Vehicle Registration in North Carolina

Registering a car with the North Carolina DMV is an important process that protects you, your car, and other drivers on the road. It enables the DMV to keep track of who owns what car, and helps you avoid liability if it is ever stolen or used irresponsibly by another driver. For these reasons, it is a legal requirement in North Carolina to register your car before you can drive it. Fortunately, the registration process is extremely simple, and is linked with your vehicle titling so that you can do them both with the same documents.

Requirements for Registration – New Residents

When you go to the North Carolina DMV , the following documents are required for North Carolina vehicle registration:

• Your North Carolina drivers license
• Proof of car insurance
• A notarized vehicle title
• A Title Application form, completed by all owners of the vehicle
• A Declaration of Eligible Risk, also completed by all owners of the vehicle
• A license plate fee, plus any extra taxes

Your car will have to be inspected up to 90 days before your registration expires by the DMV to check road safety.

Requirements for Registration – Existing Residents

North Carolina car registration is achievable in two ways if you are already a North Carolina resident. The first is registering in person at your local DMV office. Make sure that you’ve got all of the documents above, as well as a few others:

• A Damage Disclosure Statement
• An Odometer Disclosure Statement (if your car is less than ten years old)
• The bill of sale from when you bought the car

Registering Your Car by Mail

While it is very easy to complete the registration process in person, you can also send it in by mail. You will need to have exactly the same documentation as if you were registering in person placed in an envelope securely, and sent to this address:

Vehicle Titles/Liens, Duplicate Registration
3148 Mail Service Center
Raleigh, NC 27699

Refusal of Registration

Sometimes the state of North Carolina may halt the registration process. This can happen for a variety of causes, and if one of these occurs you must resolve the problem before you can successfully register your car. Examples include an active debt to the DMV, a credit warning, unpaid child support, a problem or error in your documents, unpaid taxes, lack of insurance, any drunk driving offenses, and the indication that your vehicle has recently been stolen. Without resolving an issue like one of these, your vehicle will never be registered, and it will be against the law to drive it.