Titling a work vehicle in your West Virginia LLC
How do I title a work vehicle in my West Virginia LLC's name?
- Confirm the seller's name on the title matches the seller
- Get a bill of sale and the signed title reassignment
- File DMV-1-TR in the LLC's exact registered name
- Pay the $15 title fee and the 6 percent titling tax
- Record any lien with the $10 lien recording fee
- Register the vehicle and pick up the plate
- Get the inspection sticker within three days
What a title in the LLC's name actually does
The certificate of title is the legal document establishing vehicle ownership, and the name printed on it is the owner the DMV recognizes. Put the LLC's name on it and the company holds the vehicle.
That single field decides who signs at sale, whose insurance covers it and whose tax return claims it. An electrician whose van is titled to the LLC insures it as a commercial vehicle and depreciates it on the company's books. The same van titled personally is a personal asset, whatever the operating agreement says.
Before you file anything, decide which side of that line each vehicle should sit on. The fleet needs to look like a fleet on paper, not like five scattered personal vehicles.
A certificate of title is the legal document establishing vehicle ownership in West Virginia. — West Virginia Division of Motor Vehicles, retrieved 2026-09-29
The name on the application must match the LLC exactly
File the Application for Certificate of Title, form DMV-1-TR, in the LLC's exact registered name as the Secretary of State approved it. A shortened version or a trade name sends the application back.
If the trade name differs from the legal name and you want it on the title, the trade name must be registered first. A moving company titled to "Smith Holdings LLC" doing business as "Smith Movers" files the title in the legal name, and the trade name rides on the truck's signage, not on the title.
A dealer can certify the transaction price on the bottom section of DMV-1-TR. Without that certification, attach the original dealer invoice.
DMV-1-TRWest Virginia titles are issued on application form DMV-1-TR, and in-state dealers can certify the transaction price on the form's bottom section. — West Virginia Division of Motor Vehicles, retrieved 2026-09-29
The $15 title fee and the 6 percent titling tax
The title fee itself is small: $15.00 for the original title. What costs real money is the titling sales tax at 6 percent of the purchase price.
The tax applies to vehicles with a net purchase price over $500. Under that, it is a flat $30. A $45,000 box truck for a moving company pays $2,700 in titling tax. A $600 utility trailer pays $36.
A trade-in cuts the taxed price, but only if the trade-in vehicle is titled in West Virginia in the applicant's name. For a new LLC, that means the old van must already be in the company's name to count against the new truck. Manufacturer rebates stay in the price and are fully taxable.
| Item | Amount | When it applies |
|---|---|---|
| Original title fee | $15.00 | Every title application |
| Titling sales tax | 6% of net purchase price | Net price over $500 |
| Titling sales tax under $500 | Flat $30.00 | Net price $500 or under |
| Lien recording fee | $10.00 | A lien is recorded on the title |
$15 + 6%West Virginia charges a $15.00 title fee, a 6% titling tax on net prices over $500 or a flat $30.00 under that, and $10.00 to record a lien. — West Virginia Division of Motor Vehicles, retrieved 2026-09-29
The 6% titling tax follows the net price after a trade-in, but the trade-in must be titled in West Virginia in the applicant's own name to count. — West Virginia Division of Motor Vehicles, retrieved 2026-09-29
Two book-value rules that catch used-vehicle buyers
Private-sale prices do not control the tax on newer vehicles. Any vehicle two model years old or newer, not bought from a registered dealer, is taxed directly on its current NADA Clean Loan Book value. A notarized bill of sale does not lower that number.
For older vehicles, a price below half of book value invites scrutiny. A notarized bill of sale signed by both parties must accompany the application, or the tax lands on the full book value anyway. An LLC buying its owner's three-year-old pickup at a friendly price should expect the book-value rule to apply.
Altered or conflicting prices get rejected outright, and the original owner must apply for a duplicate title to restart the transfer. Budget on book value, and treat a lower actual price as a bonus.
50% of book valueA vehicle two years old or newer, bought privately, is taxed on its NADA Clean Loan Book value regardless of price, and a price below half of book value needs a notarized bill of sale. — West Virginia Division of Motor Vehicles, retrieved 2026-09-29
Odometer disclosure at the transfer
When a motor vehicle is sold or transferred, the exact mileage must be recorded in the assignment section of the title by the seller. If the title has no such section, use Form DMV-TM-1.
Which vehicles owe a disclosure is set by vehicle class. Passenger cars, pickups and light trucks under 16,000 pounds GVWR owe it. Trailers, heavy commercial trucks over 16,000 pounds and mobile heavy equipment over that weight do not.
The odometer status must be marked as actual mileage, not actual mileage, or mileage exceeding mechanical limits. For a fleet, the disclosed number at purchase is the number that follows the vehicle through every later resale.
DMV-TM-1On a West Virginia transfer the exact mileage must be recorded in the title's assignment section, or on Form DMV-TM-1 if the title lacks one. — West Virginia Division of Motor Vehicles, retrieved 2026-09-29
Buying from out of state for the fleet
An out-of-state dealer purchase needs the dealer invoice showing the final purchase price attached to the DMV-1-TR. The previous out-of-state title must carry the seller's signature, and the LLC's name and address go on the face before submitting.
West Virginia does not credit titling tax another state already collected. If the purchase was taxed at home, the state treats the West Virginia titling tax as its own. A mover buying a truck in Ohio for West Virginia work should run the numbers both sides of the river.
The inspection clock starts at titling: out-of-state purchases must be inspected within ten days. Then the plate, the insurance and the personal property tax receipt line up as they would for any in-state registration.
An out-of-state purchase titled in West Virginia needs the dealer invoice showing the final price, and West Virginia grants no credit for tax paid to another state. — West Virginia Division of Motor Vehicles, retrieved 2026-09-29
After the title: plate, inspection and the trailer behind it
A title alone does not put a vehicle on the road. Registration follows the title, and the plate fee follows the vehicle's weight class, from $51.50 for a Class A car or light truck upward by the pound.
The safety inspection follows the plate on a two-year cycle, and a vehicle acquired in-state without a valid sticker has three days to pass. The insurance page covers the statement of insurance the registration needs.
If the vehicle pulls a trailer, the trailer is titled and registered on its own paper. The trailer guide covers the fee classes, and the trade-by-trade checklist shows how four trades each land this same sequence.
$51.50 plateA Class A plate for a car or truck of 10,000 pounds or less gross vehicle weight costs $51.50. — West Virginia Division of Motor Vehicles, Motor Vehicle Registration Fees brochure (revised 05/2024), retrieved 2026-09-29
Questions
Can my LLC sign the title if it is not yet registered in West Virginia?
No. The application must be filed in the LLC's exact registered name as the Secretary of State approved it, so a foreign LLC registering to operate in West Virginia must finish that registration first.
Does the LLC pay the titling tax if I sell it my own truck?
Usually yes. A transfer without consideration is treated as a gift, and the automatic exemption covers only spouses and parents and children, not a company. The gift affidavit route and its tax consequences are on the moving-a-vehicle-you-already-own page.
Can a notarized bill of sale lower the tax on a new truck?
Not on a vehicle two model years old or newer bought privately. That vehicle is taxed on its NADA Clean Loan Book value regardless of price. On an older vehicle, a price below half of book value needs the notarized bill of sale, or tax lands on the full book value.
What if the title is lost before the LLC can file it?
The original owner must apply for a duplicate title on Affidavit of Duplicate Title, Form DMV-4-TR, with the $15.00 duplicate title fee, and the transfer restarts from the clean duplicate.