Moving to Virginia: Your Checklist for License, Title, Registration, Car Tax and Voting

Moving to Virginia starts several clocks at once. The shortest ones are for your car: 30 days to title and register it. Your driver’s license has a 60-day deadline [1]. Then there’s the local car tax and, if you want to vote, the registration deadline before each election.

1. Insure the car

Virginia requires liability insurance from the day you register until the registration expires [1]. For policies starting on or after January 1, 2025, the minimums are [2]:

• $50,000 for injury or death of one person,
• $100,000 for injury or death of two or more people in one crash,
• $25,000 for property damage.

Uninsured owners have their driving and registration privileges suspended. Getting them back means a $600 non-compliance fee, filing an SR-22 proof of insurance for three years, and any reinstatement fee [2].

2. Title and register within 30 days

DMV’s order is: insure the car, title it within 30 days of moving, then register it within 30 days at any DMV customer service center [1].

Two inspection rules to know [1]:

• Safety inspection: Virginia-registered vehicles must pass a safety inspection every year and display a valid sticker.
• Emissions inspection: in certain localities, the vehicle must pass emissions inspection before it can be registered. A valid emissions certificate from the last 12 months also works.

3. Get your Virginia driver’s license within 60 days

You have 60 days after moving to get a Virginia license to keep driving legally. If you hold a CDL, the deadline is 30 days [1]. DMV’s Document Guide lists the papers to bring.

DMV suggests making it a REAL ID , since federal rules require a REAL ID compliant license or ID, or another accepted ID, for things like boarding a domestic flight [1].

4. Sign up for the local car tax

Virginia’s cities and counties tax vehicles as personal property, and some also charge a local registration fee or require a decal [1]. Your new locality needs to know about your car.

In Fairfax County, for example, you must file within 60 days of moving in, or pay a late penalty. For vehicles registered with DMV since January 1, 2023, the county files for you if DMV registration happens within 30 days [5]. Other localities have their own deadlines, so check with your commissioner of the revenue.

Personal-use vehicles get state-funded relief on the first $20,000 of value. In Fairfax County that relief is 49.0% for tax year 2026 [6]. Our guide to the Virginia car tax explains rates, due dates and appeals.

5. Register to vote

You can register to vote in Virginia if you live here, are a U.S. citizen, will be 18 by the next general election, and aren’t registered in another state, among other rules [3]. Ways to register [3]:

• online through the Department of Elections Citizen Portal,
• at any DMV office, including when you get your license [1][3],
• by mail, using the state form,
• in person at your local voter registration office, public libraries and several state and local agencies.

Deadlines [3][4]:

• General or primary election: 11 days before. Registration records close for the 10 days before the election.
• Special election: 14 days before (7 days for a special election called by the Governor).

Mailed applications must be postmarked by the deadline [3]. If you miss it, you can still go to your local registration office, fill out an application, and vote a provisional ballot in person [3].

Quick checklist

• Get Virginia car insurance that meets the 2025 minimums.
• Title the car at DMV within 30 days.
• Register the car at DMV within 30 days; pass emissions first if your locality requires it.
• Buy a local sticker or decal if your locality requires one.
• Get your Virginia driver’s license within 60 days (30 for a CDL).
• Make sure your city or county has your vehicle on file for the car tax.
• Register to vote, at DMV or online, well before the deadline.