• Any time you purchase a vehicle in the State of Rhode Island, you are required to pay the sales tax on the vehicle and obtain a title in your own name, even if you do not register the vehicle. Car dealers are the only exception to this rule.
• You will need both a Sales Tax Form  and a Title Application. The title application must be filled out completely, signed and notarized. The fee for a title is $26.50.
• You will be required to pay sales tax at this time as well. The DMV has a separate Sales Tax desk located in the Pawtucket DMV. Sales tax is 7% of the purchase price of the vehicle. If the "book value" - the current market price of the vehicle according to the NADA "blue book" value of the vehicle is higher than the purchase price, you will be required by the Tax Division to pay 7% of the higher value.
• The personnel at the sales tax desk will verify your completed sales tax form, total the tax and stamp the tax form. You will pay the tax and the title fee to a clerk in the Title Office.
• For further information, please contact the RI Division of Taxation at (401) 462-5809 or visit their website.

PLEASE NOTE: The DMV is currently titling that are 1999 and newer.

Vehicles that are 10 years old and older are no longer titled in the State of Rhode Island. The Registration Files section in the Pawtucket DMV branch can assist you in documenting the vehicle's information.