License plate renewal

Have these ready:

• Plate number
• A valid email address
• Payment information (one of the following)
  • Credit/debit card (convenience/service fee applies)
  • PayPal (convenience/service fee applies)
  • Checking/savings account and avoid the convenience fee

Note: If you need to update your address or where your vehicle is kept, you will also need:

• Your Wisconsin Driver License or ID card number
• The last four digits of your Social Security number
• Your date of birth

OR

• Your full name
• Your date of birth
• Your complete Social Security number

After you renew online, your plate’s new expiration date will be immediately updated. You can confirm the new expiration date through our License Plate Search.

Upon completion, you will receive an email confirmation as proof of current license plate/registration. We will mail a new Certificate of Registration and license plate sticker within 7-10 business days.

Note: There are some heavy vehicle plate/registration types that cannot use this online renewal service. See Renew Registration for heavy (over 55,000 lbs.) vehicles.

A late fee is due for auto, light truck, motorcycle and moped renewals received by DMV after the date of expiration.

Online Merchant Fee -- A $0.15 fee will be collected for all payment types. Tyler Payment Services (the official processing system for the WI DMV) collects this fee for payment processing.

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Mail the renewal notice and fee to the address shown on the notice. You will receive a new plate sticker and Certificate of Vehicle Registration within 10 business days. If you lost your notice or did not receive one, you may download a Substitute Renewal Notice form MV2016.

Send automobile (AUT), light truck (LTK) and most other plate types with a pre-printed renewal notice to:

Wisconsin Department of Transportation
P.O. Box 3279
Milwaukee, WI 53201-3279

Send truck (HTK), tractor (TOR), insert trailer (TRL), motor home (MTM) and bus (BUS) plate types with a pre-printed renewal notice to:

Wisconsin Department of Transportation
PO Box 3279
Milwaukee, WI 53201-3290

Make your check or money order payable to: Registration Fee Trust.

A late fee is due for auto, light truck, motorcycle and moped renewals received by DMV after the date of expiration.

If you prefer, you may renew in person at a DMV customer service center that offers registration services or at a renewal service provider.

Registration service providers

DMV has authorized several agencies and businesses to act as agents to provide license plate renewal services. See our Renewal Service Provider page. You will receive a new license plate sticker and Certificate of Vehicle Registration from the agent. These agents may charge a maximum service fee of $16.25 for a renewal transaction. Service hours and methods of payment vary.

In addition to renewal fees, a late fee is due for auto, light truck, motorcycle and moped renewals received by DMV after the date of expiration.

DMV services centers

Many, but not all, DMV customer service centers offer vehicle registration services. See our DMV Customer Service Center page for details on services provided at each location. You will receive a new license plate sticker and Certificate of Vehicle Registration. There is a $3 counter service fee per renewal application.

DMV customer service centers accept cash, checks, debit cards and the following credit cards: Visa, MasterCard, American Express and Discover. Debit cards will be processed as credit.

If your vehicle has been out of operation for at least one full registration period, you can avoid paying registration and late fees for the time the vehicle was out of use by completing a non-operation statement. The regular registration fee for your vehicle would be due at the time you apply.

How to submit a non-operation statement

• If you are eligible to renew online, and your vehicle has been out of operation for one full registration period since expiration, you will be asked for the non-operation dates.
• If your vehicle has been out of operation more than 3 years from the last registration expiration, you will not be able to use the online renewal application.
• If you are renewing by mail or in person at a DMV Service Center, you should complete the Substitute Renewal Notice/Non-Operation Statement MV2016.

NOTE: Registration renewal third-party service providers cannot process renewals with a period of non-operation.

In addition to the regular annual registration fee paid for a vehicle, all vehicles with automobile registration or truck registration at 8,000 lbs. or less (except dual purpose farm registration) may be subject to:

• Wheel tax, based on where the vehicle is customarily kept
• Vehicle Fuel Surcharge

A late fee is due for auto, light truck, motorcycle and moped renewals received by DMV after the date of expiration.

If you received a letter or postcard saying there are additional registration fees needing to be paid, please use ePay online service.

WisDOT’s Division of Motor Vehicles (DMV) and the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) collaborated to provide state residents a convenient option to order a Wisconsin state park and forest 12-month vehicle admission pass (aka a state park pass) at the time of their annual vehicle registration renewal. Customers will have one payment and receive one mailing with the DNR state park pass, vehicle registration sticker(s) and Certificate of Registration within 7-10 business days.

For same-day service, a state park pass will also be available at kiosks within DMVs when completing a registration renewal.

Vehicle registration can be renewed up to six months before expiration.

Additional state park vehicle admission passes can be purchased online on the DNR's Wisconsin State Parks webpage, at individual state park system properties or from DNR service centers.

State park passes are valid for 12 months following the date of purchase. Customers who purchase a state park pass while renewing their registration will find that the park pass is valid for 12-months following the date of renewal, not necessarily matching the month on their license plate. State park passes purchased during the annual registration renewal process will be valid beginning on the date they are purchased and will remain valid for 12 months. The 12-month pass is marked at the time of purchase to indicate the month/year in which it expires. The pass will remain valid until the final day of the month/year in which it is marked.