How much does it cost to register a car in North Dakota each year?

Between $49 and $274, set by gross vehicle weight and registration year. A common car under 3,200 lbs pays $73 in its first six registration years and $49 from year 13. A 3,200 to 4,499 lb vehicle pays $93 falling to $57. A 9,000 lb-plus vehicle starts at $274 and settles at $128. Motorcycles ignore the table entirely at a flat $15.

Does North Dakota require a safety or emissions inspection?

No. The state has never required a routine safety or emissions test to register or renew a passenger vehicle, which removes a cost several neighbouring states charge annually. The only inspection scenario is VIN verification on certain salvage-titled vehicles arriving from another state. Motorcycles are equally exempt, so a bike goes from purchase to plates with no test to schedule.

When does my North Dakota registration expire?

On the anniversary month of when the vehicle was first registered, not a single statewide date. NDDOT mails a notice ahead of it, and renewal opens up to 90 days early through apps.nd.gov, by mail, or at a county branch office. There is no defined grace period, so the plate is expired the moment the month passes, though the fee itself does not increase for being late.

Can my brother give me a car in North Dakota without paying the 5% excise tax?

Yes. Siblings are on North Dakota's exempt list, along with spouses, parents and children including step and adoptive relationships, and grandparents and grandchildren. A transfer to a former spouse within one year of the divorce decree also qualifies. The recipient pays only the $5 title fee, with the relationship declared on Form SFN 2872. Cousins, in-laws and friends do not qualify.

How much does it cost to register a boat in North Dakota?

Watercraft register with the Game and Fish Department rather than NDDOT, on a three-year cycle currently running 2026 through 2028. The fee is $30 under 16 feet, $45 from 16 to under 20 feet, and $60 at 20 feet and over, plus a $15 aquatic nuisance species fee on every motorized registration. North Dakota does not title boats at all, and non-motorized canoes, kayaks and paddleboards need no registration.

North Dakota vehicle taxes & fees

A $5 title, a flat 5% excise tax with no local layer, and a registration fee that gets cheaper every few years instead of staying fixed.

verified July 2026your county's NDDOT motor vehicle branch office

Pick your tool

Every North Dakota vehicle cost

Each one runs North Dakota's own rates and rules - not a national average.

Buying
Tax, Title & License
The full out-the-door cost of buying a car: sales tax, title fee, registration, and every state add-on in one total.
Open
Boats
Boat Registration
Boat and vessel registration costs by length and type, plus titling fees and where to register (it's often not the DMV).
Open
Changing owner
Title Transfer
Title transfer fees, deadlines, and the late penalties that stack up if you miss them - with a penalty calculator.
Open
Changing owner
Gift a Car
What it costs to gift a vehicle to a family member - who qualifies, which taxes are waived, and the forms you need.
Open
Buying
Car Sales Tax
Exactly how much sales tax you'll pay on a new or used vehicle - including trade-in credits and private-party rules.
Open
Buying
Registration Fees
First-time registration costs by vehicle type - cars, trucks, trailers - with county fees and EV surcharges included.
Open
Every year
Renewal Cost
What your annual registration renewal actually costs, what's included, and what happens if you renew late.
Open
Motorcycles
Motorcycle Fees
Motorcycle registration, title, and tax costs - usually cheaper than a car, but with their own quirks by state.
Open

Against the other 50

#13 of 51 counting up from the cheapest

Oregon $242.00Washington $3,487.25

Tax, title and first registration on the same $30,000 car in every state. North Dakota comes to $1,579.50, $458.63 below the $2,038.13 median.

How North Dakota charges

What you actually pay, and to whom

In short

North Dakota keeps the purchase side about as simple as a state can. There is one tax on a vehicle, a 5% motor vehicle excise tax under Chapter 57-40.3, applied to the price minus any trade-in and collected by NDDOT at the same counter as the paperwork. No city or county adds to it. The certificate of title is $5, among the lowest in the country. Registration is where the state gets unusual: NDDOT prices it from a matrix in NDCC 39-04-19 that crosses gross vehicle weight against how many years the vehicle has been registered.

That matrix means the annual bill goes down over time rather than staying flat. A 3,200 to 4,499 lb car costs $93 in its first six registration years, $81 in years 7 through 9, $69 in years 10 through 12, and $57 from year 13 on. There is also no inspection to pay for or schedule, because North Dakota has never required a routine safety or emissions test. The costs that catch people out are the electric powertrain road use fees and the fact that registration renews on the anniversary month of first registration, with no grace period attached.

The 5% excise tax stands in for sales tax

Every vehicle required to be registered in North Dakota owes the excise tax at titling, and there is no municipal or county rate stacked on it anywhere in the state. Dealers subtract the trade-in allowance first, so a $12,000 trade against a $30,000 purchase leaves $18,000 taxable and saves $600. Private sales have nothing to net against, and the price is taken at face value only until it stops looking believable: NDDOT can pull a Kelley Blue Book or NADA figure and tax that instead if a declared price sits well below what the vehicle is worth. Unlike Texas, there is no fixed percentage floor written into the rule, just a fair market value review, so a bill of sale documenting damage or condition carries weight.

Registration is a matrix of weight and registration year

The passenger schedule has eight weight classes and four age tiers. Under 3,200 lbs pays $73, $65, $57 and $49 across those tiers. At 5,000 to 5,999 lbs, where full-size SUVs and half-ton pickups sit, it is $142, $120, $98 and $76. The top class at 9,000 lbs and over runs $274 down to $128. The age counter starts from when the vehicle was first registered anywhere, not its model year, so a low-mileage older car put into service late begins at tier one. Motorcycles and mopeds skip the matrix entirely at a flat $15 a year regardless of displacement or age, and trailers are a flat $20. Non-commercial trucks use a separate, generally lower table with an extra reduction after 20 years.

Electric powertrains carry a road use fee

Because a battery-electric vehicle buys no taxed motor fuel, North Dakota charges a $120 annual road use fee on top of whatever the weight and age matrix produces. Plug-in hybrids pay $50 and electric motorcycles pay $20 on top of their flat $15 base, taking a fully electric bike to $35 a year. Conventional hybrids pay nothing extra. The fee attaches at both initial registration and every renewal, so a 3,200 to 4,499 lb electric car in its first six registration years pays $213 a year rather than $93, and still $177 once it reaches its 13th year. It is charged separately from the excise tax, which treats every powertrain identically at 5%.

The gift exemption reaches further than most states

A qualifying family gift owes no excise tax at all, not a reduced flat rate. The list covers spouses, parents and children including step and adoptive relationships, grandparents and grandchildren, and siblings, plus a transfer to a former spouse within one year of the divorce decree. Inherited vehicles are exempt too. That sibling and grandparent coverage is broader than many neighbouring states allow. There is no dedicated gift affidavit to hunt down; the relationship is declared directly on Form SFN 2872 at the county branch office, and the only cost is the $5 title fee. Friends, cousins, in-laws and unmarried partners fall outside the list and are taxed at 5% of value, with a token $1 price triggering the book value review.

Thirty days on the title, no grace on the plate

NDCC 39-05-17 requires the endorsed title to be delivered within 30 days of the sale. North Dakota does not answer a late transfer with an escalating dollar penalty. It answers with suspension or revocation of the vehicle's registration until the transfer is completed, and the violation is a class B misdemeanor carrying up to 30 days in jail or a $1,500 fine. Registration itself renews on the anniversary month of first registration rather than a statewide date, and the state builds in no grace period, so an expired plate is a citable violation from the day it lapses. Renewal opens up to 90 days early through the online system at apps.nd.gov, and the fee does not increase for lateness.

What moves the number

Four things that change a North Dakota bill

The matrix steps down three times
Registration drops at the 7th, 10th and 13th registration year. A 6,000 to 6,999 lb vehicle goes from $175 to $146, then $117, then $89. Keeping a heavier vehicle past its 13th registration year cuts the annual fee by roughly half against what it cost new.
Siblings and grandparents count as family
A gift between siblings or between a grandparent and grandchild owes zero excise tax, which many states refuse. On a $30,000 vehicle that is $1,500 avoided, leaving only the $5 title fee. The relationship is declared on Form SFN 2872 with no separate affidavit.
Credit for tax paid to a prior state
A new resident titling a vehicle they already own gets credit for sales or excise tax legally paid elsewhere. If that state charged 5% or more, nothing further is due; if it charged less, North Dakota collects only the difference against its 5%.
Road use fees change the EV math
A fully electric vehicle adds $120 a year and a plug-in hybrid $50, both on top of the standard registration and both charged at every renewal. That surcharge outlasts the matrix step-downs, so the gap against a gas equivalent widens as the vehicle ages.

Questions

North Dakota fees, answered

How much does it cost to register a car in North Dakota each year?: Between $49 and $274, set by gross vehicle weight and registration year. A common car under 3,200 lbs pays $73 in its first six registration years and $49 from year 13. A 3,200 to 4,499 lb vehicle pays $93 falling to $57. A 9,000 lb-plus vehicle starts at $274 and settles at $128. Motorcycles ignore the table entirely at a flat $15.
Does North Dakota require a safety or emissions inspection?: No. The state has never required a routine safety or emissions test to register or renew a passenger vehicle, which removes a cost several neighbouring states charge annually. The only inspection scenario is VIN verification on certain salvage-titled vehicles arriving from another state. Motorcycles are equally exempt, so a bike goes from purchase to plates with no test to schedule.
When does my North Dakota registration expire?: On the anniversary month of when the vehicle was first registered, not a single statewide date. NDDOT mails a notice ahead of it, and renewal opens up to 90 days early through apps.nd.gov, by mail, or at a county branch office. There is no defined grace period, so the plate is expired the moment the month passes, though the fee itself does not increase for being late.
Can my brother give me a car in North Dakota without paying the 5% excise tax?: Yes. Siblings are on North Dakota's exempt list, along with spouses, parents and children including step and adoptive relationships, and grandparents and grandchildren. A transfer to a former spouse within one year of the divorce decree also qualifies. The recipient pays only the $5 title fee, with the relationship declared on Form SFN 2872. Cousins, in-laws and friends do not qualify.
What happens if I transfer a North Dakota title more than 30 days after the sale?: There is no ladder of late fees. Under NDCC 39-05-17 the consequence is that NDDOT may suspend or revoke the vehicle's registration until the transfer is completed, and the violation is a class B misdemeanor carrying up to 30 days in jail or a fine of up to $1,500. In practice most late transfers are cleared by finishing the paperwork, but there is no amount you can simply pay to buy your way out.
How much does it cost to register a boat in North Dakota?: Watercraft register with the Game and Fish Department rather than NDDOT, on a three-year cycle currently running 2026 through 2028. The fee is $30 under 16 feet, $45 from 16 to under 20 feet, and $60 at 20 feet and over, plus a $15 aquatic nuisance species fee on every motorized registration. North Dakota does not title boats at all, and non-motorized canoes, kayaks and paddleboards need no registration.

Everywhere else