Legally drive a newly purchased vehicle without plates?

there is no law that allows you to drive a car without plates or without being registered... matter of fact you have a few days to register the car when you get home, but that does not let you drive it at all..... and taking a chance... well you can go out and steal a car and when the officer stops you and you have a story it might work or not??/ but that is taking a chance.. there are auto transport companies that will put your car on a trailer and move it from one place to another.. call them up in the yellow pages.... just remember that the pieces of paper with the "Title or License Applied for" in the rear window is not worth the paper they are printed on... if the police feels sorry for you and gives you a break then you are OK, if not then you will have to pay the fine... use a transfer company for your car and save the grief... or take a chance and either make it or pay the fines.. its that simple....

Not in New York, at least. New York's web site says that you can get a 30-day temporary "transit" registration in order to move a vehicle that isn't registered. However, they also say that Massachusets, for one, doesn't recognize that in-transit registration.

Check with your (Texas) DMV and the DMVs of all the states in-between. Texas may have a similar provision for you, and maybe you can plan a route that only involves states that will recognize the temp. registration.

I certainly understand your reluctance to waste money (and time) on excess registration.

Hmm, another option -may- be to just keep the Virginia registration until it expires and then register in Texas (again, check with relevant DMVs for regulations on this) and at least then you wouldn't be paying two registration fees one right after the other on it.

-D

No you can not. For situations like yours, you need to purchase a transit tag, every state offers them. You will need to show proof of insurance in most states..

mike hunt

Steve Re>

A temporary "Transit tag" is the ticket! Keying that into Google got results. Thanks!

Okay, I have insurance and checked with them...They said I'm covered in any vehicle I drive.

A temporary "Transit tag" is the ticket! Keying that into Google got results. Thanks!

Why not call the Texas DMV and ask them the question?

See

Ed

Steve Re>

Searching for "Temporary tag" or the like didn't even come to mind until later on. I've since found that one can purchase a temporary tag for a small fee.

I called TDOT, but they were already closed for the evening.

But again, thanks to the newsgroup and Google, I did find what I needed to know.

Thanks,

-Steve

Trailer = 100% legal Temporary Tags + 100% legal No tags, could be sleeping in jail.

Insurance is a must as well.

most sates honor what the state reauires where the vehicle was purchaed in.

rent a U-Hal and a trailer....

C.

He said he didn't have the ability to tow the vehicle, but this does make the best sense. Since, how is he even getting to the car, in VA, in the first place. Might as well rent a uHaul out there, and reserve a car dolly at where he's picking the car up.

later,

tom

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This may not be helpful to you, but in Michigan you can buy a car from a private party and drive it home unregistered (plateless) as long as you have the title, signed by the seller, and proof of insurance. You can check the law for any states you plan to drive through at their websites.

mike

I've already posted a followup to my original message.

I've since learned about temporary plates and have everything all squared away, legally!

-Steve

In Vermont, it's illegal to drive an unregistered vehicle at anytime. You cannot drive a vehicle without a tag or a license plate in Vermont at anytime. If you plan on purchasing a vehicle from a private party from out of state, it is best to check the laws with the DMV's in every states before making a purchase. It's always best to get a temporary tag for your vehicle if purchased out of state. Vermont recognizes temporary tags from out of state. In Vermont, but those temporary tags MUST be attached to to where license plates are screwed into the back of your vehicle. You must also have the title, temporary registartion, bill of sale, and proof of insurance to drive a purchased vehicle from out of state to your home state. If you are to purchase a vehicle from a private party from out of state with no plate, your best bet is to have your vehicle transported to your state by hiring a transporting company.

~CyberWolf

Delaware has a temporary transportation tag that supposes will allow the purchaser to drive the vehicle home but: The start of the time is when you get the tag and the end is (as I recall) five days. Police like to check out of state vehicles and my son got as far as Arkansas on his way to Arizona when he was pulled over, fined for no 'acceptable' tag and left to go on his lawbreaking way. This was a town cop and court though, but just another example of government extortion.

The transit tag, issue by the state of Delaware, expires at 12:00 PM on the thirtieth day from date of issue. ALL states issue transit tags for a period of at least thirty days, some are issued for longer periods.

mike hunt

"Oliver B. Lafferty" wrote:

Not quite all. Massachusetts requires 3 days to either get a new reg or xfer an old one. No "paper plates" there.

-psmith

[snip]

You are referring to an in state registration, not a transit tag. If you will take the time to do a little research you will find Massachusetts does indeed issue a transit tag, good for thirty days.

mike hunt

Phil Smith wrote:

Well, no they don't. See

to discover that section 2 of Chapter 90 of the Massachusetts General Laws does not allow the issuance of temporary registrations. Regardless of whether the replacement vehicle was purchased in-state or out-of-state, you get 7 days to transfer the existing registration to the replacement vehicle. Same plate, different wheels. You even have to see your insurance agent first to make sure the replacement vehicle is insured before a registration document can be prepared. On a non-dealer sale, the insurance agent actually prepares the registration application. How it works is explained in more detail at

-psmith