Stokes County, NC

When you receive your vehicle registration renewal card from the NC Division of Motor Vehicles, please make sure your address and county are correct. If the address and county are not correct, DMV must be notified so you are taxed by the proper county and municipality.

Registered Motor Vehicles
A registered motor vehicle is a motor vehicle with active North Carolina license plate or registration. The term "motor vehicle" includes automobiles, trucks, trailers, motorcycles and campers. Registered vehicles that are renewed annually will receive a combined tax and tag notice from the Department of Motor Vehicles about two months before the tag expiration date. The combined notice is for the County tax and registration fee. The notice is paid to the North Carolina DMV.

Vehicles with the multi-year or permanent tags are not billed from the NCDMV. These are to be listed in January of each year at the Tax Assessor's office. They will be taxed annually as personal property. If you need to list these and did not receive a listing form in January, please contact the office at 336-593- 2811, or you may elect to use the form on our website. Penalties will be added for failure to list these multi-year or permanent tag vehicles.

Registered vehicles under the (IRP) International Registration Plan are to be listed annually in January at the Tax Assessor's office. Failure to list these will result in a penalty.

Gap Property Tax for Unregistered Motor Vehicles
You will receive a tax bill from the County if you do not renew your registration on time. The bill is for the gap of when the registration expired and when it was renewed with the NC DMV. The gap property tax notice you received is for the taxes due during that gap in time. The County is required to collect property taxes for unregistered vehicles per N.C. General Statute 105.330.3. This bill will be paid to Stokes County Tax Collector.

How to apply for a refund on a registered vehicle property tax that has been paid?
An owner can apply for a refund of taxes paid when a motor vehicle is sold or registered out of state. The refund will be calculated on any full calendar months remaining on the registration period after the license plate is surrendered to the N.C. Division of Motor Vehicles. Within one year of surrendering the license plates, the owner must present the following to the county tax office: (1) Proof of plate surrender to N.C. DMV (DMV Form FS20); and (2) Copy of the Bill of Sale or the new state's registration.

You may fax a copy of your FS20 form and bill of sale or new state's registration to (336) 593-4015 or email to rwhite@co.stokes.nc.us.