Congratulations on your vehicle purchase. You must now have the vehicle inspected, titled, and registered in the District.

• You must immediately purchase vehicle insurance, in your name and your DC address. District law requires continuous insurance for all vehicles registered in the District.

• If the vehicle was purchased from a dealership, you may have been issued temporary tags to take the vehicle through District inspection (unless the vehicle already has a valid DC inspection sticker or the vehicle is new, i.e., never previously titled in any jurisdiction). Even if the dealership is taking care of your titling and registration paperwork, you may still need to visit a DC DMV service center to obtain a parking permit.  Also, if your new vehicle is replacing another vehicle you own, which already has valid DC tags, you should consider transferring these tags to the new vehicle. Information on vehicle inspections, tag transfer and DC Residential Parking Permits is available at the links below:
• Vehicle Inspections
• Vehicle Tag Transfer
• Parking Permits and Reciprocity Stickers

• Once the vehicle passes DC DMV inspection, it must be registered in the District. If the vehicle was purchased from a private seller or dealership that does not issue temporary tags, you need to visit a DC DMV service center to obtain a temporary DC registration to provide you time to get the vehicle inspected and registered.