§ 20‑87. Passenger vehicle registration fees.
These fees shall be paid to the Division annually for the registration and licensing of passenger vehicles, according to the following classifications and schedules:
(1) For‑Hire Passenger Vehicles. – The fee for a for‑hire passenger vehicle with a capacity of 15 passengers or less is one hundred seven dollars and seventy‑five cents ($107.75). The fee for a for‑hire passenger vehicle with a capacity of more than 15 passengers is two dollars and five cents ($2.05) per hundred pounds of empty weight of the vehicle.
(2) U‑Drive‑It Vehicles. – U‑drive‑it vehicles shall pay the following tax:
Motorcycles: 1‑passenger capacity $24.75
2‑passenger capacity 32.25
3‑passenger capacity 36.75
Automobiles: 15 or fewer passengers $71.25
Buses: 16 or more passengers $2.85 per
hundred pounds of empty weight
Trucks under
7,000 pounds
that do not
haul products
for hire:
4,000 pounds ......................................... $58.25
5,000 pounds ......................................... $71.25
6,000 pounds ......................................... $86.25.
(3) Repealed by Session Laws 1981, c. 976, s. 3.
(4) Limousine Vehicles. – For‑hire passenger vehicles on call or demand which do not solicit passengers indiscriminately for hire between points along streets or highways, shall be taxed at the same rate as for‑hire passenger vehicles under G.S. 20‑87(1) but shall be issued appropriate registration plates to distinguish such vehicles from taxicabs.
(5) Private Passenger Vehicles. – There shall be paid to the Division annually, as of the first day of January, for the registration and licensing of private passenger vehicles, fees according to the following classifications and schedules:
Private passenger vehicles of not more than fifteen
passengers................................................................... $38.75
Private passenger vehicles over fifteen
passengers.................................................................... $43.25
Provided, that a fee of only one dollar and thirty cents ($1.30) shall be charged for any vehicle given by the federal government to any veteran on account of any disability suffered during war so long as such vehicle is owned by the original donee or other veteran entitled to receive such gift under Title 38, section 252, United States Code Annotated.
(6) Private Motorcycles. – The base fee on private passenger motorcycles shall be twenty‑one dollars and fifty cents ($21.50); except that when a motorcycle is equipped with an additional form of device designed to transport persons or property, the base fee shall be thirty‑two dollars and twenty‑five cents ($32.25). An additional fee of four dollars ($4.00) is imposed on each private motorcycle registered under this subdivision in addition to the base fee. The revenue from the additional fee, in addition to any other funds appropriated for this purpose, shall be used to fund the Motorcycle Safety Instruction Program created in G.S. 115D‑72.
(7) Dealer License Plates. – The fee for a dealer license plate is the regular fee for each of the first five plates issued to the same dealer and is one‑half the regular fee for each additional dealer license plate issued to the same dealer. The "regular fee" is the fee set in subdivision (5) of this section for a private passenger motor vehicle of not more than 15 passengers.
(8) Driveaway Companies. – Any person engaged in the business of driving new motor vehicles from the place of manufacture to the place of sale in this State for compensation shall pay a fee of one‑half of the amount that would otherwise be payable under this section for each set of plates.
(9) House Trailers. – In lieu of other registration and license fees levied on house trailers under this section or G.S. 20‑88, the registration and license fee on house trailers shall be fifteen dollars ($15.00) for the license year or any portion thereof.
(10) Special Mobile Equipment. – The fee for special mobile equipment for the license year or any part of the license year is two times the fee in subdivision (5) for a private passenger motor vehicle of not more than 15 passengers.
(11) Any vehicle fee determined under this section according to the weight of the vehicle shall be increased by the sum of four dollars and twenty‑five cents ($4.25) to arrive at the total fee.
(12) Low‑Speed Vehicles, Mini‑Trucks, and Modified Utility Vehicles. – The fee for a low‑speed vehicle, mini‑truck, or modified utility vehicle is the same as the fee for private passenger vehicles of not more than 15 passengers. However, the fee for any low‑speed vehicle, mini‑truck, or modified utility vehicle that is offered for rent shall be the same as the fee for a U‑drive‑it automobile.
(13) Additional fee for certain electric vehicles. – At the time of an initial registration or registration renewal, the owner of a plug‑in electric vehicle that is not a low‑speed vehicle and that does not rely on a nonelectric source of power shall pay a fee in the amount of one hundred forty dollars and twenty‑five cents ($140.25) in addition to any other required registration fees.
(14) Research pilot or demonstration project motor vehicles. – The Division shall not collect a registration fee for a motor vehicle to be used by a State agency in a research pilot or demonstration project. (1937, c. 407, s. 51; 1939, c. 275; 1943, c. 648; 1945, c. 564, s. 1; c. 576, s. 2; 1947, c. 220, s. 3; c. 1019, ss. 1‑3; 1949, c. 127; 1951, c. 819, ss. 1, 2; 1953, c. 478; c. 826, s. 4; 1955, c. 1313, s. 2; 1957, c. 1340, s. 3; 1961, c. 1172, s. 1a; 1965, c. 927; 1967, c. 1136; 1969, c. 600, ss. 3‑11; 1971, c. 952; 1973, c. 107; 1975, c. 716, s. 5; 1981, c. 976, ss. 1‑4; 1981 (Reg. Sess., 1982), c. 1255; 1983, c. 713, s. 61; c. 761, ss. 142, 143, 145; 1985, c. 454, s. 2; 1987, c. 333; 1989, c. 755, ss. 2, 4; c. 770, ss. 74.2, 74.3; 1989 (Reg. Sess., 1990), c. 830, s. 1; 1991 (Reg. Sess., 1992), c. 1015, s. 2; 1993, c. 320, s. 5; c. 440, s. 7; 1995 (Reg. Sess., 1996), c. 756, s. 7; 1999‑438, s. 27; 1999‑452, s. 17; 2001‑356, s. 4; 2001‑414, s. 31; 2002‑72, s. 8; 2004‑167, s. 5; 2004‑199, s. 59; 2005‑276, s. 44.1(m); 2013‑360, s. 34.21(a); 2015‑237, s. 3; 2015‑241, s. 29.30(l); 2019‑34, s. 2; 2020‑40, s. 2; 2022‑68, s. 11(c).)