Registering a Vehicle

All vehicles belonging to Arlington residents that are regularly parked or garaged in Arlington County must be registered with the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) and with the Office of the Commissioner of Revenue. 

Requirements under Code of Virginia: 

Virginia Code § 46.2-662 requires that new residents register their vehicle with their Arlington address with the Virginia DMV within thirty (30) days of becoming an Arlington resident. Existing residents also must register within thirty (30) days when acquiring a new vehicle. 

You can complete your registration using the following methods:   

Online: Register your vehicle with the Virginia DMV 

In-person: Visit the DMV Select or a full-service Virginia DMV.

Requirements under Arlington County Code: 

Arlington County Code §27-11.1.C requires you to register for a personal property tax account with the Commissioner of Revenue within sixty (60) days of becoming an Arlington resident or acquiring a new vehicle.  

If you do not register and create a personal property tax account within sixty (60) days from the date the vehicle is first garaged or parked in the County, a late filing penalty shall be imposed. The penalty will be ten percent (10%) of the assessed tax or ten dollars ($10.00), whichever amount is greater, but not exceeding the total tax due. This penalty will be added to your tax bill. 

You can complete your registration using the following methods:   

Online:  CAPP (Customer Assessment and Payment Portal) 

In-person:

Bozman Government Center
2100 Clarendon Boulevard, Window 218
Arlington, VA 22201

It is the taxpayer's responsibility to ensure that their vehicle personal property account and Virginia DMV registration records are properly updated when residents or vehicle ownership status changes.  The Virginia DMV will not notify Arlington County on your behalf.

For more information, please contact the Vehicle Personal Property Division at 703-228-3135 or via email vehicle@arlingtonva.us to speak to a Vehicle Personal Property Tax Assessor.

The vehicle personal property tax year is from January 1 to December 31. Vehicles are assessed based on the number of months they have a taxable status in Arlington.

If you live in a Residential Permit Parking (RPP) zone, you will also need a RPP permit or pass for street parking during restricted hours. Go to Residential Permit Parking for more information.

It has come to our attention that some customers, having recently registered a vehicle with Arlington County, are receiving solicitations from companies for services such as extended warranties. Because these companies have specific information on the vehicles in question, some people are concerned that they are getting the information from Arlington. This is not the case. All customer account information is treated with the utmost privacy in accordance with the Code of Virginia.  We do not sell or rent our customers’ information to any outside company or organization, nor do we reveal specific information about customers or other personally identifiable data to unaffiliated third parties for their independent use.

When it comes to your vehicle and the Vehicle Personal Property Tax Division, our slides will guide you to:

• Register a Vehicle
• Link a Vehicle Account to your CAPP profile
• Review your DMV registration

For general questions about CAPP, please visit the Treasurer's Office's CAPP Help Center & FAQ.

Please don't hesitate to contact our office if you encounter any challenges!  One of our Vehicle Personal Property's Tax Assessors will be happy to assist you.

New CAPP Features

Need to print out the slides?  Please click on the link below:

New CAPP Features(PDF, 1MB)

How to Register for CAPP

Need to print out the slides?  Please click on the link below:

How to Register for CAPP(PDF, 793KB)

Vehicle Personal Property Tax Division

Need to print out the slides?  Please click on one of the links below:

Register a Vehicle(PDF, 782KB)

Link a Vehicle Account to your CAPP profile(PDF, 280KB)

Review DMV Registration(PPTX, 9MB)