Did you know that if you move from South Dakota across the border into Minnesota that it could cost you an extra $450 a year to license your car? It can. This is a worst case scenario but every state has a different auto license fee system and the costs vary widely across the nation. The lowest rate is just $8 a year in Arizona and the maximum nationwide is $483.75 in Oklahoma. Most residents of OK won't pay that much however as their fee is based on a % of the price of the car and declining with age. So the more expensive the car the higher the fee.
Here are the automotive license fees per state with the minimum, maximum and typical license fees given for every state:
Minimum | Maximum | Typical | |
Alabama | $ 24.25 | $ 24.25 | $ 24.25 |
Alaska | $ 35.00 | $ 35.00 | $ 35.00 |
Arizona | $ 8.00 | $ 8.00 | $ 8.00 |
Arkansas | $ 17.00 | $ 25.00 | $ 17.00 |
California | $ 28.00 | $ 28.00 | $ 28.00 |
Colorado | $ 19.00 | $ 28.20 | $ 25.80 |
Connecticut* | $ 70.00 | $ 70.00 | $ 70.00 |
Delaware | $ 20.00 | $ 20.00 | $ 20.00 |
DC | $ 55.00 | $ 88.00 | $ 55.00 |
Florida | $ 27.10 | $ 45.10 | $ 35.10 |
Georgia | $ 20.00 | $ 20.00 | $ 20.00 |
Hawaii | $ 63.82 | $ 114.31 | $ 88.70 |
Idaho | $ 25.25 | $ 49.25 | $ 37.25 |
Illinois | $ 48.00 | $ 48.00 | $ 48.00 |
Indiana | $ 12.75 | $ 12.75 | $ 12.75 |
Iowa | $ 14.00 | $ 428.00 | $ 27.00 |
Kansas | $ 27.25 | $ 37.25 | $ 27.25 |
Kentucky | $ 14.50 | $ 14.50 | $ 14.50 |
Louisiana | $ 10.00 | $ 41.00 | $ 15.00 |
Maine | $ 23.00 | $ 23.00 | $ 23.00 |
Maryland | $ 35.00 | $ 48.50 | $ 35.00 |
Massachusetts | $ 30.00 | $ 30.00 | $ 30.00 |
Michigan | $ 29.00 | $ 211.00 | $ 58.00 |
Minnesota | $ 35.00 | $ 475.00 | $ 35.00 |
Mississippi | $ 23.75 | $ 23.75 | $ 23.75 |
Missouri | $ 45.00 | $ 51.00 | $ 51.00 |
Montana | $ 10.25 | $ 15.25 | $ 15.25 |
Nebraska | $ 21.50 | $ 21.50 | $ 21.50 |
Nevada | $ 33.00 | $ 33.00 | $ 33.00 |
New Hampshire | $ 19.20 | $ 31.20 | $ 31.50 |
New Jersey | $ 25.00 | $ 50.00 | $ 25.00 |
New Mexico | $ 23.00 | $ 42.00 | $ 23.00 |
New York | $ 17.25 | $ 37.00 | $ 24.85 |
North Carolina | $ 20.00 | $ 20.00 | $ 20.00 |
North Dakota | $ 36.00 | $ 90.00 | $ 60.00 |
Ohio | $ 21.50 | $ 21.50 | $ 21.50 |
Oklahoma | $ 42.25 | $ 483.75 | $ 100.75 |
Oregon* | $ 30.00 | $ 30.00 | $ 30.00 |
Pennsylvania | $ 24.00 | $ 24.00 | $ 24.00 |
Rhode Island | $ 30.00 | $ 30.00 | $ 30.00 |
South Carolina* | $ 24.00 | $ 24.00 | $ 24.00 |
South Dakota | $ 21.00 | $ 40.00 | $ 21.00 |
Tennessee | $ 23.00 | $ 23.00 | $ 23.00 |
Texas | $ 40.80 | $ 58.80 | $ 50.80 |
Utah | $ 14.50 | $ 14.50 | $ 14.50 |
Vermont | $ 42.00 | $ 42.00 | $ 42.00 |
Virginia | $ 26.50 | $ 31.50 | $ 26.50 |
Washington | $ 23.65 | $ 23.85 | $ 23.85 |
West Virginia | $ 30.00 | $ 30.00 | $ 30.00 |
Wisconsin | $ 40.00 | $ 40.00 | $ 40.00 |
Wyoming | $ 15.00 | $ 15.00 | $ 15.00 |
* Connecticut, Oregon & South Carolina all issue licenses for 2 year periods.
I found the information in the Summary of State Motor-Vehicle Registration Fee Schedules document on the Federal Highway Administration site. For more detail on a specific state refer to the source.