Sri Lanka Vehicle Transfer Fee Calculator

Transferring a vehicle in Sri Lanka means re-registering ownership at the Department of Motor Traffic (DMT), often called the RMV. The cost is a fixed schedule of official charges — no percentage of the sale price is involved. This tool sums those charges from the DMT's published ownership-transfer fee table, whose statutory basis is Motor Traffic (Fees) Regulations No. 2306/02 (14 November 2022).

The total is built from up to six components:

1. Transfer fee — the core charge, set by vehicle class and service type. A Motor Car or dual-purpose vehicle is Rs 5,000 under ordinary service and Rs 7,500 under one-day service; a motorcycle or three-wheeler is Rs 1,000 and Rs 2,300; lorries, prime movers, trailers and land vehicles sit on their own rows in between.
2. First-transfer tax — a flat Rs 4,000 on the first transfer of a vehicle that is under 7 years old, counted from first registration. At exactly 7 years or older it is Rs 0. This is the single biggest swing for newer vehicles.
3. Absolute-ownership cancellation — Rs 1,000 (ordinary) or Rs 2,500 (one-day) to remove an existing absolute-ownership record from the CR.
4. Mortgage / lease cancellation— Rs 300 (ordinary) or Rs 2,500 (one-day) to clear an existing lease. You will need the finance company's release letter first.
5. New mortgage / lease registration — a fixed Rs 200 to record a new mortgage on the vehicle at the point of transfer.
6. Postage / stationery — a flat Rs 150, charged on both service types.

The grand total is simply the sum: transfer fee + first-transfer tax + cancellations + new mortgage + postage. To guard against arithmetic slips, the calculator computes the total two independent ways — once by adding the itemised rows and once from the named components — and shows both so you can see they agree to the rupee. One-day service is priced separately on every charge, which is why the comparison card can show both service totals side by side. Import duty, luxury tax and the annual revenue licence are deliberately out of scope; those are separate payments with their own tools.

The fee is only part of the trip. Bring these documents so the transfer is not rejected at the counter. Requirements can change — confirm the current list on the DMT site before you travel.

• Certificate of Registration (CR) — the vehicle's registration book.
• Completed ownership-transfer application form, signed by both buyer and seller.
• A valid revenue licence for the vehicle.
• National Identity Card (or copy) of both the current owner and the new owner.
• Attested signatures of the parties where the form requires attestation.
• Original mortgage-release / clearance letter from the finance company (only if you are clearing a lease or absolute ownership).
• The applicable fees in cash — bring the exact total this calculator shows.

• DMT — Charges for Registration of Ownership Transfer (fee tables)
• DMT — Registration of Ownership Transfer (process & documents)
• GIC (gov.lk) — Registration of Transfer of Motor Vehicle
• Department of Motor Traffic — official site

Rates last cross-checked against the Department of Motor Traffic charge tables on 2026-07-12. Statutory basis: Motor Traffic (Fees) Regulations No. 2306/02 (14 November 2022). The disputed Rs 1,000 under-5-year motor-car charge is omitted here because it could not be verified in the DMT table; confirm any extra charge at the RMV counter.