Cobb County Tax Commissioners Office

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alert icon Offices Closed May 29

 All offices will be closed Monday, May 29, 2023, in observance of Memorial Day.

Registration Requirements


Your registration expires each year on a deadline associated with the first owner/lessee of the vehicle. All registrations require valid insurance submitted electronically by your insurance company at all times.

Additionally, gasoline-fueled vehicles 3 years old to 24 years old and less than 8,500 lbs gross vehicle weight require an emission inspection each year.  Our Emission Testing Requirements page has more information about emissions and renewals, exempt vehicles, and emission waivers.

You can always check your vehicle registration status online via Georgia DRIVES online e-Services.

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A Brief Note Regarding the Word “Tag”

If you are new to Georgia, our use of the word "tag" can be a little confusing. In some states, this word refers to your registration, while in others it refers to your decal.

In Georgia, "tag" is often used interchangeably to refer to any part of your registration. For example, the phrase "I need to renew my tag" is really talking about renewing a registration, but the word tag is used because the person is thinking of their license plate with its soon-to-expire decal. More often than not, however, your tag is your license plate.

Registration

Registration Components
Your registration is comprised of three components:

  • A metal license plate                 
  • A registration card
  • An adhesive decal

registrationcomponents

License Plates
While there are many different plates you can purchase, any plate that is not a standard plate requires either extra documentation and/or comes at a higher cost.

Standard plates come in two varieties:

Standard
standard

Alternate Standard
alternatestandard

All standard plates cost $20.00 the first time and $20.00 when you renew your decal. Penalties apply after the expiration date. If you are under the TAVT system, you will only pay $20.00 per year to renew your decal.

Non-standard plates usually carry an additional fee when you first purchase the plate and when you renew the plate. You can choose from a variety of plates for military veterans, colleges and universities, sport teams, special interest groups and more.

To find out the cost and requirements for non-standard plates, visit the Georgia Department of Revenue’s website for a complete list. The list is updated often, so be sure to check periodically.

Your plate belongs to you, not the car.  If you trade the car in or sell it, you can keep your plate so that you can transfer the tag to another vehicle. If your plate has a current decal, the cost is only $5.00 to transfer. For plates with expired decals, the cost is the same as if you were renewing your registration (minus any taxes). If you have a plate that you really love, you can keep using that plate on future vehicles.

Registration Cards
When you first purchase a plate, you will receive a registration card that contains information regarding your vehicle and personal information. On the card, you will find:

  • The expiration date of your current registration
  • Your vehicle's information including the VIN, tag number, year, make and model
  • Your customer record information including your name, mailing address, tax district and county of residence
  • Our office information
  • A receipt displaying all payments last associated with your vehicle

Registration cards come with two copies.  We recommend you keep one copy in your car and the other copy on your person or in a file.

Decals
Attached to your registration card is an adhesive decal. On it is the month and year your registration expires, your license plate number, the county of issuance, and a color corresponding to the current year.  Each year, decals have a different color.

This decal is placed in the bottom right corner of your license plate as proof of current registration. Each time you renew your registration, you receive a new registration card with a new decal. Place the new decal over the old one. If you end up with a large stack of decals on the back of your plate, you may tear off the old decals before putting on the new one. In fact, we recommend you do this to avoid loss or theft.