Buying a Car in Georgia: Title, Tag and Tax

The short version

Title. The title application puts the vehicle in your name. When you buy from a dealer, Georgia requires the dealer to file it for you.
Tax. Georgia's title ad valorem tax, or TAVT, is paid once, when the vehicle is titled, and it goes to the county where you live along with the title application.
Registration and tag. You have 30 days from the date of purchase to register the vehicle at your county tag office.
Insurance. A registered vehicle has to carry Georgia liability insurance the whole time, and your insurance company reports it to the state.

Step one: the title application

The title is the record of who owns the vehicle. When you buy from a dealer, the Department of Revenue requires the dealer to file the title application on your behalf and to deliver it, with the tax, to the tag office in the county where you live. The county the lot sits in does not come into it. The department also tells buyers to make sure the dealer gives them a receipt showing the vehicle has been titled in their name, so ask for one.

A private sale works differently. The buyer applies for the title and tag at their own county tag office, and the department's advice is to make sure the seller has completed every section of the assignment on the back of the original title, and never to sign a title that has been left blank.

Step two: the title ad valorem tax

Since March 1, 2013, most vehicles bought in Georgia carry the title ad valorem tax instead of sales tax and the old annual ad valorem bill. It is a one-time tax, paid when the vehicle is titled, and it is paid again each time the vehicle changes hands.

As of November 2026, the Department of Revenue lists the rate as 7.0% of the vehicle's fair market value. On a used vehicle, the fair market value is not the price on the bill of sale. It is the value in the state's motor vehicle assessment manual, which averages current wholesale and retail values, and the tax is that value multiplied by the rate in effect on the date of purchase.

A trade-in counts when you buy from a dealer: the trade-in value stated on the bill of sale comes off before the tax is worked out. On a private sale it does not. How the trade-in figure itself is reached is its own guide.

Some buyers pay a different amount. New Georgia residents, family transfers, inherited vehicles and some veterans are among the exceptions the department lists, each with its own form. It also publishes its own TAVT estimator, linked from its tax page. That is the number to plan around, not ours.

Step three: registration and the tag

Register the vehicle within 30 days from the date of purchase. Dealers are not legally required to submit the registration for you, though some do as a courtesy, so the Department of Revenue suggests asking at the time of purchase. If you have a plate you want to move to the new vehicle, tell the dealer.

If the registration is yours to do, it happens at your county tag office. In Floyd County that is the Floyd County Tax Commissioner in Rome. Every other Georgia county has its own, and the department keeps the list.

Step four: insurance

Georgia requires continuous liability insurance on any vehicle with an active registration, and your insurance company sends the details to the state electronically. Have the new vehicle on a policy before it is registered.

Buying here in Rome

It works the way the steps above describe. We handle our part of the paperwork here in Rome, and the title application and the tax go to the county where you live, so a buyer from outside Floyd County titles and registers at home. If you are trading in, bring the title and any payoff information.

Common questions

How much is the tax on a used car in Georgia?

Georgia charges a one-time title ad valorem tax instead of sales tax. As of November 2026 the Department of Revenue lists the rate as 7.0% of the vehicle's fair market value, and on a used vehicle that value comes from the state's assessment manual rather than the sale price. The department's page has the current figure and its own estimator.

How long do I have to register a car after buying it in Georgia?

Thirty days from the date of purchase. Some dealers submit the registration for you as a courtesy, so ask when you buy. Otherwise it is done at the tag office in your own county.

Does the dealer handle the title?

Yes. Georgia requires a dealer to file the title application for you and to send it, with the tax, to the tag office in the county where you live. Ask for a receipt showing the vehicle has been titled in your name.

Does a trade-in lower the tax?

On a dealer sale, yes. The trade-in value stated on the bill of sale comes off the value the tax is worked out on. On a private sale it does not.

Where do Floyd County buyers get their tag?

At the Floyd County Tax Commissioner in Rome, which handles motor vehicle title and tag work for the county. Buyers from other Georgia counties use their own county's tag office.