Increased title fee considered for out-of-state vehicles

The cost of titles for out-of-state vehicles would increase under a bill heard by the Transportation and Telecommunications Committee Jan. 26.

LB765, introduced by Bellevue Sen. Tommy Garrett, would raise from $10 to $25 the fee for each original certificate of title issued in Nebraska for a vehicle from another state or country. Garrett said only five states currently have out-of-state title fees lower than Nebraska.

“Low motor vehicle title fees has led to out-of-state dealerships using Nebraska county treasurer offices to title their vehicles,” he said. “The processing of out-of-state titles takes much longer than processing an in-state title. [LB765] would help offices recoup those labor costs.”

The county processing the motor vehicle title would retain half of the fee. The remaining $12.50 would be distributed as follows:
• $6 to the state Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) cash fund;
• $4.50 to the state general fund;
• $1 for programs for persons suffering from a brain injury;
• 65 cents to the Nebraska State Patrol cash fund;
• 25 cents to the Motor Vehicle Fraud cash fund; and
• 10 cents to the Nebraska Motor Vehicle Industry Licensing Fund.

The title fee for out-of-state all-terrain vehicles, utility-type vehicles, minibikes and trailers also would increase to $25.

For titles issued by the DMV: $10 would be remitted to the DMV cash fund, $14 would be remitted to the Motor Carrier Division cash fund and $1 would be remitted to programs for persons suffering from a brain injury.

Lancaster County Treasurer Andy Stebbing testified in support of the bill. He said he processed 5,579 titles for one out-of-state car dealership in 2015 alone.

“[The out-of-state title fee] has not been increased since 1988 when it was changed from $6 to $10,” Stebbing said. “I’m not a fan of raising fees, but this is a really good one to increase. It’s long overdue and would help offset costs for processing out-of-state titles.”

No one testified in opposition to the bill and the committee took no immediate action.