The Vermont DMV says you must register upon establishing residency, and no later than 60 days after you move. If the out-of-state registration expires sooner, you must register in Vermont before it expires. To register, you need a Vermont driver license or non-driver identification card, unless you are a part-time resident, a student, or a contractual employee with the papers below. Liability insurance at the statutory minimum is required, and you have 15 days after registration to pass an inspection at a Vermont-licensed station.
What do I do, in order?
- Get a Vermont credential, or qualify for one of the exceptions. A part-time resident without a Vermont credential needs a property-tax bill, a lease or landlord certificate in the owner's name, a utility bill that lists the address, or a homeowners or renters insurance policy or proof of claim. A student needs a student ID from a Vermont college, university, or trade or vocational school. A contractual employee needs form VN-106 or an employment contract with a Vermont business.
- Carry liability insurance at not less than the statutory minimum. The dollar limits are on the Department of Financial Regulation page, below.
- Complete a registration application. Bring the title, a current odometer reading, and proof of the purchase and use tax or sales tax paid to any previous state, including the vehicle and owner information.
- If a lienholder has the title, appear in person with the lienholder's full name and address and the original registration from the previous state. Only the owner or lessee can complete that visit.
- Pay the taxes and fees DMV assesses. Within 15 days after the registration is issued, have the vehicle inspected at a Vermont-licensed station.
The moving page does not describe a temporary plate or a trip permit for the days before the Vermont registration is issued. It also does not state a VIN inspection for an ordinary out-of-state car. The new-registration page does say a VIN verification is required if the title is branded salvage. Ask DMV before you pay for any other inspection.
How is the tax figured?
Purchase and use tax is due at registration or titling. The tax page says the rate for an auto is 6 percent of the purchase price or the J.D. Power clean trade-in value, whichever is greater, minus a trade-in or other allowable credits. There is no maximum listed for an auto. If the vehicle is registered or titled to you or your spouse out of state, tax is based on the J.D. Power clean trade-in value and is due unless an exemption applies. You may submit a Vermont dealer appraisal if the vehicle is worth less than the J.D. Power value.
The moving page explains the credit. DMV deducts purchase and use tax or sales tax paid to another state, in your name, on that vehicle. You pay the difference if the other state charged less. You do not need that proof if the car is registered or titled in your name in a state that collects tax. Bring the title or registration instead. No credit is allowed for property tax or excise tax. DMV's rule of thumb is that a tax deductible under IRS rules is a personal property tax, not a purchase and use tax or a sales tax.
If you mail the registration, include a J.D. Power valuation printed within the last seven days. DMV points to a tax estimator on mydmv.vermont.gov. This guide does not copy a registration fee. The moving page says to pay all required fees and does not print them.
A lease buyout is a new ownership. The new-registration page says you pay a new registration fee, a title fee, and 6 percent purchase and use tax on the residual value. You may keep the plates, but the time on them starts over.
What insurance is required?
The DMV requires liability coverage not less than the statutory minimum and does not print the amounts on the moving page. The Department of Financial Regulation states the state liability limits as $25,000 per person, $50,000 per accident, and $10,000 property damage. That statement is in the answer about the limits required for an SR-22. The page says an SR-22 must be written by a company licensed in Vermont, through an agent licensed in Vermont, and that the filing runs three years from the event that required it.
What if the car is shipped to Vermont?
The carrier's delivery does not register the car. The 60-day period, or the earlier expiration of the old registration, still applies, and the inspection is still due within 15 days after Vermont registration. See car shipping to Vermont, the cost page, and sales tax and use tax when a car moves. RideShipper compares quotes. It is not a carrier or a broker, and it does not title the car.