Registering a Vehicle in NY: A Handy Guide

Greetings, fine friends. Welcome to our blog here at eTags.  As you may know, we tend to address topics from all across the automotive world.  You’ll find us delving into the latest trends, reviewing traffic laws, or musing about some new model that is hitting showrooms. If it involves cars, trucks, motorcycles, SUV’s, RV’s, or EV’s, it involves us. Car crazy, are we? Maybe. But we sorta like that classification!

Today we’re getting down to brass tacks, going back to the basics. Because as much as we love exploring the greater world of motor vehicles, our true specialty lies in helping folks title and register their automobiles.  And we know how helpful it can be to have information related to these processes available, at your fingertips.

This post is for our New York residents or for people moving to the Empire State.

So if you’ve just purchased a car, inherited one, received one as a gift, or are relocating to New York, here’s how to go about registering your vehicle.

First things first. If your vehicle has a motor, it must be insured. What does this mean?  Well, anything that drives on its own – as opposed to a trailer, which is attached or hitched to a vehicle with a motor – has to carry insurance.  So this that means all cars, trucks, SUV’s, and motorcycles, have to be covered, have to prove financial responsibility.  If your vehicle is a trailer, then it will be covered by whatever motor-powered vehicle tows it.

It is important to note that if you are moving to New York, the state requires that you register your vehicle within thirty (30) days of becoming a resident. Similarly, if you are already a NY resident and are simply bringing a car into the state (that you purchased or were gifted in another state) you will also have thirty days in which to register it in New York.

If you are bringing a vehicle into New York from out of state, your old insurance will not be accepted.

You must insure your vehicle through a New York-based provider.  Your choices are:

• Contact your current insurance company and see if they have a branch in NY. If so, you can ask them if they are able to switch the coverage area to NY from your old state.
• Obtain a new liability insurance policy from a brokerage located in the state of NY. It’s good to note that the minimum coverage requirements for NY state are:
  • $10,000 for property damage for a single accident
  • $25,000 for bodily injury and $50,000 for death of a person involved in an accident
  • $50,000 for bodily injury and $100,000 for two or more people involved in an accident

The second step is to gather the necessary documents.

To register a vehicle in New York, you will need to provide the following items:

1. Proof of ownership. This refers to the title of the vehicle. The title must be an original document and must be in your name. If your title is damaged or defaced (illegible or bears corrections/cross-outs) you will have to apply for a replacement (duplicate) title from your old state so that you can remit a clean title to the NY DMV.

If the title is not yet in your name – if you’ve just purchased the vehicle and the seller transferred their ownership over to you – you will need to provide your bill of sale and proof that the title was signed over to you.

2. Proof of identity and age. New York State has a 6-point system when it comes to acceptable identification documents. The simplest ID to provide is a NY driver’s license. And if you’re moving to the state from another territory, you will need to acquire one of these within thirty days of moving. That said, you can find the full list of accepted forms of ID here.  Keep in mind that all documents must be original. No copies will be accepted.
3. A completed Vehicle Registration/Title Application. This form can be downloaded and printed here.
4. Proof of sales tax paid.

• If you purchased your vehicle from a dealership and paid sales tax, you can provide the bill of sale (form MV-50) as proof of taxes paid.
• If your vehicle was purchase via private sale in NY, your seller must complete form DTF-802 which will allow you to pay the appropriate sales tax to the DMV.
• If your vehicle was purchased in another state and you have paid sales tax there, you will need your bill of sale as well as form DTF-804.

For full details on all the tax requirements, you can take a peek at the DMV’s page here.

In the case there is a lienholder on your out-of-state vehicle, you will be asked to provide these documents:

• A copy of the title certificate with your name on it from the lienholder
• Certification from the lienholder that title certificate is a copy of the original certificate – the copy of the title certificate and the certification of the lienholder must be on the same piece of paper
• A statement on lienholder letterhead with the following information:
  • Owner, year, make, and VIN of the vehicle
  • Statement that the lienholder holds the original title and knows the owner will use the documents to register in New York State

For full lienholder details, you can pop over to the DMV’s page.

And these, friends, are the basics of registering a vehicle in the state of New York.  Of course, you’ve come to the right place: we’re ready to assist with all of your NY title and registration needs.  Simply head over to our site, choose New York as your state from our drop-down menu, and let us guide you through the straightforward process.  And if you need a hand, feel free to ask, because as always, here at eTags, we’re here to help!