When Do I Have To Register My Car

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After buying a car, it may seem like your work is washed. But ane of the most important tasks to tackle afterwards is vehicle registration.

Vehicle registration connects a car to its owner. Each country requires you, past law, to get your car registered with your state's Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) or transportation agency.

If you allow your registration to lapse or don't register your car, you could face punishment fees and vehicle impoundment, so yous don't want to drop the ball on this.

Here we'll review what vehicle registration is and how to get your car registered. Nosotros'll also provide an overview of the paperwork you lot might need, and review how to become an thought of the cost to register a vehicle.

How vehicle registration works
How to register your vehicle
What does vehicle registration cost?

How vehicle registration works

Depending on the state, you must register a vehicle you ain or operate with your state's DMV or transportation agency. Here are a few common scenarios where you typically need to annals a car.

When yous purchase a new automobile: If you buy through a dealership, they'll ordinarily handle the title and registration for you. Simply if you buy from a private seller, you volition likely need to accept care of the registration yourself.
If you move to a new state: Unless you're a full-time student or active military, you volition demand to annals your car afterwards you move.
Almanac or biennial registration renewal: Depending on the state you alive in, you'll demand to renew your vehicle's registration every few years — cheque your land'south law to confirm how often.

The get-go time yous register your auto, you'll receive a license plate for your vehicle and a registration card. Some states besides requite you a registration sticker that needs to be fastened to your vehicle'south license plate or window.

When you renew your registration, you'll receive a new sticker — if your state issues them —and registration card. Depending on your land's laws, you lot may be required to keep the registration bill of fare with you when operating your vehicle.

Stay current to avoid penalties

Vehicle registration needs to exist renewed yearly or every few years, depending on the state you live in. And you lot may need to pay a fee each fourth dimension yous renew the registration.

If your registration isn't electric current and you get pulled over, you could get a ticket and have to pay a penalization. Your state'due south DMV or transportation agency might also accuse penalties for expired registration. Not keeping your registration could lead to problems downwardly the line, and may even cause your car insurance rates to increase.

On meridian of fees, your car could be impounded. If this happens, the vehicle tin can exist held until all fines and registration fees are paid. You lot may besides have to pay towing and impound fees.

How to register your vehicle

To learn how to register your auto in your state, contact your land's DMV or transportation bureau, or visit their website. Registration can commonly exist handled in person, past post or online. For get-go-time registration, some states might crave you to handle the process in person.

Documents for vehicle registration

When registering your car for the beginning time, you'll need to provide some paperwork. These documents might include …

Your driver's license or non-commuter identification bill of fare
Proof of insurance, if y'all alive in a state where automobile insurance is legally required
Proof of sales tax payment
Car title, if you ain or are financing the vehicle. If the vehicle is leased, you may need to provide a copy of the signed charter agreement.
Proof that your car has passed a vehicle safety inspection, if your land requires information technology
Proof that your car has passed a smog test, depending on the age of your vehicle, in some states
Vehicle registration application form

For registration renewals by post, you lot may demand to verify your personal and vehicle information on the renewal form and submit the registration fee by postal service along with your paperwork. You might also demand to pay whatsoever property taxes at that time and pass an emissions inspection or smog test by a specified deadline — which may be outlined on the registration form.

With an online renewal, you might demand some or all of the following information on hand:

Car'southward vehicle identification number
License plate number
Driver's license number
Car insurance details
Current vehicle registration card

Make sure to check your state's DMV or transportation bureau website to get a total list of what you lot'll need to renew your registration.

What does vehicle registration price?

Registration fees and other charges paid to your state DMV or transportation agency can exist used to fund those organizations then they can go along to provide vital services. The income might likewise help fund urban center and county services — or the superhighway patrol and state highways, too.

These DMV fees differ from country to land, and the style they're calculated varies.

Some states charge a flat registration fee for all vehicles, while others summate fees based on a number of factors: The motorcar's electric current value, age, weight or fuel efficiency; the total number of cars registered in your name; or even the vehicle's horsepower.

The differences in the corporeality charged across various states can be significant. For case, Kentucky drivers could pay around $21 for vehicle registration. Only in Montana, you can pay more than than ten times that – $217 – to annals a car that's under 4 years sometime.

You can determine registration fees in your neck of the woods past visiting your state'southward DMV or transportation agency website. The American Auto Clan (AAA) maintains a nautical chart that provides information on how registration costs are calculated in each state.

Side by side steps

Getting your car registered for the first time or renewing your registration may seem like a hassle, but completing this on time could save yous some serious cash.

Before y'all head to your state DMV or transportation agency website, make sure you lot accept all the necessary paperwork along with funds for the registration fee and any property taxes. This will assist make the process as efficient as possible.

If you lot haven't bought your car even so, remember to ready bated a petty extra money in your budget to cover registration costs.

About the author: Warren Clarke is a author whose work has been published by Edmunds.com and the New York Daily News. He enjoys providing readers with information that can brand their lives happier and more than expansive. Warren holds a Bac… Read more.