How to Register an Out-of-State Car in North Dakota

North Dakota car registration runs through the NDDOT Motor Vehicle Division, and a car coming from another state is titled and registered at one appointment. The visit comes down to the state's application form, the out-of-state title or your lender's details, identification, proof of any tax you already paid and the fees, including a 5 percent excise tax unless tax paid elsewhere is credited.

This guide takes the steps in order for a car you already own, with the Florida details for anyone making that move. The rules come from the North Dakota Department of Transportation (NDDOT), its Motor Vehicle Registration Manual, the North Dakota Century Code and the North Dakota Insurance Department.

When Does North Dakota Consider You a Resident?

NDDOT's registration manual uses two tests. You count as a resident if you work in North Dakota and own, lease or rent a home there, or otherwise live there for the job. You also count as one if you stay in the state for 90 consecutive days, whatever your domicile, although college students are excluded from that second test.

Either way, the manual says you must at least buy a temporary registration. For a passenger car, pickup or van, it costs $60 for six months or $120 for twelve, plus $10 for each permit. The car keeps valid out-of-state plates and registration in the meantime and must be insured. NDDOT sells temporary registrations online, and the permit cannot be transferred or refunded.

Is There a Deadline to Register an Out-of-State Car in North Dakota?

Not a fixed number of days. The manual's out-of-state vehicle section lists the form, the fees and the tax, but sets no day count for switching to North Dakota plates; the residency rule above, with its temporary registration, is what applies. Your driver license runs on its own clock of 60 days after you become a resident, and North Dakota gives no grace period on registration renewals. The practical answer is to book the title appointment soon after the car arrives.

How Do You Book a North Dakota Motor Vehicle Appointment?

Call NDDOT toll free at 1-855-633-6835, or use the online scheduler linked from the NDDOT Motor Vehicle page. If the scheduler shows no open times, NDDOT suggests contacting a local branch. A driver license transfer needs its own appointment at a driver license site, and NDDOT's license transfer page links the same scheduler, so both visits can be booked in one place.

What Do You Need to Title and Register the Car?

NDDOT's appointment checklist for a vehicle moved to North Dakota and its registration manual point to a short list:

• SFN 2872. The Application for Certificate of Title and Registration of a Vehicle, completed in full and signed on the front.
• The out-of-state title. If a lender holds it, bring the lender details in the next section instead.
• Photo identification. A current state or government-issued photo ID. Nonresidents and military personnel also give a paper copy of their current driver license or ID card with the title application.
• The current mileage. Note the odometer reading before you go.
• Proof of tax already paid. A sales tax receipt or dealer paperwork from the state where you bought the car.
• Payment. Cash, check, Visa, Mastercard, Discover or American Express.

A leased car also needs the lease agreement, and NDDOT notes that more documents may be required depending on your situation.

What If a Lender Holds Your Title?

You can still transfer the car. In place of the title, NDDOT's checklist asks for the lienholder's full name, its mailing address rather than its payment address, and proof of ownership such as your out-of-state registration card, so ask your lender which address to give before the appointment. The registration manual says that when ownership is not changing, any lien on the out-of-state title that has not been released is shown on the new North Dakota title. If ownership is changing at the same time, the lien has to be released first.

How Much Does It Cost to Register a Car in North Dakota?

There is no single figure, because the bill has several parts. The registration manual lists a $5 certificate of title fee and a one-time $1.50 abandoned motor vehicle disposal fee on the first North Dakota title. The 5 percent excise tax comes on top unless tax paid elsewhere is credited.

The registration fee is annual and depends on the car's weight and the year it was first registered. NDDOT's 2026 passenger fee schedule (MVD-2) stresses that the fee follows the year first registered, not the model year, and lists amounts by weight band and by number of months, so a car registered partway through the year pays for the months left. Electric cars also owe a $120 road use fee every year and plug-in hybrids $50.

Do You Pay North Dakota's 5 Percent Excise Tax on a Car You Bring?

That depends on the tax you already paid. Section 57-40.3-02 of the North Dakota Century Code charges 5 percent on the purchase price of a vehicle bought or acquired in or outside the state for use on its roads. The registration manual says it is paid to the Motor Vehicle Division with the title application, on the full purchase price less any trade-in.

Tax paid in another state can count against it, but the credit is not automatic. Under section 57-40.3-09, if sales, use or excise tax was paid on the car elsewhere, North Dakota charges only the difference, and nothing if that tax was 5 percent or more. The credit applies only when the other state allows a substantially similar credit for North Dakota's tax. The manual says proof of tax payment must be submitted with the application, and the statute lets the Tax Commissioner require written proof that the tax was legally due and paid. The manual also names six states that get no reciprocity: Alaska, Delaware, Georgia, Montana, New Hampshire and Oregon.

For a car coming from Florida, the Florida Department of Revenue's motor vehicle tax chart, issued in February 2026, lists North Dakota's excise tax among the taxes Florida credits, which is the reciprocal credit North Dakota requires, and Florida's 6 percent state rate is above North Dakota's 5. So a car bought and taxed in Florida, with the Florida tax receipt in hand, should normally owe nothing more, although the Motor Vehicle Division makes that call at the appointment. A car on which no Florida tax was paid has nothing to credit, and 5 percent of the purchase price is due when you title it. If you are buying the car in Florida, our guide to how Florida taxes a car sold to an out-of-state buyer covers Form DR-123 and the dealer's side of the sale.

Family gifts are treated separately. Section 57-40.3-04 exempts a car given between spouses, parent and child, grandparent and grandchild, or brothers and sisters, along with inherited cars, but a gift between spouses, parent and child, or brothers and sisters still needs a motor vehicle purchaser's certificate. A gift that does not qualify is taxed on the average value of similar vehicles.

Does North Dakota Require a Vehicle Inspection?

Not for an ordinary car on a clean title. The registration manual calls for an inspection only on rebuilt vehicles, salvage-branded titles and modified, rebuilt or homemade motorcycles, recorded on a Certificate of Vehicle Inspection (SFN 2486). It mentions no emissions testing. NDDOT's checklist does say a photo of the VIN plate may be required, so take one before you go.

What Insurance Does North Dakota Require?

The North Dakota Insurance Department lists these minimums for every vehicle registered and operated in the state:

• Bodily injury liability. $25,000 per person and $50,000 per accident.
• Property damage liability. $25,000 per accident.
• Uninsured motorist. $25,000 per person and $50,000 per accident.
• Underinsured motorist. Equal to your uninsured motorist coverage.
• Basic no-fault. $30,000 per person, also called personal injury protection.

How Do You Transfer Your Driver License to North Dakota?

For licensing, NDDOT counts you as a resident once you have lived in the state for 90 consecutive days, unless you are a nonresident student, a tourist or a nonresident member of the armed forces. From then, a noncommercial license from another state is good for 60 days.

Transfers are by appointment at a driver license site. Bring one original or certified document proving identity and lawful presence, such as a certified U.S. birth certificate or a valid U.S. passport, proof of any name change, two documents showing your physical North Dakota address (one if you skip REAL ID), proof of your Social Security number for REAL ID, and your current license. The fee is $15, and the NDDOT license transfer page lists every accepted document.

What Happens to Your Florida Plate and Insurance?

Nothing in North Dakota's out-of-state vehicle rules asks for your Florida plate, so closing it out is a Florida step. The Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles says not to cancel the Florida insurance until the car is registered in the other state or the plates are surrendered, and to surrender the plate before you cancel. Our guide to moving out of Florida with a car covers the plate, the insurance and the title.

How Does Shipping the Car Fit Your Move?

A car that follows you north travels on its Florida plates and registration, which a temporary registration also relies on, so keep both current until the title appointment, and keep the signed bill of lading with your paperwork.

Rivalane coordinates door to door transport from Florida to North Dakota with licensed, insured carriers. A carrier is typically assigned within one to three working days of booking, and once the car is loaded, delivery usually follows in 4 to 8 days. These are estimates, not guarantees, so leave room before your appointment. Our page on Florida to North Dakota car shipping covers the I-75 lane, our page on car shipping in North Dakota covers deliveries across the state, and the car shipping calculator prices the move.

Frequently Asked Questions