Register a Vehicle

The Commissioner of Revenue’s Office, located on the 2nd floor of the Bozman Government Center, is currently closed for walk-in customers.  Appointments are being scheduled for the Vehicle Personal Property Division by calling 703-228-3135, and Option 0.  

 

We appreciate your understanding while we work to keep our staff and customers healthy and safe.

Vehicle Registration Guidelines

The Arlington County Code provides two different deadlines for notifying the Commissioner of Revenue that a vehicle is newly located in Arlington on a regular basis.

Arlington County Code §14.2-69 provides that residents must register their vehicle or trailer within thirty (30) days of being garaged or parked in the County or within thirty (30) days of purchasing a vehicle that will be garaged or parked in the County.

Arlington County Code §27-11.1 requires vehicles and trailers to be listed for property taxes within sixty (60) days of the vehicle first being garaged or parked in the County.

Vehicles and trailers will be listed for property taxes when they are registered. If this is not done within sixty (60) days of the vehicle first being garaged or parked in the County, the owner shall incur a late filing penalty of ten percent (10%) of the amount of tax assessed or ten dollars ($10.00) whichever is greater, but not to exceed the amount of the tax, which penalty shall become part of the tax.

All vehicles that are regularly parked or garaged in Arlington overnight must be registered within 30 days.  Failure to register your vehicle could result in a ticket from law enforcement officials. Furthermore, late tax filing penalties begin if the property is not listed for property taxes within 60 days of it acquiring situs in the County.

Register your vehicle online via CAPP (Customer Assessment and Payment Portal), by mail, or in person at the Commissioner of Revenue’s Office.

Assessment Timeframe

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.

  • A period of half a month or more is considered a full month.
  • If your vehicle is not registered in another jurisdiction, it is considered to be temporarily absent from Arlington so the Arlington tax will not be prorated.
  • If the vehicle is moved to a non-prorating Virginia locality, you will still owe taxes to Arlington for the full year.
  • Review your tax bill to ensure that it reflects the correct period of time.  If correction is necessary, email the Commissioner of Revenue’s Office or call 703-228-3135 Option 0.

To register a vehicle, you’ll need:

  • A valid state vehicle registration
  • A copy of your most recent paid personal property tax receipt or filing (if you’ve moved your vehicle from another jurisdiction)

    Residential Permit Parking (RPP)

    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.

    A Note on Privacy

    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.