How can I obtain a refund of the license plate fee I paid in error?

A refund of the license plate fee is only allowed in the following three (3) situations. If you are authorized to receive a refund, please submit the items listed beneath the applicable situation, as shown below, to your county tax commissioner's office together.

• Tag purchased for a vehicle you no longer own. Submit these items to your county tax commissioner's office:

  • Tag/decal issued in error
  • Original owner's license plate registration certificate (tag receipt)
  • Affidavit from the person requesting the refund - signed with signatures notarized & including to whom sold and the date sold.
    
• Two tags issued for the same vehicle in the same owner's name. Submit these items to your county tax commissioner's office:

  • First tag/decal issued
  • Owner's original license plate registration certificate for the tag being returned
  • Photocopy of the license plate registration certificate for the tag being retained
    
• Improperly issued commercial tag rated in error by the Department's Motor Vehicle Division or your county tax commissioner office. Submit the following items to your county tax commissioner's office:

  • Improperly rated tag
  • Original owner's license plate registration certificate (tag receipt)
  • A new completed and signed MV-1 application - Typed, electronically completed and printed or printed legibly by-hand in blue or black ink in your full legal name(s). A natural person's full legal name would be his or her complete name as it appears on his or her valid Georgia driver's license or Georgia identification card. Click here to read this department's policy regarding identification and applications for Georgia tags and/or titles.

A county tax commissioner's office that is due a refund from the Department's Motor Vehicle Division (MVD) must update and authorize the refund on the department's tag and title database entitled GRATIS, Georgia Registration and Title Information System. The county will receive a credit towards their next submitted report to MVD rather than a refund check.

The Department's Motor Vehicle Division, will not issue a refund check directly to the taxpayer if the fees were not originally received by the Department's Motor Vehicle Division but were received by their county tax commissioner's office.

For information regarding refunds of IRP license plate fees, please contact the Department's IRP Section of the Motor Vehicle Division (MVD).