How to Register an Out-of-State Car in Mississippi

To register a car in Mississippi after a move, you go to the tax collector in the county where the car will be kept, not to a state DMV counter. New residents have 30 days after moving if the car still has a current registration and valid plate from the state they left, and the tag you pay for is assembled from several state and local charges, so there is no single statewide price. This guide follows the steps in order for a car you already own, using a car shipped from New York as the example.

How Long Do You Have to Register a Car After Moving to Mississippi?

Thirty days. The Mississippi Department of Revenue's Motor Vehicle Registration and Renewal page gives new residents 30 days after moving to register their vehicles, as long as each car has a current registration or valid license plate from the previous state. Miss that window and you face the standard late penalties plus an additional $250 penalty.

The condition matters as much as the deadline. The department's motor vehicle FAQs say a car does not qualify for the Legislative Tag Credit, which reduces the ad valorem tax portion of a Mississippi tag, if its out-of-state plate has expired or it was never registered in the previous state. Keeping the New York registration current until you finish in Mississippi protects that credit and gives the tax collector the document it asks for.

Two other clocks apply to cars you buy, not cars you bring. A vehicle purchased after you move must be registered within 30 business days of the purchase date, and if you buy it outside your home county, you first have 48 hours to take it to your residence or place of business. The Department of Public Safety's driver's license manual repeats the 30 days for a plate and gives new residents a separate 60 days for a driver's license, covered near the end of this guide.

Who Handles It: the Department of Revenue or the County Tax Collector?

Both, for different jobs. The Department of Revenue issues Mississippi titles, while the county tax collector registers the car, issues the plate and collects the taxes. Vehicles of 10,000 pounds or less register at the county tax collector's office, in the county where the vehicle is domiciled or parked overnight, and what you pay depends on that county and on the city where you live. The Department of Public Safety handles driver's licenses on a separate track.

For a car you own and are bringing from New York, the usual order looks like this:

1. Gather the paperwork. Find your current New York registration and, if you hold it, the New York title.
2. Put Mississippi insurance in place. Carry a liability insurance card that meets Mississippi's minimums.
3. Visit the county tax collector. Complete the title and registration application, then pay the tag and any use tax that applies.
4. Get your Mississippi plate. The tax collector issues it once the application is complete.
5. Close out New York. Return the New York plates and registration to the New York DMV, then cancel the New York policy.
6. Get a Mississippi driver's license within its own deadline.

What Do You Bring to the Tax Collector?

The department's new resident steps ask for three things at the county office: a completed Application for Mississippi Title and Registration for each vehicle you own, payment of all applicable taxes and fees, and the current valid registration, or license plate receipt, from your previous state.

• Your current New York registration.
• The New York title, if you hold it.
• An Application for Mississippi Title and Registration for each car.
• Payment for the registration fee, taxes and title fee.

Mississippi issues its own title and needs the out-of-state title surrendered before it will process the title application, so a title you hold yourself goes in with the paperwork. Insurance is required by law but is not part of the registration check: the department says Mississippi does not enforce liability insurance through vehicle registration. Mississippi also does not require emissions testing as a condition of registration.

What If a Lender or Another State Holds Your Title?

You can still register. The department's motor vehicle FAQs say that when a lienholder holds the title or the vehicle is leased, the paperwork may include a registration receipt or a duplicate title from the other state, and Mississippi issues the license plate once the application is complete.

The title follows later. If there is a lien, the department holds your title application until it receives the title from the other state. If another state holds the title, your valid license plate receipt serves as proof of ownership, and the department coordinates with the lienholder or that state to have the title surrendered. This is the practical reason to keep the New York registration current: when a lender or New York holds the title, that registration receipt is part of the ownership paperwork Mississippi relies on.

Watch the follow-through. The department warns that if the title is never surrendered, the application will not be processed and you will not be able to renew your Mississippi plate. Once it has what it needs, it issues standard titles within 3 to 4 weeks of receiving the application, unless more documentation is required.

What Insurance Does Mississippi Require?

The Mississippi Insurance Department lists the minimum liability limits as $25,000 per person and $50,000 per accident for bodily injury, plus $25,000 per accident for property damage, in effect since January 1, 2006. Mississippi law requires drivers to keep liability insurance and carry a card in the vehicle showing it, and since July 1, 2013 that card can be paper or electronic, including an image on your phone.

Because Mississippi does not check insurance through registration, the obligation sits with you. The Department of Public Safety enforces the compulsory liability law, and the card in the car has to show coverage that meets the state's limits. Arrange the Mississippi policy before you drive the car here, and keep the New York policy in force until the New York plates are surrendered, for the reason explained in the plates section below.

Do You Owe Mississippi Sales or Use Tax on a Car You Already Own?

Usually not. Mississippi's use tax law, Mississippi Code section 27-67-7, exempts a vehicle bought for personal or family use by someone who was a bona fide resident of another state at the time and later became a Mississippi resident. The exemption does not cover a car the owner later transfers for commercial use or for use by another person in Mississippi.

The answer changes for a car you buy after you become a Mississippi resident. The department applies a 5 percent rate to cars, vans and trucks of 10,000 pounds or less, collected by the county tax collector when you register the car unless an authorized out-of-state dealer already collected it for Mississippi. Its use tax page states that no credit is allowed for sales or use tax paid to another state on automobiles imported and first used in Mississippi, and you have 30 business days from the purchase date to register.

That no-credit rule is why a New York purchase deserves a check before delivery. If you live in Mississippi and pay New York sales tax at the dealer, Mississippi will not credit it when you register the car here. Our guide to New York's nonresident purchase rules explains who qualifies for New York's exemption on Form DTF-820 and how the car leaves New York.

How Much Does It Cost to Register a Car in Mississippi?

There is no single statewide figure, because a Mississippi tag is assembled from several pieces, some set by the state and some by your county and city. The department's FAQ lists what the tax collector charges: a registration fee, a privilege tax, ad valorem taxes, and sales or use tax if it applies.

The fixed state amounts. The registration fee is $14 for a first-time registration and $12.75 at each renewal, according to the department. Mississippi Code section 27-19-5 sets the annual highway privilege tax on a private passenger vehicle at $15. A Mississippi title costs $9.

Ad valorem tax, the part that varies. This is a local tax on the car's value. The department's Motor Vehicle Ad Valorem Taxes page sets the assessed value at 30 percent of the manufacturer's suggested retail price, reduced by a percentage for depreciation over 10 years, with a minimum assessed value of $100 for passenger vehicles. That assessed value is multiplied by the millage rate set locally, which is why the same model can cost more in one county or city than in another. The tag starts from the MSRP, not from what you paid for the car.

The Legislative Tag Credit. Mississippi reduces the ad valorem tax on qualifying vehicles with the Legislative Tag Credit, paid for by the Motor Vehicle Ad Valorem Tax Reduction Fund. The department recalculates the credit every year from the balance in that fund and its estimates of motor vehicle sales tax revenue, and it is applied when you register. As covered above, a car that arrives with an expired out-of-state plate, or one never registered in the previous state, does not qualify. Ask your tax collector for the credit that applies to your car.

Electric and hybrid cars. If your car is electric or a hybrid, Mississippi adds an annual fee at the first registration and at every renewal. The department notes that the amount changes every July 1, so confirm the current figure with your tax collector.

Use tax, if it applies. As the previous section explains, most cars owned before a move owe none.

To price your own car, use a county estimator or call the tax collector. Hinds County's estimator, which covers Jackson, asks for the MSRP, model year, tax district and whether the tag is new or a renewal, and Pike County's estimator shows the ad valorem tax, the credit, the privilege tax and the registration fee line by line. Each county works from its own millage, and the amount your tax collector gives is the one you pay.

The tag renews every year at the tax collector. If you sell a car and turn in its Mississippi tag, the department lets you apply the unused portion of that registration to another Mississippi registration, but there are no refunds, and the unused amount cannot be used if you later move out of state.

Which Dates Matter When You Ship the Car From New York?

Shipping does not pause the clock. The 30 days run from your move, not from the day the car arrives, so if the car reaches Mississippi a week after you do, about three weeks of the window remain. The department also notes that a vehicle cannot be legally driven without valid registration, so keep the New York registration current until the Mississippi plate is on the car.

Plan the tax collector visit soon after delivery, with the documents from the list above in one folder. If you are still arranging the move, our page on car shipping from New York to Mississippi covers the I-81 lane, timing and what to expect at pickup and delivery.

What Happens to Your New York Plates?

They go back to New York, not to the Mississippi tax collector. The New York DMV says that if you register your vehicle in another state, you must surrender your New York plates to the New York DMV, and that plates and registration have to be surrendered before you cancel the liability insurance. If you do not turn them in, New York can suspend the registration and your driver license.

Timing is the practical question. The tax collector asks for your current registration from the state you left, and when a lender or New York holds the title, that registration receipt is part of the ownership paperwork Mississippi relies on. So avoid turning in the New York plates early: register in Mississippi first, then return the New York plates and registration, and cancel the New York policy last. Our guide to closing out your New York plates and registration covers the PD-7 form and the FS-6T receipt.

When Do You Need a Mississippi Driver's License?

Within 60 days of moving. The Department of Public Safety's driver's license manual tells new residents to get a Mississippi license within sixty days and to surrender all out-of-state licenses when they apply. The license runs on its own timeline, separate from the car's 30 days.

With a valid out-of-state license, you do not take the knowledge exam, according to the department's Regular Driver License page, while an expired one means taking it. Bring the completed application, a birth certificate or other acceptable document, your Social Security card or official government correspondence showing all nine digits, and two proofs of residency no more than 60 days old. A 4-year license costs $24 and an 8-year license $47.

What If You Are in the Military or a Student?

Service members. The Department of Revenue says military personnel and their dependents do not have to register in Mississippi if they claim another state as their home, but must register if they are Mississippi residents. Separately, section 27-67-7 exempts from use tax a vehicle bought in another state by a Mississippi citizen serving in the Armed Forces and stationed in another state who chooses to license it in Mississippi.

Students. Full-time students who are not Mississippi residents do not need to register their vehicles in Mississippi, according to the department.

Rivalane coordinates door to door transport into Mississippi with licensed, insured carriers. Our page on car shipping in Mississippi covers pickups and deliveries across the state, and the car shipping calculator prices your move.

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