( KRON ) — Are you one of the millions of registered car owners in California who recently paid their annual vehicle registration fee? You might have been taken aback by the immense price tag of having your car registered in the state — especially if you recently purchased a new car.
For those spending hundreds — even more than a thousand — of dollars on registration, you may be asking yourself why is it so expensive in the state?
The answer isn’t as simple as “everything is just more expensive in California.” The California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) has a fee calculator that weighs several factors to determine the registration costs, the government agency said on its website .
Several factors determine the cost of registering your vehicle in California, according to the DMV:
- Purchase price of vehicle
- Owner location of residence (Certain counties/cities may increase vehicle ownership fees)
- Gross vehicle weight
- Number of axles
- Is it a “Clean Air Vehicle”?
Those just are a few aspects of the vehicle that are factored in determining the cost of registration. The DMV compiles all those factors into a final annual registration fee — for you to get that sticker on the top right of your rear license plate (below).