Wisconsin title fee calculator
The title fee is $214.50. Most people also owe sales tax, plates and sometimes a local wheel tax. Here is what goes on your check to WisDOT, line by line.
Wisconsin title fee calculator
Pick your situation and fill in what you know. Every number comes from a WisDOT or Wisconsin Department of Revenue page, checked 2026-10-31.
The real price on your bill of sale. The MV1 warns that understating it is a crime.
Paid to WisDOT
One check or money order to Registration Fee Trust
- Title fee
- $214.50
- Passenger vehicle registration (1 year)
- $85
- Plate issuance fee ($6 per plate)
- $12
WisDOT fees$311.50
Sales tax, on the same check
State, county and city tax you declare on the MV1. WisDOT collects it for the state.
- State sales tax (5%)
- $150
Sales tax$150
Pick a county to add county tax (0.5% in most counties, 0.9% in Milwaukee County, none in Waukesha or Winnebago).
Total to WisDOT, fees plus sales tax
$461.50
With a properly signed title, the MV1 and this check are usually all WisDOT needs. If the seller never handed over the title, read what to do when the seller never gave you the title.
An estimate, not a bill. WisDOT works out the final amount from your application. Plate fees assume regular plates; special plates cost more. Local tax follows where the vehicle is kept, not where you bought it. To check a rate for an address, use the Department of Revenue rate lookup.
Bonded title?
If you never got a title from the seller, the fees above are only half of it. WisDOT first reviews an MV2082 and an MV1, then writes to tell you the bond amount. Packets get held up over things like a missing VIN photo or a thin written statement, and a bond bought before that letter can be for the wrong amount.
You sign and mail everything yourself. Any bond comes from a licensed surety you choose; we take no commission.
How each fee works
The title fee
Every new owner pays $214.50: the $207 title fee plus the $7.50 supplemental fee in Wis. Stat. 342.14. It is the same whether the seller signed the title over or you are applying for a bonded title. You write one check or money order to Registration Fee Trust for the total on your MV1.
Sales tax
A private seller does not collect tax, so the buyer pays it when titling. The MV1 has you multiply the price by 5% for state tax, then add local tax for where the vehicle is kept. Most counties add 0.5%. Milwaukee County adds 0.9%. Waukesha and Winnebago counties add none. The City of Milwaukee adds 2% on top of its county. The mistake people make is using the rate where they bought the car instead of where they keep it.
Bought from close family (your spouse, a parent, a child, a stepparent or an in-law the MV1 names), and the vehicle was already titled in Wisconsin? The MV1 lists that as a sales tax exemption. The title fee still applies.
Plates, surcharges and wheel tax
Regular car plates are $85 a year. Light trucks are $100, or $116.60 between 6,001 and 8,000 pounds. New plates add a $12 issuance fee ($6 per plate); moving your own current plates to the vehicle costs nothing. Hybrids add $75 a year and electric vehicles $175. More than 50 cities, villages and towns and 14 counties also charge a wheel tax, which WisDOT collects with your registration. A Madison car in Dane County pays both: $40 to the city and $40 to the county.
Loans, replacements and inherited vehicles
Adding a lender costs $10. If the title is already in your name and you lost it, you only need form MV2119 and $20. You can do that one yourself. For an inherited vehicle, WisDOT waives the title fee when everyone on the new title is a Wisconsin resident and a qualifying family member; other heirs pay $214.50.
Where the numbers come from
Checked 2026-10-31 against these official pages. WisDOT works out your final amount, so confirm there before you mail anything.
- WisDOT: Vehicle title fees
- WisDOT form MV1, Title & License Plate Application (fees section)
- WisDOT: Municipal and county wheel tax
- Wisconsin DOR: Sales tax rate chart
- Wisconsin DOR Fact Sheet 2113: Used vehicles sold by non-dealers
- WisDOT: Bonded title FAQ (BVS850)
- WisDOT form MV2300 (surviving family member or heir)
- WisDOT form MV2119 (replacement title)
Common questions
How much is a title transfer in Wisconsin?
$214.50, paid to WisDOT with form MV1. On a private sale you also pay sales tax on the price: 5% state tax, plus county tax and, in the City of Milwaukee, a 2% city tax. Plates are extra if you register the vehicle at the same time.
Is there a separate fee for a bonded title?
No. A bonded application pays the same $214.50 title fee, plus sales tax on what you paid and plate fees if you register it. The only extra cost is the bond premium, which you pay to a surety, not to WisDOT, and only after WisDOT's letter asks for a bond.
Does WisDOT charge sales tax on the bond amount?
No. WisDOT's bonded title FAQ says the tax is based on your bill of sale or your own statement of the price, not on the bond value.
Related Wisconsin guides
Bonded title cost calculator
Estimate the bond amount and premium from the vehicle's value.
Read this guide →What a bonded title costs
The state fee, the bond premium and your paperwork options.
Read this guide →Bought a car with no title
Your options in Wisconsin, start to finish.
Read this guide →Lost Wisconsin title
Replacing a title, including when it is not in your name yet.
Read this guide →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.