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Michigan title transfer fees

How much is the title fee in Michigan?

$10

In plain English

Michigan's statute has an applicant for a certificate of title send a fee of $10.00 with the application. The same statute adds a $3.00 service fee for each title issued and a tire disposal surcharge of $1.50 for each certificate of title the person receives.

“an applicant for a certificate of title required by this act or an applicant for a duplicate of a certificate of title shall accompany the application with a fee of $10.00.”

The official words for the rest

“The secretary of state shall collect a $3.00 service fee, in addition to the other fees collected under this subsection, for each title issued”

“each person that applies for a certificate of title, a salvage vehicle certificate of title, or a scrap certificate of title under this act shall pay a tire disposal surcharge of $1.50 for each certificate of title or duplicate of a certificate of title that person receives.”

Worked example

Example: a $12,000 used car bought from a private seller in Michigan. Title fee: $10. Title service fee: $3. Tire disposal surcharge: $1.50. All the quoted flat fees due on a title transfer: $14.50. Tax at the quoted 6% of $12,000: $720, before any trade-in, credit or exemption in the quoted lines. Not included: registration and plates, a lien fee, an out-of-state inspection, county or office add-ons, and late fees.

A made-up price; every other figure is from the quotes on this page. It is an illustration, not a bill.

What other fees come with it?

What are the steps in Michigan, and by when?

In plain English

  1. The use tax on the vehicle is collected by the secretary of state before the registration is transferred.

    The official words

    “The tax on a vehicle, ORV, snowmobile, and watercraft shall be collected by the secretary of state before the transfer of the vehicle, ORV, snowmobile, or watercraft registration.”

  2. The transfer has to be made and the fee paid within 15 days. Otherwise the vehicle is considered to be without registration.

    The official words

    “Unless the transfer is made and the fee paid within 15 days, the vehicle is considered to be without registration”

What if the car comes from another state?

Nothing on this in the official pages we read for Michigan. That is about our reading, not about Michigan’s rules.

What about tax on the purchase in Michigan?

In plain English

The use tax statute sets a total combined rate equal to 6% of the price of the property, a figure that includes both a local share and the state share. The tax on a vehicle is collected by the secretary of state before the vehicle's registration is transferred.

The official words

“a specific tax, including both the local community stabilization share and the state share, for the privilege of using, storing, or consuming tangible personal property in this state at a total combined rate equal to 6% of the price of the property or services specified in section 3a or 3b.”

“The tax on a vehicle, ORV, snowmobile, and watercraft shall be collected by the secretary of state before the transfer of the vehicle, ORV, snowmobile, or watercraft registration.”

The tool below multiplies the quoted percentage by a price typed in, as an illustration. Trade-ins, credits and exemptions are not applied.

What does a gift or family transfer change in Michigan?

In plain English

No use tax is owed when the person receiving the vehicle is the giver's spouse, mother, father, brother, sister, child, stepparent, stepchild, stepbrother, stepsister, grandparent, grandchild, legal ward, or a legally appointed guardian with a certified letter of guardianship.

The official words

“The following transfers or purchases are not subject to use tax: (a) A transaction or a portion of a transaction if the transferee or purchaser is the spouse, mother, father, brother, sister, child, stepparent, stepchild, stepbrother, stepsister, grandparent, grandchild, legal ward, or a legally appointed guardian with a certified letter of guardianship, of the transferor.”

What happens if the transfer is late in Michigan?

In plain English

This is about a late transfer of ownership: once the 15 days have passed, the transfer can be made and a valid registration obtained only by paying a transfer fee of $15.00 on top of the regular title fee.

The official words

“Unless the transfer is made and the fee paid within 15 days, the vehicle is considered to be without registration”

“transfer of the vehicle ownership may be effected and a valid registration acquired thereafter only upon payment of a transfer fee of $15.00 in addition to the fee provided for in section 806.”

What the pages we read do not cover

The statutes we read do not say what papers to bring or which office to visit.

They do not give a fee for recording a lender's claim on the title.

They do not say anything specific about a vehicle brought in from another state or a deadline for new residents.

How Michigan compares

The title fee quoted for Michigan is $10. Of the other 37 states with a figure, 7 states quote less, 25 states quote more and 5 states quote the same. A title fee is one line, not the whole cost.

LowerHigher

The states whose flat title fee sits closest to Michigan’s. Each figure is copied from the quote at the top of that state’s page, with its source and read date. A title fee is one line, not the whole cost.

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Anything else?

Reference only, not legal or tax advice. Confirm with the agency. Full statement

More from Michigan’s official pages

Registration and plates

“according to the following schedule based on the vehicle's list price: List Price Tax $ 0 - $ 6,000.00 $ 36.00”

Pages that refused our script

These official pages answered our script with a refusal or a bot check on November 12, 2026. We did not work around it, and nothing here is drawn from them.

Sources

9 quoted lines from 4 official sources, each matched word for word on November 12, 2026. Some official pages refused our script, so these lines could not be compared with them; a figure in a statute can differ from the fee an office posts today. The state’s own titling page is michigan.gov.

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