Registering an out-of-state car in Arkansas runs through the Department of Finance and Administration (DFA), which titles and registers vehicles at its state revenue offices and online through MyDMV. A new resident has 60 calendar days to register. Before the state takes the application, the car has to be assessed with your county assessor, so the county stop comes first.
This guide takes the steps in order for a car you already own. If the car is coming from New York, our page on New York to Arkansas car shipping covers the lane itself.
How Long Do You Have to Register a Car After Moving to Arkansas?
Sixty calendar days from the day you become a resident. Act 41 of 2023 set that window in Arkansas Code 27-14-723, and the DFA Vehicle Tag Renewal page gives new residents the same 60 calendar days. Some older pages and guides still say 30 days, which was the rule before the 2023 change.
Miss the window and DFA adds a late registration penalty of $3 for each 10-day period or part of one, capped at the full-year registration fee for the vehicle. The penalty does not apply if the car was not driven in Arkansas after the time allowed, which you show with an affidavit of non-use, Form 10-300, available at every state revenue office.
Why Does the County Come Before the State?
Arkansas counties assess privately owned vehicles as personal property, and DFA will not register a car until the county side is in order. For a new resident, the state asks for two things from the county:
- Proof of assessment. A record from your county assessor showing that the vehicle has been assessed, or listed for assessment, for the current year.
- Proof that no personal property tax is owed. Either a statement from your county tax collector or the words FIRST ASSESSMENT stamped on your assessment papers.
How you assess depends on the county. Washington County, home to Fayetteville, asks new residents to visit one of its offices with a copy of each vehicle's registration, and those offices include state revenue offices in Fayetteville, Springdale and Lincoln. Its online and phone options are for owners with no changes to property already assessed, or who are only removing property they no longer own, so a first assessment there is done in person or by mail request. Check your own county assessor's page before you set out, and expect DFA to check the assessment and your personal property taxes again at every renewal. Our guide to how vehicle assessment and personal property tax work in Arkansas covers the yearly deadline, the tax bill and the penalties.
What Documents Do You Need to Register an Out-of-State Car in Arkansas?
The DFA checklist for registering a vehicle when moving from another state asks for:
- A copy of your current registration from the state you are moving from.
- Your certificate of title, or proof that the vehicle is financed and a lienholder holds the title. The next section covers that case.
- The county papers. Proof of assessment for the current year and proof that no personal property tax is owed, as described above.
- Proof of liability insurance on the vehicle you are registering.
- Every owner's signature. When the title or lien contract joins the owners with AND, all of them must sign the title application, or DFA rejects it. You can print a title application, have every owner sign it and take it to the revenue office with the rest of your papers.
The DFA FAQ also lists an odometer statement with the title for new residents, and the MyDMV application asks for a federal odometer statement, so have the current mileage written down before you apply.
What If a Lender Holds Your Title?
If you still owe money on the car, the title is probably with your lender. DFA accepts proof that the vehicle is financed and the title is held by a lienholder in place of the title itself, and its FAQ says that when the lienholder has the title, you bring your out-of-state registration instead. If you apply online, MyDMV may also ask for the lien contract or security agreement. The DFA fee schedule lists a lien filing fee of 50 cents.
Can You Register Online Through MyDMV, or Do You Go to a Revenue Office?
You can do either. DFA says new residents can apply at any state revenue office, and its MyDMV service lets people who are new to Arkansas register a vehicle and apply for the title online within the same 60 days. Online registration is limited to passenger vehicles, which MyDMV describes as personal cars, pickup trucks, vans and motor homes.
Before you start online, MyDMV asks you to have a primary document ready, which can be an out-of-state title, along with your insurance card and a federal odometer statement. It may also ask for the Personal Property Tax Number (PPAN) your county assessor assigns, the current year's county assessment, a paid tax receipt and the lien contract. You pay the fees at the end of the application. Your plate and registration then arrive by mail, and the title is mailed only after DFA has received and processed all of your documents.
At a revenue office you hand over the same papers in person. Either way, finish the county assessment first, because DFA needs proof of it on both paths.
Do New Residents Need a VIN Check or an Inspection?
Usually not. On the DFA list for new residents, a VIN verification applies to cars with out-of-state titles branded Salvage, Prior Salvage or a similar designation. A certified law enforcement officer of any Arkansas city or county, the Arkansas State Police or a State Police designee can carry it out. The DFA list for new residents includes no safety or emissions inspection.
What Does It Cost to Register a Car in Arkansas?
Registration fees depend on the vehicle's weight. The DFA motor vehicle registration fee schedule lists these fees for passenger vehicles:
- Passenger cars of 3,000 pounds or less: $17.
- Passenger cars of 3,001 to 4,500 pounds: $25.
- Passenger cars of 4,501 pounds and over: $30.
- Trucks and vans rated half ton or three-quarter ton: $21.
Each registration also carries a $2.50 validation decal fee and 50 cents postage. Titling the car in Arkansas adds the $10 title fee, and a financed car adds the 50-cent lien filing fee. Personal property tax is a separate county tax and is not part of these fees.
What Insurance Do You Need to Register in Arkansas?
Proof of liability insurance is on the DFA list for new residents, and the MyDMV application asks for your insurance card. According to the Arkansas Insurance Department, state law requires at least $25,000 for bodily injury or death of one person in an accident, $50,000 for bodily injury or death of two or more people in one accident and $25,000 for damage to the property of others.
Liability is the only coverage the law requires, though a lender may require more on a financed car. Uninsured motorist coverage is included in an Arkansas policy unless you sign a statement rejecting it.
What Happens to the Plates and Registration From Your Old State?
Arkansas asks for a copy of your current registration from your former state but says nothing about that state's plates, so your old state's rules decide what happens to them. Some states tie the plates to your insurance, so check those rules before you cancel the old policy.
New York is one of them. Its DMV requires the plates and registration to be surrendered before the New York liability policy is canceled; otherwise the insurance lapse leads the DMV to suspend the registration. That makes the safest order: copy the New York registration, insure and register the car in Arkansas, surrender the New York plates, then end the New York policy. Our guide to returning New York license plates after you move covers surrendering them by mail or at an office.
How Does Shipping Fit Into Your Move to Arkansas?
Keep your current registration and insurance in force until the Arkansas registration is done, since DFA asks for a copy of that registration. Keep the title, the county papers and your other documents with you rather than in the car. The county assessment and the state application both run on your papers, and the new-resident list includes no inspection unless the title is branded, so you can start on them while the car is on its way.
Rivalane coordinates door to door transport to Arkansas with licensed, insured carriers. Pickup and delivery dates are estimates rather than guarantees, so leave room before your 60 days run out. Our pages on shipping a car from New York to Arkansas and car shipping in Arkansas cover the lane and deliveries across the state, and the car shipping calculator gives an estimate for the move.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long do you have to register a car in Arkansas after moving?
Can you register an out-of-state car online in Arkansas?
What do you need to register an out-of-state car in Arkansas?
How much does it cost to register a car in Arkansas?
Does Arkansas require a vehicle inspection for new residents?
