Department of Motor Vehicles
How to Register a Trailer that is Homemade or Custom-built

Equipment Requirements

To register a trailer for highway use in NYS, the trailer must comply with the equipment requirements and pass a safety inspection. Form MV-529C describes the equipment that is required for trailers. Make sure that you include the required equipment when you construct your trailer.

Determine the Unladen Weight of Your Trailer

Before you can register your homemade or custom-built trailer and get a title certificate or a transferable registration, the trailer must have a vehicle identification number (VIN). The procedure to get a VIN depends on the unladen weight of the trailer. The unladen weight is the weight of the trailer only, and does not include a load.

To determine the unladen weight, weigh the trailer on a certified scale and get a weight slip that certifies the unladen weight. To find a certified scale in your area, contact your city, town or village government or contact the NYS Department of Agriculture and Markets, Bureau of Weights and Measures. You can contact the Bureau of Weights and Measures by e-mail at agmweigh@agmkt.state.ny.us or by telephone at 518-457-3452.

Assignment of a Vehicle Identification Number (VIN)

Trailers with an Unladen Weight of less than 1,000 lbs.

If your trailer weighs less than 1,000 lbs., a DMV office can assign a VIN when you register.

• Take a completed form MV-272 to a DMV office. Make sure that you take the other documents listed in the instructions for registration.
• The DMV office assigns a VIN to the trailer.
• You must attach the VIN to your trailer by a permanent method like welding.

Trailers and Semi-trailers with an Unladen Weight of 1,000 lbs. or more

If your trailer weighs 1,000 lbs. or more, the DMV Division of Field Investigations must examine the trailer and must assign and attach the VIN.

• Get form MV-272.1 (Application For Vehicle Identification Number), from a DMV office.
• Complete form MV-272.1.
• Pay the required fee of $25.00. (Write a personal check or money order payable to "Commissioner of Motor Vehicles".)
• Get form FS-20 (NYS Insurance Identification Card) for the vehicle that will tow the trailer to the examination site. Form FS-20 cannot be a photocopy, only an original.
• Send the completed form MV-272.1, the payment for the fee, and the insurance ID card to the Division of Field Investigations. The address is listed on form MV-272.1.

The DMV schedules an examination of your trailer and mails you information about the time, the date and the location of your appointment. The DMV also mails you a Temporary Transport Permit that allows you to tow the trailer to and from the examination site with no registration.

At the examination site, you must show the sales receipts for the materials and the parts you used to construct the trailer. After the examination, the DMV assigns a VIN and attaches the VIN decal to your trailer. The DMV signs and validates the original copy of your form MV-272.1. Keep the original copy of the form to prove that a VIN was assigned.

Apply for a Registration or Title Certificate

To apply for a registration or a title certificate, bring these items to a DMV office:

• If the trailer weighs less than 1,000 lbs., a completed form MV-272.
• If the trailer weighs 1,000 lbs. or more, an original and validated form MV-272.1.
• The original sales receipts for the materials and parts you used to construct the trailer. The DMV office will return these original documents to you.
• The original weight slip.
• A completed Form MV-82 (Vehicle Registration / Title Application).
• Form DTF-803 (Sales Tax Exemption) or Form FS-6T (Sales Tax Receipt). The FS-6T is a receipt issued at a DMV office. You can see the current sales tax rates by jurisdiction at the Department of Taxation and Finance web site.
• Your proofs of identity and date of birth. If another person brings your application to the DMV office, that person must follow the requirements for a second party registration application.

The DMV office calculates your sales taxes and fee when you register. The fee depends on the maximum gross weight (MGW) of the trailer that you enter on the application form.  The MGW is the maximum weight of the load that the trailer can carry added to the unladen weight of the trailer.

The DMV office issues a vehicle plate, a plate sticker and a registration document.

If the unladen weight of your trailer is less than 1,000 lbs., the registration document is marked "transferable", and the registration document is your proof of ownership and transfer. You will not receive a title certificate.

If the unladen weight of your trailer is 1,000 lbs. or more, the registration document is marked "non-transferable", and the document is not your proof of ownership and transfer. In 90 days or less after you register, the DMV mails you a title certificate. The title certificate is your proof of ownership and transfer.

The DMV office also issues a 10-day inspection extension sticker. Keep the sticker with your trailer registration document in the vehicle that tows the trailer. You must have the trailer inspected at a NYS licensed inspection station 10 days or less after you register.

Title Certificate Only (Unladen Weight of 1,000 Lbs. or More)

You can apply for a title certificate only for a trailer with an unladen weight of 1,000 lbs. or more. Take the sales receipts for all the materials and the parts you used to construct your trailer to a DMV office, and get a sales tax receipt (FS-6T). To apply for a title certificate, mail these items to the address listed below:

• An original FS-6T receipt issued by the DMV office.
• An original and validated form MV-272.1.
• The original sales receipts for the materials and the parts you used to construct the trailer. The DMV office will return these original documents to you.
• The original weight slip.
• A completed form MV-82TON (Application for Title).
• A personal check or money order in the amount of the fee indicated on the form MV-82TON, payable to "Commissioner of Motor Vehicles".
• Photocopies of your proofs of identity and date of birth, and the proofs of identity of the person who presents the trailer for examination if the person is not the applicant.

Mailing address:

DMV Title Services Bureau
6 Empire State Plaza
Albany, New York 12228

VS-105 (3/07), edited for the Internet 03/07