Bought a car off a neighbor? You have 30 days to title it in Hays County

When you buy a used car from a private seller in Hays County, the title work runs through the Tax Assessor-Collector's motor-vehicle counter at 712 S. Stagecoach Trail in San Marcos, the same office that handles registration. Bring the title signed over to you on the back, a completed Form 130-U (the application for title), proof of insurance, and your ID. Title in hand, you walk out registered too; it's one transaction.

The state gives you 30 calendar days from the sale date to transfer the title. Miss that window and a transfer penalty starts stacking up, so don't let a signed title sit in the glovebox for a month. You'll also pay motor-vehicle sales tax at the counter: 6.25% of the sale price, or of the standard presumptive value if you paid well under what the car's worth, whichever the office uses. So if you're tempted to write '$1' on the title to dodge the tax, it won't work.

The county serves Hays County residents only, so register where you live. If the title's lost or the seller never signed it over to themselves, sort that out before any money changes hands. An untitled car is a headache the tax office can't fix at the window.