California drivers trying to handle one of life’s most boring chores are landing on a website that looks enough like the DMV to blur the line, and then charging them far more than the state’s official fee. The extra bill can reach $90 or more, while the DMV’s own partner system still collects transaction revenue from the private companies processing the payments.
The latest complaints center on NeedTags, which has appeared prominently in Google searches for vehicle registration. As reported by ABC7 Bay Area, Santa Cruz driver Manuella Raquelle owed the DMV $612 but was charged $702 through NeedTags, while a Corte Madera customer described a stack of add-ons including a $49 service fee, a $7 BPA fee, a $25 credit-card charge and $7 shipping.
The company is not an unauthorized phantom operation. The official NeedTags listing on the California DMV website identifies it as a DMV partner while warning that additional fees may apply — a distinction many customers say they did not notice before paying.
California’s DMV Partner Rules Let Fees Run High
The DMV’s partner rules allow participating companies to charge service fees for registration transactions. Licensed dealers and dismantlers face a $29 limit per transaction, but licensed registration services and salvage pools are not restricted to that amount, and the DMV can also pass a transaction fee on to the customer.
That arrangement is a revenue stream for the state as well as a business opportunity for private providers. In its annual partner report, the DMV said 6,429 second-line partner locations processed 7.5 million transactions in fiscal year 2023–2024 and generated more than $36.6 million in transaction fees for the department.
Lawmakers Have Tried To Cap The Registration Markups
Assembly Bill 1190, introduced by Matt Haney in 2025, sought to restrict what online second-line partners could charge and require a prominent link telling customers that the same services are available directly from the DMV at no additional cost. The proposal did not become law, leaving the current fee structure largely intact.
A second proposal, AB 2629, was introduced in 2026 by Assemblymember Phillip Chen with Haney as a coauthor and would cap registration-service fees at 5% above the DMV’s direct charge. The committee analysis says the DMV has not imposed a fee cap on most of its private partners, while ABC7 News reported that the 2026 effort had stalled. Google has since added a “Not a government website” warning to ads for private companies offering government services.
The Safest Way To Avoid The Extra Charges
The California DMV has separately warned about fake websites and advertisements that resemble official services or promise discounted registration. Its scam alert recommends typing dmv.ca.gov directly into a browser rather than trusting search ads or unfamiliar links.
For NeedTags customers, the company’s owner, Eddy Asmerian, did not respond to ABC7’s latest requests for comment; he previously said the business was committed to transparency. Until lawmakers impose a clearer ceiling or stronger disclosure rules, a few extra clicks on the official DMV site may be the cheapest part of the registration process.
