Do you pay a title fee to transfer a car to family in Wisconsin?

Transfers between living family members

Wisconsin's title fee law, Wis. Stat. 342.14, charges $207 plus a $7.50 supplemental fee for a title after a transfer. The waiver in that statute is written only for a deceased owner's interest passing to family. So a gift or sale from a living relative pays the full $214.50, on form MV1, like any other transfer.

Sales tax is where family helps. The MV1's exemption code 1 covers a motor vehicle previously titled in Wisconsin and purchased from a spouse, parent, child, spouse's parent, child's spouse, stepparent or stepchild. You enter the code and the relationship in Section E. Siblings, grandparents and cousins are not on that list.

• Title fee: $214.50
• Sales tax: exempt for the relationships above, if the car was previously titled in Wisconsin
• Plates: you need your own unless you are spouses or domestic partners, who can transfer plates between them

Transfers after a death

Here the statute does waive the fee. Wis. Stat. 342.14(3) and (3m) waive both the $207 and the $7.50 for a decedent's interest passing to a surviving domestic partner or an immediate family member. Wisconsin defines immediate family member as a spouse, grandparent, parent, sibling, child, stepchild, stepparent or grandchild, or the spouse of any of those.

WisDOT's form MV2300 is how you claim it. According to the form, the waiver applies when every owner on the new title is a Wisconsin resident and is related to the decedent in one of those ways. If any new owner is outside the list (the form calls this an heir), the title fee is required even if another owner qualifies. The replacement title fee is also waived for qualifying family when the decedent's title is lost, though you still file form MV2119.

Paperwork for each case

Living family transfer: the relative signs the title over to you, fills in the odometer reading if the vehicle requires one, and you submit the title and an MV1 with $214.50 and any plate fees.

After a death: submit MV2300, the decedent's title, an MV1 and any lien release. WisDOT's heir instructions apply when the decedent's solely owned property is not more than $50,000; above that, a court-appointed personal representative handles the transfer and signs the title, though qualifying family still use MV2300 to claim the fee waiver. A surviving spouse or domestic partner has a separate path that covers up to five vehicles.

Where families lose the waiver or get delayed

Adding an extra name. MV2300 says the fee is waived only if all owners on the new title are Wisconsin residents related to the decedent as listed, which includes the spouse of a child, sibling or grandchild. Put a friend, a cousin or an out-of-state sibling on the new title and the title fee is due, even though you qualify.

Signing as a personal representative the wrong way. When the estate is over $50,000 and a court appointed a personal representative, WisDOT's heir page says that person signs the title as seller and writes "personal representative" after their name. Qualifying family still send MV2300 if they want the fee waived.

Trading the car in. WisDOT's heir page says an heir trading a decedent's vehicle in to a Wisconsin dealer has to title it in their own name first. Plan for that step before you go car shopping.

When the family car has no title

If a relative's car was never titled to them, or the title chain is broken and the original owner is gone, the family waiver may not get you there. That can turn into a bonded title application, where the $214.50 is paid and a surety bond may be required. Our flat $299 service prepares those forms at your direction if it comes to that.

Sources, checked 2026-10-31: Wis. Stat. ch. 342 (342.01 definitions, 342.14 fees) · WisDOT: MV2300 surviving family and heir transfer · WisDOT: Vehicle title fees · WisDOT: Heir transfers · WisDOT: Surviving spouse or domestic partner · WisDOT: MV1 Title/License Plate Application. Rules can change; confirm with WisDOT before you file.