Wisconsin title answers · Selling and buying
How do you transfer a car title from your business to yourself in Wisconsin?
Short answer
Treat it as a sale. Someone with authority signs the title's assignment for the business, and you apply for a new title in your own name on form MV1 with the $214.50 title fee. The part owners miss is sales tax: none of the exemptions on MV1 covers a business selling to its owner, and the Department of Revenue's examples tie the family exemption to whoever is on the title, which is the business. Expect 5% state tax plus any local tax on the price.
The business is a separate owner
WisDOT titles vehicles to businesses under the business name and its federal employer identification number (FEIN). If the title shows your company, the company owns the car, even if you own every share of it. Moving the car to you personally is a change of owner like any other.
Look at the front of the title first. If it is already in your personal name, there is nothing to transfer, even if the business paid for it.
Signing it over
Wisconsin law says the owner transfers a vehicle by signing the assignment on the title. For a business, that signature comes from someone with authority to act for it. Write the business name as seller, sign, and fill in the date, the price and, for a 2011 or newer vehicle, the odometer reading. You then fill out MV1 as the buyer, in your own name.
If a lender financed the car for the business, check whether the loan is paid. For loans listed since July 30, 2012, the lender holds the title, and a lien that is not released follows the car onto your title.
Sales tax: the question that sends people to DOR
MV1 charges 5% state sales tax unless one of its listed reasons applies. The reasons include a car previously titled in Wisconsin and bought from a spouse, parent or child, but a business has no relatives, and the Department of Revenue's fact sheet on business asset sales gives an example of a corporation selling a vehicle to the owner's son: taxable, because the son is not related to the corporation that is on the title.
Wisconsin's exemption runs the other way. DOR says a transfer of a motor vehicle into a corporation owned solely by the transferor or the transferor's spouse is exempt, if the vehicle was previously titled in Wisconsin in the transferor's name. Moving the car back out to you is not on that list. For anything unusual about your entity or the price, call DOR at (608) 266-2776 before you file.
Filing it
Mail the signed title, your MV1 and a check or money order to Registration Fee Trust to WisDOT, P.O. Box 7949, Madison WI 53707-7949, or apply online through eMV Public with your Wisconsin driver license and the signed title, then mail the title and receipt. If you will drive the car, it needs plates within two business days of the transfer.
Common questions
What price do I write on the title?
The actual price the business is selling it to you for. Sales tax on MV1 is figured from that amount, so a price that does not match the deal is a tax question for DOR, not a paperwork shortcut.
My business has closed. Can I still sign for it?
Only if you still have authority to act for it. Our page on cars titled to a closed business covers who can sign.
Is there a title fee when I move my own car into my corporation?
Yes. The sales tax exemption does not waive the $214.50 title fee for a transfer to a new owner.
Can TitleFiled prepare the MV1?
Yes, at your direction, for one flat $299. You sign and mail it, and you pay the state's fees to the state.
Want us to do the paperwork?
You tell us your situation. We fill out the WisDOT forms for it and give you a checklist of what to include. You review, sign and mail the package yourself.
If the state asks for a bond, you buy it from a licensed surety of your choosing. We take no commission.
- ✓ $299, one flat fee, bonded titles included
- ✓ Track your case online
- ✓ The application is in your name from the start
State fees are paid to WisDOT. Any bond premium is paid to the surety you choose.
Prefer to fill out the forms yourself? The $97 do-it-yourself kit walks you through every form field, the real costs, and the 12 reasons packets get rejected.
Related answers
No title for your car in Wisconsin
Which path fits: replacement, bonded title, or neither.
Read this guide →How do you title a car that belonged to a business that closed in Wisconsin?
Someone with authority for the business must sign the title over. If no one can, look up the company on DFI, then the bonded title route applies.
Read this guide →Do you pay sales tax on a private car sale in Wisconsin?
Yes. The buyer pays 5% state sales tax plus county and city tax when titling the car. In the City of Milwaukee that totals 7.9%.
Read this guide →How do you sign over a car title in Wisconsin?
Seller signs and dates the back of the title, writes mileage (2011 or newer), price and buyer's name, and gives a lien release if a loan is listed.
Read this guide →What is Wisconsin form MV1?
MV1 is Wisconsin's Title and License Plate Application: it puts a vehicle in your name and gets plates. What each section asks and where to mail it.
Read this guide →How much does it cost to transfer a title in Wisconsin?
The Wisconsin title transfer fee is $214.50. Add 5% state sales tax, any county or city tax, and $85 for car plates. How to total it up.
Read this guide →Sources, checked 2026-10-31: WisDOT: MV1 Title/License Plate Application · Wisconsin DOR Fact Sheet 2110: Occasional Sales of Business Assets · Wis. Stat. ch. 342 (342.15, transfer by signing the title) · WisDOT: Liens and lien holder search. Rules can change; confirm with WisDOT before you file.
TitleFiled is a document-preparation and title-recovery assistance service operated by Nuvent66 LLC, a Wisconsin limited liability company. It is not a law firm, does not provide legal advice, and is not affiliated with, authorized by, or endorsed by any DMV or government agency, including the Wisconsin Department of Transportation (WisDOT). We do not guarantee that any agency will approve or issue a title. Information on this page is provided for general reference, was verified against official WisDOT sources on the date shown, and is not legal advice.