When you need it
When you need it
- You bought a vehicle from a private seller and are registering it in your name.
- You are registering a vehicle brought in from another state or from abroad.
- A vehicle has been rebuilt from salvage and is returning to the road.
- You are registering something for the first time - a trailer, an OHV, a specially constructed vehicle.
When you need a different form
When you need a different form
The commonest reason a form comes back is that it was the wrong one.
The vehicle is already registered in California and the title is missing.
REG 343 puts a vehicle on the register. REG 227 replaces or transfers a title that already exists but cannot be produced - a different problem with a different form.
You have the title in hand and only need the transfer and odometer sections.
A straightforward California-to-California sale runs on the endorsed title plus REG 262. REG 343 is for bringing a vehicle onto the register, not for handing one over.
You are also claiming a use-tax or smog exemption.
REG 256 accompanies the application rather than replacing it - the exemption is declared there, the registration is applied for on REG 343.
What REG 343 asks for
What REG 343 asks for
Section by section, in plain language.
- Vehicle identification
- VIN, year, make, body type and - for an out-of-state vehicle - the last state of registration. This is the block a VIN verification (REG 31) supports when one is required.
- Registered owner
- True full name and address of each owner. How co-owners are joined matters: names joined by “AND” require every owner’s signature on a later transfer, while “OR” requires only one.
- Legal owner / lienholder
- The lender, if the vehicle is financed, including an electronic lienholder (ELT). Leaving it blank when a lender exists is what sends an application back.
- California residency and use
- When you obtained a California licence or became a resident, and when the vehicle was first brought into the state - the dates that decide whether it is a new-resident registration.
- Disposition of out-of-state plates
- Present when the vehicle arrives from elsewhere. The old plates do not move to another vehicle.
- Signatures
- Each registered owner signs. Co-owner rules follow the AND / OR choice made above.
Fees that apply
Fees that apply
From the fee schedule - never typed on this page.
The form itself is free. Nothing is charged for filing a REG 343. What you pay is the vehicle’s registration, assessed when the application is processed - these are the usual components, and they attach to the vehicle, not to the form.
- Registration fee (base) $76
- California Highway Patrol (CHP) fee $34
- Vehicle license fee (VLF) 0.65% of value
- Transportation improvement fee $33–$231
Full table: California DMV fee schedule.