Title and registration after buying a used car in Texas
Buying the car is only half the job: it has to be titled and registered in your name. How much of that you do yourself depends on who you bought from. The official source for everything below is the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles (TxDMV); rules and fees change, so check there before you go.
If you buy from a dealer
A Texas dealer normally files the title and registration for you and collects the sales tax and fees as part of the sale. You drive away with temporary tags while the paperwork goes through. Make sure the out-the-door price you agreed on includes these charges, keep copies of everything you sign, and follow up with the dealer if your registration hasn't arrived before the temporary tags expire.
If you buy from a private seller
You file the paperwork yourself, at your county tax assessor-collector's office. In Harris County, that's the Harris County Tax Office.
- The deadline: you have 30 calendar days from the date of sale to apply for the title. After that, late fees are added.
- The title: the seller signs and dates the back of the current title and writes in the sales price and odometer reading, and you sign it too. Don't accept a title with someone else's name as the seller, or with crossed-out details.
- Form 130-U (Application for Texas Title and/or Registration), signed by both you and the seller.
- Proof of insurance in your name that meets Texas minimum liability coverage, and your photo ID.
- Sales tax and fees: Texas charges a 6.25% motor vehicle sales tax. For a private sale it's usually figured on the higher of the price you paid or a percentage of the car's standard presumptive value (a value the state sets for the model), so an unusually low price on the paperwork doesn't lower the tax. The Texas Comptroller explains the details and the exceptions. Title and registration fees are added on top.
What the seller should do
A private seller should file a Vehicle Transfer Notification with TxDMV (it can be done online) as soon as the car is sold. It records that the car is no longer theirs, which protects them from tickets and tolls you run up afterwards.
Inspections
Texas's inspection rules changed in recent years, and whether your car needs an emissions test depends on the county it's registered in; Harris County is one of the counties with emissions testing. Check the current rules on TxDMV's site for your county before registering.
Before any of this, check the car itself: our guide on checking a car's history by VIN shows how to spot a branded title before you buy.
This guide is general information to help you shop, not legal or financial advice. Rules and fees change, so check the official source linked above before you rely on them.