The Virginia DMV says you title the vehicle within 30 days of moving, then register it and get plates within 30 days of moving. Before you operate the vehicle in Virginia it must pass an annual safety inspection and display the sticker. Insurance has to be in place before registration. Emissions apply only in listed Northern Virginia localities, and a current emissions certificate from the last 12 months can be used for that first registration.
What do I do, in order?
- Get a safety inspection sticker before you operate the vehicle. DMV says most repair shops do the inspection and tells you to contact Virginia State Police at (804) 674-2000 for stations. Driving without a sticker can bring a ticket. A conviction can mean a fine and an entry on your driving record.
- Title the vehicle within 30 days. For an out-of-state vehicle, the title page asks for a completed title application, proof of address, and one of these: the title or registration card from your previous state, the previous owner's out-of-state title signed over to you, or a U.S. Armed Forces ownership document with your name as owner. If you purchased within the last 12 months, also bring proof of purchase price or a Vehicle Price Certification.
- Pass emissions only if the car is kept in a listed locality and you do not already have a valid emissions certificate from the last 12 months. The localities are Arlington, Fairfax, Loudoun, Prince William, and Stafford counties, and the cities of Alexandria, Fairfax, Falls Church, Manassas, and Manassas Park.
- Insure the vehicle, then register at a customer service center within 30 days. The fee depends on the plate, the registration period, and whether a highway use fee applies. A two-year registration is $2 less in person or by mail, and $3 less online or by phone. A three-year registration is $3 less in person or by mail, and $4 less online or by phone. You cannot use the three-year discount the first time you register.
- If the locality requires a local sticker or decal, buy it within 30 days of moving there. The commissioner of the revenue, the treasurer, or the director of finance sells it. DMV does not.
You have 60 days to get a Virginia driver license, or 30 days for a commercial license. That license clock is separate from the 30-day vehicle clock.
Who can keep the out-of-state title?
DMV's vehicle licensing guide says a person must apply for a certificate of ownership within 30 days of purchase or of moving into Virginia. It then lists exceptions. Vehicles owned by non-residents, by full-time students in accredited Virginia schools who are not employed, by active-duty members and by active or mobilized reserve or National Guard members living in the Commonwealth, and by people on a full-time church or proselyting mission of not more than 36 months who are not gainfully employed, need not be titled in Virginia if they are titled and registered elsewhere in the United States. The welcome brochure, form DMV 140, states the military and mission part of that exception and says those owners are not required to title or register in Virginia. Read your own orders against that text. The new-to-Virginia steps page does not repeat the exception in the same words.
What the title application needs
Record the odometer on the application. The welcome brochure says that if the out-of-state title shows an odometer exemption and the model year is at least 10 years older than the current calendar year, no odometer disclosure is required. You must present the out-of-state title that shows the exemption. Otherwise an odometer reading is required. Leased vehicles will not show up in your DMV record, the title page says. The new-resident page does not describe a temporary tag. It also does not print a base registration fee beyond the multi-year discounts above.
What tax does DMV state?
The new-resident page and the out-of-state portion of the title page do not state a sales or use tax rate, and they do not state whether tax paid to another state is credited. They do require proof of purchase price if you bought the vehicle within the last 12 months. Confirm the tax at the customer service center. This guide does not fill that gap from another site.
What insurance is required?
The State Corporation Commission guide says that if you certify insurance when you register, the policy must include $50,000 for injury or death of one person, $100,000 for injury or death of two or more people, and $25,000 for property damage. Uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage is included at the same 50/100/25 minimum. The other way to meet the financial-responsibility law is the uninsured-motor-vehicle fee paid to DMV. That fee does not provide insurance. It lets you drive uninsured at your own risk. DMV says that if you register and do not insure the vehicle you can be charged a $600 non-compliance fee, have the license and registration suspended, and pay a $145 reinstatement fee. Higher premiums can follow for three years. Get the policy before you register. If you sell the car and do not transfer the plates, return the plates before you cancel the insurance.
What if the car is shipped to Virginia?
You still title within 30 days of the move and register within 30 days, and you still need the safety sticker before you operate the car. Emissions depend on the locality where the car is kept, not on the state it left. See car shipping to Virginia, the cost page, and emissions when states differ. RideShipper compares quotes. It is not a carrier or a broker, and it does not inspect or title the car.