Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire vehicle license plates

guess in AZ you never own a specialty plate - reason i say this is I have to pay $25 a yr for the priveldge of displaying the plate - on my vechile registration there is an added fee for my plate for each yr. !!!- go figure !!

In SD plates used to go with the vehicle but too many people were screwing around not re-registering in their county in a timely manner. Now you get a seller's permit at the courthouse which works like a dealer's temp tag and you fill in the blanks when the sale is completed.

I've sold vehicles in Alaska, Arkansas, and Colorado. I kept the plates and the buyer got a dated bill of sale. Pretty much standard practice to not give someone plates registered in your name.

Here in Maryland, the plates go with the car. The owner of the car sells it he has to turn the tags into the DMV, or transfer them to another car. NOW, DMV has various different tags, ones for cars, ones for P/Us, ones for SUVs, and not sure you can transfer a SUV tag to a p/u for instance. You also, when you turn the tags in, have to let them know what happened to the vehicle they came off of. Some states, the tags are based on a "personal property" type thing, and might belong to the owner, but here, they follow the vehicle. PA and, I'd guess, most of the states out here the same way. If someone is buying a vehicle it's up to them to make sure they are able to get to the DMV and get new tags. I wouldn't feel bad about them. Don't know about anywhere else either, but here, you MUST show proof of insurance, or no tags. If the insurance coverage stops (companies required to report loss of coverage to DMV within 24hours), you either better have proof of new coverage, or there's an immediate $300 fine. You tags are automatically deemed "dead" and get caught driving with them, you go to jail and the car is impounded. Fines for no having insurance must be paid before your tags will be renewed, or your drivers license too.

Also, vanity tags (your name, etc) or organizational tags (NRA, DU, etc) also have to be turned in, though I think if an organizational tag you MIGHT be able to get away with keeping it as a souvenier, though I think the DMV told me they have to be turned in.

ghost
I'm not following you. If your plates go with the car, how does the seller turn them in to the DMV?

In Oregon the plates stay with the car, Unless they are some type of specialty plate, vet, fleet, disabled, etc

In Texas the plates belong to the owner, not the vehicle. The State advises you to pull the plates when you sell or trade the vehicle. Not required but certainly advisable in case the new owner doesn't register it in a timely manner. If the vehicle gets into trouble with your tags.....guess who they are looking for.

I believe this info is on the title transfer and /or the title itself.

Pretty sure this is correct....if in doubt check Texas.gov

In Wisconsin, the plates stay with the seller, which can be transferred to a new/different vehicle.

I just sold a P/U and took off the plates. The new owner's on the hook for the title and license transfer. Makes no difference to me what he does after I have cash in hand and I sign over the title.

South Dakota as of a few years ago stay with the seller as well.

All he really needs or needed was a bill of sale on the day he took possession.

In PA. the plate belongs to you. But you can transfer the title at any notary and get a new plate at the same time.

It sounds like the states are about 50-50 on who gets the plates.

ID-shooter, thanks for the info. The guy is an imbecile indeed for waiting until late the last day to pick up the truck for a long trip. There are too many variables that can come up when you buy anything.

In Idaho you don't need a separate bill of sale because all the necessary info and signatures to transfer a title are right on the title itself. However, in this case, it's really not a good idea to take off cross country with a signed title. He who possesses the signed title also possesses the vehicle. I called him & told him I'll give him a separate bill of sale to carry with him so he'll come by this morning for that. He says he also has the insurance covered so that's not my problem.

The title also has a tear-off section that the seller mails to the DMV that releases him of liability if the vehicle is wrecked or stolen. That will be in the mail today. If they receive it within 5 days of the sale, I'm off the hook no matter what happens to it before he transfers the title.

The reason for his heart attack is that they've just finished a government job in SD. They MUST get 2 trailers off the premises by Monday morning to satisfy the contract. If they don't, there's a large penalty to pay. He and his boss are driving this and another pickup to SD Sunday to bring the trailers back to Idaho.

plates stay with the vehicle in Oklahoma...

Plates stay with a seller in Missouri. Just sold a truck outright a month ago, kept the plates. Bought a new truck at a dealership, they put the old plates on the new truck and said we had 30 days to get them officially changed over to the new truck.

At the courthouse, they then issued new plates because they were different class of trucks (1/2ton vs 3/4ton, different plate weight rating). If they'd been same class of vehicle, we'd have kept the old plates. We still had a year left on the plates, so were credited the amount towards the new plate.

I'm pretty sure Kansas is the same way, old plates stay with the seller.

Plates stay with the original owner in NY. You buy a vehicle, you need to get insurance and registration before you drive it. You have a week or ten days, something like that, to get it inspected.

Yes you are correct that a separate bill of sale is no longer needed in Idaho. That is a fairly new policy. The first time I ran across the new policy was last Christmas when I purchased a used ATV. Payette County DMV told me they no longer needed the Bill of Sale. But it still makes me feel better to have it in my files.

Oh, by the way. That is the exception to the rules we are discussing. An Idaho ATV plate is good for ten years, and it is transferable to the new owner. It DEFINITELY stays with the vehicle.

A signed title is only indicia of ownership, not the terms of the sale. Sometimes a bill of sale is handy for things like a "he said but he said" condition or warranty dispute.

Trailers also have 5 or 10 year plates. Do you know if the plates stay with the trailer? Some have titles, others don't.

Trailer plates may be transferred from one trailer to the next, except that plates may not be transferred between a utility trailer and a boat trailer .

In Louisiana, you pull the plates and turn them in to the Dept. of Motor Vehicles.

You dont get to keep them and they dont stay with the vehicle.

In Michigan they get transferred to the new vehicle.