How to Renew Your Utah Vehicle Registration

Utah registration is handled by the DMV, a division of the Utah State Tax Commission. Registrations keep the same expiration month every year, and most renew online in minutes, as long as any required emissions test is done and the DMV has your current address.

Just moved to Utah? That’s a first registration, not a renewal. New residents get 60 days, and a vehicle registered in Utah for the first time needs a VIN inspection. You’ll also want to start transferring your out-of-state license to Utah.

The short version

• You can renew up to 60 days early, and online renewal needs only your VIN and a PIN.
• Emissions tests apply in five counties only — Salt Lake, Davis, Utah, Weber and Cache. Most cars haven’t needed a safety inspection since 2018.
• Your biggest cost is an age-based fee of $10 to $150 that replaces property tax. Electric vehicles add $180 in 2026.

When Can You Renew Your Utah Registration?

The renewal window opens 60 days before expiration, and renewing early costs you nothing. The new registration keeps your current expiration month.

The DMV mails a postcard reminder, or emails one if you sign up. You don’t need it to renew: the Get Renewal Information tool shows your online PIN, whether an emissions test is due, and what you’ll pay.

If your registration has been expired for more than six months, or you qualify for a fee abatement, you’ll have to renew in person.

Does Utah Require an Emissions Test to Renew?

Only in Salt Lake, Davis, Utah, Weber and Cache counties.

In the four Wasatch Front counties, vehicles under six years old generally test every other year — even model years in even calendar years, odd in odd. Older vehicles test every year. In Cache County, vehicles under six years old don’t test at all, and older ones test every other year.

Electric vehicles, motorcycles and vintage vehicles from 1982 or earlier are exempt, along with older models past each county’s cutoff year. Utah County also tests diesels from model years 1998 to 2021. The DMV’s inspections pagehas each county’s full schedule.

Test no more than two months before you renew. The result goes to the DMV electronically and must arrive before your renewal can be completed.

Safety inspections stopped being a registration requirement for most vehicles on January 1, 2018. Rebuilt salvage vehicles and first-time street-legal ATVs still need one.

Failed the test? A 30-day temporary permit costs $6 plus your renewal fees and buys time for repairs. If the car still won’t pass after reasonable efforts, ask your county health department about an exemption.

Utah Registration Renewal Step by Step

Step 1: Check What Your Renewal Needs

1. Open Get Renewal Information once you’re inside the 60-day window.
2. Note your PIN, your total, and whether a test is due.
3. Moved recently? Update your address with the Utah DMV first, then wait 30 minutes before renewing online. Your address sets which county’s inspection rules and fees apply.
4. Get the emissions test done if one is due.

Step 2: Choose How to Renew

Online with Renewal Express. Cars, trucks, SUVs, motorcycles, off-road vehicles, trailers, snowmobiles and watercraft all qualify.

1. Go to Renewal Express and enter your VIN and PIN.
2. Pay by credit card.
3. Print the temporary permit included with online renewals. It covers you while your decal is mailed.

At an On the Spot station. Many inspection stations can also renew registrations, so in an emissions county you can test and renew in one stop. The DMV publishes a station map.

By mail. Send your renewal items with a check payable to the Utah State Tax Commission to Motor Vehicle Division, P.O. Box 30412, Salt Lake City, UT 84130.

In person. Any DMV office can renew. Appointments are available in Ogden, Farmington, Taylorsville, South Valley (Draper), Provo and Hurricane through the DMV’s appointment scheduler. South Valley, Farmington, Ogden and Hurricane also offer drive-through renewals.

Automatically. Enroll through the Motor Vehicle Portal or with Form TC-505 and pay from a bank account. The DMV emails you any inspection deadline beforehand, renews on a set date, and mails your decal.

Utah Vehicle Registration Renewal Fees

Utah doesn’t charge property tax on passenger vehicles. You pay an age-based uniform fee instead: $150 for 2024–2026 models, $110 for 2021–2023, $80 for 2018–2020, $50 for 2015–2017 and $10 for 2014 and older. A $90,000 SUV pays the same as a $20,000 sedan of the same model year.

Item	Amount
Age-based uniform fee	$10 – $150 by model year
Registration fee plus statewide add-ons	About $75
Corridor fee (11 counties)	$10
Air pollution control fee (5 emissions counties)	$2 – $3
Electric vehicle fee	$180
Plug-in hybrid fee	$64
Hybrid fee	$25
Typical renewal: 2021–2023 gas car in Salt Lake County	About $200

Ignore the $44 figure many guides quote. That’s the registration fee written into state law, but Utah adjusts registration fees for inflation every January. Cache County’s published 2026 totals run from $85.50 for a 2014 or older model to $225.50 for a 2024–2026 model.

The $10 corridor fee applies in Salt Lake, Davis, Utah, Weber, Summit, Wasatch, Iron, Box Elder, Washington, Tooele and Morgan counties.

Utah Electric Vehicle Registration Fee

EV owners pay the $180 flat fee or can enroll in Utah’s Road Usage Charge program, which bills 1.25 cents a mile up to the same $180 cap. That’s cheaper for anyone driving under 14,400 miles a year. EVs also skip emissions tests and the air pollution control fee, and can register for 24 months.

A bigger increase is coming. Lawmakers voted in 2026 to raise the flat EV fee to $280. Reports disagree on whether it starts in 2027 or 2028, so check before you renew next year.

Utah Vehicle Registration Renewal FAQs

Open Get Renewal Information the day your 60-day window starts. Your PIN, emissions status and total are all there, and those three things decide how smoothly a Utah renewal goes.