the cost calculator.