Question: I lost my job about a month ago but I need to get new tags for my car. I thought that maybe I could drive my car for a bit with expired tags, but I don’t want to get in trouble. How long can a person drive with expired tags?
Answer: It is illegal to drive with expired tags. It would be best if you update your registration as soon as possible. In some states, you can do it online.
How long can I drive with an expired tag?
When your tag is expired, a grace period is unlikely. The only exception was during COVID-19, when states like New York and New Jersey extended a grace period for expiring registrations as stay-home orders blanketed the United States in 2020. However, a fee is typically assessed, depending on how long your tag has expired.
Outside of this exceptional circumstance, New York has two tiers of penalties for expired registrations. For expired registrations less than 60 days old, the fine ranges from $40 to $300, with an automatic $93 surcharge. For older expired registrations, the fine starts at $70 and goes up to $300, with an extra $93 surcharge.
In New Jersey, will you incur a $100 fine for expired registrations and police can tow unregistered vehicles from the roadway and send the bill to the car’s registered owner.
In Florida, news channel WKMG based in Orlando, asked former Florida Highway Patrol officer Steve Montiero about whether Floridians have a grace period. He said he has pulled drivers over who think they have until the end of the month to renew their tags, but the truth is that the expiration date printed in the top right corner of the car’s registration is the final day you can legally drive with that plate. Drivers who are caught driving with an expired plate after midnight on the expiration date are subject to being ticketed. Those who fail to renew past the eleventh calendar day of the month succeeding the renewal registrations due date will incur a delinquent registration fee.
In California, there is no grace period, and you can find out the day your car’s tags expire by referring to your registration. Your license plates only show the month and year of expiration. Depending on how overdue your payment is, you’ll get a fine of $10 to $100 from the California Highway Patrol and the DMV. However, a new 2024 California law states the highway patrol can only undertake enforcement action the second month after expiration unless the driver is stopped for a different code violation.
What to do if you find out your tags are expired
The first thing to do is find out how to renew it. You might be able to do it online and then have proof of renewal with you in the car or use the temporary registration while you await the new stickers in the mail.
Alternatively, you can also head to the DMV and get the paperwork done there. Make sure to phone a friend so you’re not driving the car with expired tags. Going in person may allow you to get stickers on the same day.
Xuyun Zeng is a content strategist with a wide-ranging content background including tech, journalism, cars and health care. After graduating with highest honors in journalism, Xuyun led a newspaper to win eight awards, helped start an award-winning film industry podcast and has written over a hundred articles about cars repair, state laws and insurance. Prior to joining Jerry, Xuyun worked as a freelance SEO consultant with a mission to create the best content that will help readers and grow organic traffic.
Giselle Gomez is an editor with over a decade of experience editing content across personal finance, education, travel, and sports. In editing for Jerry, Giselle’s focus is on making sure content is consumer and SEO-friendly and helping readers understand all things car ownership. In prior roles, she worked as a content strategist, syndication editor, and writer. Her work is featured in AP, NerdWallet.com, BestColleges.com, and more. Giselle holds a master’s degree from Arizona State University.
