NeedTags Reviews 270

TrustScore 3.5 out of 5

3.6

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Review summary

Based on reviews, created with AI

Most reviewers were somewhat happy with their experience overall. Many consumers are satisfied with the service, finding it efficient, fast, and easy, often praising the quick response times. The staff and customer service are frequently highlighted as positive aspects, with many people appreciating the helpfulness, knowledge, and responsiveness of the representatives. However, some people were dissatisfied with the website, describing it as unclear. Several customers experienced confusion regarding the website's affiliation, leading to unexpected fees and dissatisfaction. There were also instances where people experienced significant delays in processing their paperwork and encountered difficulties with refunds.

What people talk about most

Service

Customers consistently note ambiguous experiences with service. While some reviewers praise the service as... See more

Staff

Reviewers highlight positive aspects of staff. Customers frequently praise the staff for being helpful,... See more

Customer service

Clients share positive opinions on customer service, with many praising the helpfulness and knowledge of... See more

Website

Consumers find the website to be ambiguous, with many mistaking it for the official DMV site due to similar... See more

Response time

Reviewers mention positive feedback about response times. Many customers praise the quick and efficient... See more

Based on these reviews

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

A+ for not having to step foot into the DMV. A+ for customer service, Esperanza, was on it every step of the way and VERY responsive. Fix a spelling error immediately! B- for the cost of service but I... See more

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

The experience had pros and cons. The process was quick and easy to deal with. An outline of the exact fees would be helpful. June was quick to respond with email which I appreciate. It wasn't cheap b... See more

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

In my first instance involving another vehicle, I missed signing all the required signatures in the title. The representative assisted me and was extremely helpful in resolving the issue. I reciev... See more

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

Having just completed a title transfer on a different vehicle 6 months ago (before the process changed to utilize NeedTags) I was FLOORED how quickly this transfer was completed! The transfer complete... See more


Company details

  1. Department of Motor Vehicles

Written by the company

NeedTags is a highly reputable and reliable online platform that specializes in providing vehicle registration services for California vehicle owners. With a strong track record of customer satisfaction, NeedTags has established itself as a trusted source for individuals and businesses seeking efficient and hassle-free vehicle registration solutions.


Contact info

3.6

Average

TrustScore 3.5 out of 5

270 reviews

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Replied to 96% of negative reviews

Typically replies within 24 hours

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Rated 1 out of 5 stars

Garbage company scamming people out of…

Garbage company scamming people out of money for a service that provides zero additional value. Do not be fooled like me! Shameful that they are allowed to exist at all.

June 29, 2025
Unprompted review
NeedTags logo

Reply from NeedTags

We appreciate your review Dan. You'll be glad to know that this time around you've renewed your vehicle's DMV registration through California highest rated online registration service provider... with annual digital registration renewal reminders! As for the benefits of utilizing our service, although the registration renewal interface (portal) for our users is online, the real work is done behind-the-scenes, by our awesome employees, and we're doing our very best to keep our offices staffed and continue offering our valued customers the expedited DMV services they've come to expect from us, including our super speedy next-day shipping, instant download of your renewed registration card, and our above par customer support. The reversal of the cardholder’s registration transaction is not subject to NeedTags’ discretion, but is instead governed by policies established by the California Department of Motor Vehicles pursuant to the Business Partner Automation (BPA) program. Please contact our customer care department if we can be of any further assistance.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

Jane was awesome.

Jane was awesome.

I like that I was able to attach via email and did not have to login to an account to see my status. Keeping the interaction all email made it much easier.

I thought I'd regret using this process, even considered giving up on it and going into DMV but thought I'd try it and so glad I did.

June 20, 2025
Unprompted review
Rated 1 out of 5 stars

Experts at Ripping u off..0 stars

Experts at Ripping u off.. They took my money. They will not respond to me and they will not send me my sticker from my license plate. Meanwhile, back at the state of California, they did not receive my money. So I don't know what they did with it, but they are absolutely 0 stars for these people. They ripped me off and will not refund.My money or give me a sticker

June 17, 2025
Unprompted review
NeedTags logo

Reply from NeedTags

Thank you for your review Todd. We appreciate your time. Certain transactions may require additional information to be provided by the customer which may not be known at the time of order. Stated in our email are instructions to contact us so that we may look into your order and if need be, manually update your records. You’ll be glad to know that if you don't receive your order within 21 days, simply click the Check My Order Status button in our emails and request a FREE replacement. We will gladly ask our shipping team to re-mail your order. As a NeedTags customer you are entitled to a free replacement whenever the USPS misdelivers your mail, your mail gets lost or stolen, or for any reason our first shipment does not reach you. As for the benefits of utilizing our service, although the registration renewal interface (portal) for our users is online, the real work is done behind-the-scenes, by our awesome employees, and we're doing our very best to keep our offices staffed and continue offering our valued customers the expedited DMV services they've come to expect from us, including our super speedy next-day shipping, instant download of your renewed registration card, and our above par customer support. As testament of our dedication to our customers, please see our 60,000+ Shopper Approved reviews and 4.8 STAR rating. Please contact our customer care department if we can be of any further assistance.

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

Extra fees that have no explanation

Extra fees that have no explanation. I didn’t see their reviews on BBB before ordering. And they state that before you pay, they break down what you’re paying but it is 100% false. I have over $100 extra in fees that have no explanation. I will be filing a claim with my bank to dispute the extra fees, even if they threaten to sue. I will, do the same.

June 6, 2025
Unprompted review
NeedTags logo

Reply from NeedTags

Thank you for your review Carolina. We appreciate your time. The NeedTags' website displays to all customers, before they are asked for any payment information, all fees due, including DMV fees, our service fees, and a detailed explanation of the processes required for order completion. It is impossible to bypass these requirements. Certain transactions may require additional information to be provided by the customer which may not be known at the time of order. The reversal of the cardholder’s registration transaction is not subject to NeedTags’ discretion, but is instead governed by policies established by the California Department of Motor Vehicles pursuant to the Business Partner Automation (BPA) program.
You'll be glad to know that this time around you've renewed your vehicle's DMV registration through California highest rated online registration service provider! Although the registration renewal interface (portal) for our users is online, the real work is done behind-the-scenes, by our awesome employees, and we're doing our very best to keep our offices staffed and continue offering our valued customers the expedited DMV services they've come to expect from us, including our super speedy next-day shipping, instant download of your renewed registration card, and our above par customer support. Please contact our customer care department if we can be of any further assistance.

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

Deceiving website - ridiculous fees

Don’t even bother using them. They charge an insane amount of fees. I thought I was on the dmv website so I didn’t question the fees but it’s not. Very deceiving website. And no one answers the phone.

June 4, 2025
Unprompted review
NeedTags logo

Reply from NeedTags

Thank you for your review Emily. We appreciate your time. The NeedTags' website displays to all customers, before they are asked for any payment information, all fees due, including DMV fees, our service fees, and a detailed explanation of the processes required for order completion. It is impossible to bypass these requirements. Certain transactions may require additional information to be provided by the customer which may not be known at the time of order. NeedTags is a delegated provider for the California Department of Motor Vehicles. On the header of every page of our website we display the following text, as per California Business Partner Automation requirements, “NOTICE: NeedTags has been officially licensed by the California Department of Motor Vehicles to provide DMV services on their behalf. NeedTags is not owned or operated by any government agency and charges fees for value-add DMV services pursuant to CVC Section 1685. Standard service may be obtained from the DMV at no cost.”
You'll be glad to know that this time around you've renewed your vehicle's DMV registration through California highest rated online registration service provider! Although the registration renewal interface (portal) for our users is online, the real work is done behind-the-scenes, by our awesome employees, and we're doing our very best to keep our offices staffed and continue offering our valued customers the expedited DMV services they've come to expect from us, including our super speedy next-day shipping, instant download of your renewed registration card, and our above par customer support. The reversal of the cardholder’s registration transaction is not subject to NeedTags’ discretion, but is instead governed by policies established by the California Department of Motor Vehicles pursuant to the Business Partner Automation (BPA) program. Please contact our customer care department if we can be of any further assistance.

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

SCAM SITE

SCAM SITE. DO NOT USE!!
I couldn’t find my paperwork from DMV, so I did a web search for their site to register online. I found NeedTags.com and thought they were DMV. That’s my fault for not paying more attention, I suppose, but there are many others who made the same mistake I did. I got all the way through to ordering, then started wondering why it seemed so much more expensive this year. I looked at my records and confirmed it was much more expensive. So I made more effort and found my paperwork. DMV reg fee was $243, and I had just paid $316 because of extra fees tacked on. That’s when I figured out I’d been tricked. NeedTags.com had said they needed my smog report to complete registration, so I HAD NOT YET RECEIVED what I’d paid for. I asked for a refund, explaining I had found their site by mistake. They responded that they do not issue refunds and threatened me with legal action. Mind you, this is the first email response from them and they’re already threatening legal action?? At that point, I looked them up. They scam people this way all the time. And they can do this legally (it’s not fraud). I started a dispute claim with my bank, but my smog check went through to them automatically, it seems, so at this point they theoretically have delivered on their product/service so I don’t know if my claim will get anywhere. I’m likely out $73 that I should not have had to pay. NeedTags.com is not easier to navigate or more convenient than the DMV website itself. They make their money by tricking people.

May 9, 2025
Unprompted review
NeedTags logo

Reply from NeedTags

Thank you for your review. We appreciate your time. NeedTags strives to provide full transparency. We are not the DMV and make absolutely no claims to that effect. NeedTags is in fact a delegated provider for the California Department of Motor Vehicles. On the header of every page of our website we display the following text, as per California Business Partner Automation requirements, “NOTICE: NeedTags has been officially licensed by the California Department of Motor Vehicles to provide DMV services on their behalf. NeedTags is not owned or operated by any government agency and charges fees for value-add DMV services pursuant to CVC Section 1685. Standard service may be obtained from the DMV at no cost.” Furthermore, The NeedTags' website displays to all customers, before they are asked for any payment information, all fees due, including DMV fees, our service fees, and a detailed explanation of the processes required for order completion. It is impossible to bypass these requirements. Certain transactions may require additional information to be provided by the customer which may not be known at the time of order. Reversal of the cardholder’s registration transaction is not subject to NeedTags’ discretion, but is instead governed by policies established by the California Department of Motor Vehicles pursuant to the Business Partner Automation (BPA) program. You'll be glad to know that this time around you've renewed your vehicle's DMV registration through California highest rated online registration service provider! Although the registration renewal interface (portal) for our users is online, the real work is done behind-the-scenes, by our awesome employees, and we're doing our very best to keep our offices staffed and continue offering our valued customers the expedited DMV services they've come to expect from us, including our super speedy next-day shipping, instant download of your renewed registration card, and our above par customer support. Please contact our customer care department if we can be of any further assistance.

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

Extremely deceptive and unnecessary middleman website

Extremely deceptive website. My elderly relative searched "ca dmv" and got their sponsored link as the top result. He did not see the warning that they were not the real DMV and started the process. Thankfully I was there when he started asking for help scanning his driver's license and utility bills, which I don't remember needing to register cars before. Then I saw the fees on top of fees, and I noticed he was not on the DMV site at all, but on needtags.

All of their excuses about "we have the required legal disclaimers" does not excuse the fact they make their website look like the DMV, take out misleading keywords for their advertisements, and charge outrageous fees that you don't need to pay if you go directly to the proper website. They know EXACTLY what they are doing. To the employees monitoring this-- You should be ashamed of trying to scam elderly people out of their social security money and hide behind bogus excuses!

I went to the DMV website and was able to complete the registration for my relative without any of the runaround or fees required by this unnecessary middleman.

May 12, 2025
Unprompted review
NeedTags logo

Reply from NeedTags

Thank you for your review Justin. We appreciate your time. NeedTags strives to provide full transparency. We are not the DMV and make absolutely no claims to that effect. NeedTags is in fact a delegated provider for the California Department of Motor Vehicles. On the header of every page of our website we display the following text, as per California Business Partner Automation requirements, “NOTICE: NeedTags has been officially licensed by the California Department of Motor Vehicles to provide DMV services on their behalf. NeedTags is not owned or operated by any government agency and charges fees for value-add DMV services pursuant to CVC Section 1685. Standard service may be obtained from the DMV at no cost.” The reversal of the cardholder’s registration transaction is not subject to NeedTags’ discretion, but is instead governed by policies established by the California Department of Motor Vehicles pursuant to the Business Partner Automation (BPA) program. As for the benefits of utilizing our service, although the registration renewal interface (portal) for our users is online, the real work is done behind-the-scenes, by our awesome employees, and we're doing our very best to keep our offices staffed and continue offering our valued customers the expedited DMV services they've come to expect from us, including our super speedy next-day shipping, instant download of your renewed registration card, and our above par customer support. Please contact our customer care department if we can be of any further assistance.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

Esperanza at the Customer Care…

Esperanza at the Customer Care Department is a customer service Jedi Master and strong in the ways of the public service force. I am thankful for the assistance.

Best,
Brad

May 5, 2025
Unprompted review
Rated 5 out of 5 stars

Easy peasy

I had several questions on California's processing and Jane was patient, kind and knowledgeable in helping me.

May 5, 2025
Unprompted review
Rated 1 out of 5 stars

NeedTags.com AKA Scam City

This website is a scam! They charged me an extra $95.33 than what DMV would have charged me. Who would have thought that there was a company out there who would screw you over more than the actual California government! I typed in dmv.ca.gov and it automatically took me to needtags.com without me even realizing it. Looks legit and everything, but after I paid my registration and got the Amex notification on my phone I saw that it said it was a transaction from needtags.com. I don't know what these people spend in google ads for google to take you straight to this website and bypassing the ACTUAL dmv website. Obvi they are spending my extra $95.33 on google ads when I could have used that money to buy myself 2 tanks of gas! TWO! In this economy?? How do they even sleep at night.

May 1, 2025
Unprompted review
NeedTags logo

Reply from NeedTags

Thank you for your review. We appreciate your time. NeedTags strives to provide full transparency. We are not the DMV and make absolutely no claims to that effect. NeedTags is in fact a delegated provider for the California Department of Motor Vehicles. On the header of every page of our website we display the following text, as per California Business Partner Automation requirements, “NOTICE: NeedTags has been officially licensed by the California Department of Motor Vehicles to provide DMV services on their behalf. NeedTags is not owned or operated by any government agency and charges fees for value-add DMV services pursuant to CVC Section 1685. Standard service may be obtained from the DMV at no cost.” Furthermore, The NeedTags' website displays to all customers, before they are asked for any payment information, all fees due, including DMV fees, our service fees, and a detailed explanation of the processes required for order completion. It is impossible to bypass these requirements. Reversal of your registration transaction is not subject to NeedTags’ discretion, but is instead governed by policies established by the California Department of Motor Vehicles pursuant to the Business Partner Automation (BPA) program. Although the registration renewal interface (portal) for our users is online, the real work is done behind-the-scenes, by our awesome employees, and we're doing our very best to keep our offices staffed and continue offering our valued customers the expedited DMV services they've come to expect from us, including our super speedy next-day shipping, instant download of your renewed registration card, and our above par customer support.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

Esperanza in NeedTags is an outstanding…

Esperanza in NeedTags is an outstanding representative. When I had a problem (the rep I first spoke to didn't give me full info re what I had to explain on a 101 form) in gifting my car to my daughter and son-in-law, Esperanza communicated clearly what the problem was and guided me through the process to a highly satisfactory conclusion. She communicates well!

April 18, 2025
Unprompted review
Rated 1 out of 5 stars

SCAM!!!!!!!!!!!!!

SCAM!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 45 EXTRA FEE FOR NO REASON!!!!!!!!!!! YOU CAN DO IT FOR NO FEE ON DMV WEBSITE JUST AS EASY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

April 23, 2025
Unprompted review
NeedTags logo

Reply from NeedTags

Thank you for your review Ricco. We appreciate your time. The NeedTags' website displays to all customers, before they are asked for any payment information, all fees due, including DMV fees, our service fees, and a detailed explanation of the processes required for order completion. It is impossible to bypass these requirements. Certain transactions may require additional information to be provided by the customer which may not be known at the time of order. You'll be glad to know that this time around you've renewed your vehicle's DMV registration through California highest rated online registration service provider! Although the registration renewal interface (portal) for our users is online, the real work is done behind-the-scenes, by our awesome employees, and we're doing our very best to keep our offices staffed and continue offering our valued customers the expedited DMV services they've come to expect from us, including our super speedy next-day shipping, instant download of your renewed registration card, and our above par customer support

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