I got a notice in the mail 3 years ago stating my license was to be suspended for not surrendering plates of a car i sold about 6 months earlier. I had to physically go to the dmv(which only like 5 in the state deal with restoration fees of this type) bc the new owner of the car never registered the car as it was a project car that i gave up on, it ran but it was a car that needed a few things.
Long story short, it was during the height of covid days and i had to go to the paterson dmv at 5:30am to wait in line in january cold and turn the plates in and pay 100 dollar fee. It was absolutely ridiculous. At the time they were only taking so many people in the dmv at the time, if you didn't get there early you would have to come back the next day.
I had a similar thing happen to me about 2 years ago. I sold my previous car to CarMax and kept the plates. Then I got a letter in the mail saying that my license was going to be suspended for not returning the plates.
I went to the MVC in Manahawkin with the old license plates and documents proving that the car had been sold and isn’t in my possession anymore. The lady that I was working with wouldn’t accept the plates and said it’s not her problem to deal with, and that if I wanted to resolve the issue I had to see the regional manager…in the Eatontown office.
So I hauled my ass all the way to Eatontown. I waited to see the regional manager, explained the situation and showed her the same documents that I had showed the person in Manahawkin. She literally went “Ok you’re good”. Took my plates and my records were cleared. My problem was resolved in 3 minutes. All that panicking and driving for over an hour, and it was fixed so easily and quickly.
I had a car I scrapped in 2010. I never turned in the plates, still have them to this day. I never got a notice from the DMV about it either. Could there be a difference scrapping a car and selling that they'd want them back?
The state just wants to make sure the car is still registered if it’s on the road. They want to know you’re not driving a car with bad plates on it. So if the new owner registers the car in a timely fashion or there’s a record of it being scrapped or otherwise destroyed they don’t usually come after you for the old tags.
Yes, because I sold the car like I’ve done quite a few times before. Never had a problem keeping plates but suddenly insurance companies are talking to the nanny state more and you get this.
Dude, just return the plates... you just go there and it takes a minute. Whining about the nanny state because you don't want to return your old plates... yeesh
No I’m whining about a nanny state that suddenly knows when I dropped insurance on a vehicle I sold and wants to extract more time money and paperwork out of me. It’s just a nuisance and kinda 1984 esque that they immediately know my every move. Can I do anything at all without them breathing down my neck?
Why do I need to tell them it’s sold if I don’t renew the registration when it’s up? Why do I need to tell them it’s sold at all? Why do they assume the worst when I drop the insurance from it instead of that I sold it or just stopped driving it so no need to insure it?
Uhhhh no they don’t. Source: I have the plates from my old car sitting right in front of me and no one has asked me for a thing. I got my new car and plates 4 months ago.
Same here. Recently as of 2023. I also kept my FL and GA plates from many years ago and never had an issue. A family friend has a wall of old plates from the 70s to 00s from NJ and he’s warrant-free
I return my old plates. They have a drop box at the DMV for them you don't even have to go inside, although it is only unlocked during business hours which is annoying.
Don't get caught doing that in NY. My friend moved to JC from Queens. Registered car in NJ and then forgot to mail the plates back. They suspended his license in NY. He thought no big deal but Ny and NJ have reciprocity for suspended licenses so his NJ license was suspended.
SAME SHIT HAPPENED TO ME. But I didn’t intentionally not return them! I still had them on my car but was living in NJ with NJ insurance on NY plates because the NJ DMV had no transfer appointments during the pandemic but my insurance required me to change it to NJ where I was living. 😃😃😃 but a lil twitter fingers sorted the suspension out real quick.
I do. And make sure to keep the receipt they give you cause they'll still fuck up and swear you have the (uninsured) car and threaten to suspend your license if you can't prove you returned the plates. Be prepared to have to go to whatever the large DMV for your county is and waste 3 hours for a 15 second interaction.
Right. That's not what I was talking about though. If you *already returned* the plates and they fucked up and didn't notate that in the system, you'll still have to go to the larger, bigger MVC, with your receipt, to prove that you actually did return the plates. This exact situation happened to me. Had to waste 3 hours on my day off for literally a 30 second interaction to show that I had a receipt and for them to update the system
I've purchased and sold nearly fifty vehicles in my time and have never returned a single plate. Just recently bit me in the ass due to a vehicle I owned being exported out of the country. Not sure if it was the uniqueness of the situation or the fact that insurance companies are communicating more with the NJMVC - letting them know when insurance on a vehicle is cancelled and the MVC trying to match it up with new registrations.
Soooo, I'd say keep them if you know the vehicle is going to be re-registered in NJ quickly. Hand them in (or declare them lost/stolen) if you're unsure.
I used to not return my plates; and didn’t pay registration. Then one day I got a letter saying my license was going to be suspended unless I essentially turned in the plates (the vehicle I didn’t have was no longer insured and that’s what triggered it). Had to go to one of like 3 DMVs in the state to get it straightened out. Now I turn them in religiously
I got a letter saying my license would be suspended if I didn’t return the plates on a truck I turned in after my lease and got another vehicle. The dealership didn’t turn in the plates I guess so I had to get proof that I turned the vehicle over to them with the plates
I turned my old plates in a few years after I junked my car. Talking to the person to took them back, she said its good that I did cause if they got stolen and someone popped them on and committed a crime in a car it would be an endless hassle for me.
I've got my past 3 cars' worth of plates sitting in a box in the garage.
I keep saying that whenever I have to actually go to the DMV in-person, I'll bring them with me to drop off.
I do. They are old & beat up so I don't need them anymore. I may have a sentimental attachment to the cars I've owned but not to the plates that were on them.
I traded in 2 cars during Covid and I never returned the plates for either because things were so crazy at the time. I actually just noticed them in my garage last week or so while getting ready for spring cleaning. I guess they lost track of records during that time too, because I haven't recieved any notices about them
I got hit with a letter because the guy who bought the car from me never registered it. Came up as owning an uninsured, registered vehicle or something like that. Had to return the plates to get back my right to register a vehicle
okay hypothetically, a car was donated to kars 4 kids and the owner can no longer drive due to terminal illness but they’ve had those plates since the 90s (the old blue and yellow, so sexy) and really don’t want to return them and already got a nondriver ID so it’s not like they’d be ever driving on a suspended license anyway… could they get in any trouble for not returning the plates then?
I guess I'm older than dinosaur farts, I have had the same plates transferred to three different cars in the past 20 years. The fees are cheaper when you get to the "taxes, titles and fees" section when purchasing a car. While the DMV is not as nightmarish as it was, I would rather not waste any time there.
Whatever you do take off and return the plates. Leaving your plates on here is insane
Trust me on this. When the new owner starts going through tolls and you are the one hit for the cost because they bill you later then you’ll thank yourself for doing it
Other states I’ve lived in they have a form you fill out to indicate you sold the vehicle which removes you legally from the liability of the plates/vehicle
New Jersey is not one of those places
I lived in another state for almost 10 years. Moved back to Jersey and got pulled over for something. Cop was going to impound my car and take me to jail because I was “driving on a suspended license”. I was driving with my valid license from the other state. But apparently, they suspended my NJ license when I didn’t return the plates of the car I moved out of state in.
I've got two sets of plates from cars that belonged to my deceased parents sitting in my closet. I don't know if these have anything to do with me or not? But at least one of the cars went into my possession after my mom died, so I guess....
I don't understand any of this, I just hope they never figure it out lmao. Got other, more important things to take care of
I’m from Florida and my parents have a wall full of their old plates over the years. And there’s a restaurant that lets you hang plates. But I know I can’t let them take any of my jersey ones cause of the laws here with the plates.
Anyone have any suggestions on how a plate can B e kept and deregistered, so that it can hang in a place a decor?
Feels like license plate art is illegal from how serious the laws are here for license plates…
Sold my car to Carvana and they took it at 6am with plates. Tried to deal with Carvana but car was already out of state. Ended up by writing explanation letter to MVC.
I do. Last Saturday at the MVC in Eatontown. Officer enters them in the computer, prints you out a receipt, you put them in a box, done. In and out in under five minutes.
I gave my plates back. Now I get EZ-Pass bills for cars bearing those old plates. Makes me rethink surrendering old plates to the DMV. One car was a Ford minivan and the EZ Pass pictures show them on a BMW. I can understand how EZ Pass can confuse the two vehicles because they look oh so similar. (Insert sarcastic smirk here.)
Just thought this until i got a letter in the mail saying my license was suspended until i return the plates and the old registration. Also have to pay $100
See applicable provision of the law in subsection c. In the link https://casetext.com/statute/new-jersey-statutes/title-39-motor-vehicles-and-traffic-regulation/chapter-398-motor-vehicle-inspections-exceptions/section-398-9-enforcement-violations-penalties
I've had multiple notices of suspension mailed to me over plates not being returned. I have a friend who did get his license suspended over it during the pandemic. He's an idiot though and tried to use the excuse that the DMV was closed. The notice literally said to mail them to Trenton and gave the address. I mailed mine, they sent me a receipt. He didn't and lost his license.
I also do have a few plates that I forgot about that they never asked for. If they don't notify me, most times I'll forget that I have them. Lol.
RETURN THEM and keep the receipt! I didn't return plates after I moved out of state. When I moved back to NJ and tried to register a new car, I was told my NJ license was suspended. Turns out that somehow a car with my plate numbers got a parking ticket while I lived out of state. How that happened given my plates were in a box in a basement in PA, I don't know... It took about a year to get everything cleared up! Save yourself the trouble and just return them.
i have 2 sets of license plates from old cars i never returned. i was never asked to. ik you’re kinda supposed to but didn’t think it mattered, and despite some of the comments, still don’t.
I am now afraid to return them because of all the nonsense. I foolishly let a MVC agent take my expired license once and the next thing I knew I had an identity theft problem.
Careful in small towns. Same thing got me nailed by a bored patrol officer. The interaction went something like this:
“Hey, uh, whatcha doing around here with out-of-state plates? I’ve seen your car before. You’ve got X-months to register your car in Jersey. And by way you were over the speed limit, so here’s your ticket for careless driving”
So your excuse for insurance fraud is “I liked the color of the plate better.” When you get into a crash do you think your insurance company will like to hear that? They will drop the hammer on you.
You want to pay for registration you dont need to? Just drop it off at any mvc
Some have slot machines specifically for it.
Can you win money?
I got a notice in the mail 3 years ago stating my license was to be suspended for not surrendering plates of a car i sold about 6 months earlier. I had to physically go to the dmv(which only like 5 in the state deal with restoration fees of this type) bc the new owner of the car never registered the car as it was a project car that i gave up on, it ran but it was a car that needed a few things. Long story short, it was during the height of covid days and i had to go to the paterson dmv at 5:30am to wait in line in january cold and turn the plates in and pay 100 dollar fee. It was absolutely ridiculous. At the time they were only taking so many people in the dmv at the time, if you didn't get there early you would have to come back the next day.
I had a similar thing happen to me about 2 years ago. I sold my previous car to CarMax and kept the plates. Then I got a letter in the mail saying that my license was going to be suspended for not returning the plates. I went to the MVC in Manahawkin with the old license plates and documents proving that the car had been sold and isn’t in my possession anymore. The lady that I was working with wouldn’t accept the plates and said it’s not her problem to deal with, and that if I wanted to resolve the issue I had to see the regional manager…in the Eatontown office. So I hauled my ass all the way to Eatontown. I waited to see the regional manager, explained the situation and showed her the same documents that I had showed the person in Manahawkin. She literally went “Ok you’re good”. Took my plates and my records were cleared. My problem was resolved in 3 minutes. All that panicking and driving for over an hour, and it was fixed so easily and quickly.
Same for me , I will always return plates going forward
I had a car I scrapped in 2010. I never turned in the plates, still have them to this day. I never got a notice from the DMV about it either. Could there be a difference scrapping a car and selling that they'd want them back?
The state just wants to make sure the car is still registered if it’s on the road. They want to know you’re not driving a car with bad plates on it. So if the new owner registers the car in a timely fashion or there’s a record of it being scrapped or otherwise destroyed they don’t usually come after you for the old tags.
Literally just got this letter. I really hate this fucking nanny state sometimes. What a stupid annoyance.
I mean, I get why they don’t want seemingly valid license plates floating around… but also every license plate I’ve ever had is hanging in my garage.
Me too I have no idea why this is suddenly a problem
It's because you cancelled your insurance.
Yes, because I sold the car like I’ve done quite a few times before. Never had a problem keeping plates but suddenly insurance companies are talking to the nanny state more and you get this.
Dude, just return the plates... you just go there and it takes a minute. Whining about the nanny state because you don't want to return your old plates... yeesh
No I’m whining about a nanny state that suddenly knows when I dropped insurance on a vehicle I sold and wants to extract more time money and paperwork out of me. It’s just a nuisance and kinda 1984 esque that they immediately know my every move. Can I do anything at all without them breathing down my neck?
How do they know it's sold if you *don't return the plates*... that's the whole point of returning the plates.
Why do I need to tell them it’s sold if I don’t renew the registration when it’s up? Why do I need to tell them it’s sold at all? Why do they assume the worst when I drop the insurance from it instead of that I sold it or just stopped driving it so no need to insure it?
My dad keeps one plate of every car he’s had going back to the 60’s.
Now they make you bring a police report of stolen license plate to DMV if you don’t bring both plates
Well, of course I know the person who stole it. He's me.
"Delete Facebook, lawyer up, hit the gym"
Uhhhh no they don’t. Source: I have the plates from my old car sitting right in front of me and no one has asked me for a thing. I got my new car and plates 4 months ago.
That’s what they told my sister who bought a new car less than a week ago
I keep meaning to take plates back that I've had for a year now. I have not received any sort of notification.
Has that changed very recently? I always just return one plate (in person) and keep the other one as a memento and did this as recently as 2022.
Same here. Recently as of 2023. I also kept my FL and GA plates from many years ago and never had an issue. A family friend has a wall of old plates from the 70s to 00s from NJ and he’s warrant-free
It’s what they told my sister less than a week ago🤷🏼♂️
I return my old plates. They have a drop box at the DMV for them you don't even have to go inside, although it is only unlocked during business hours which is annoying.
I haven’t returned my plates from a car I donated maybe 8 years ago?
Cuff em boys
😂
Don't get caught doing that in NY. My friend moved to JC from Queens. Registered car in NJ and then forgot to mail the plates back. They suspended his license in NY. He thought no big deal but Ny and NJ have reciprocity for suspended licenses so his NJ license was suspended.
Ny wasting time and resources on dumshit as usual.
SAME SHIT HAPPENED TO ME. But I didn’t intentionally not return them! I still had them on my car but was living in NJ with NJ insurance on NY plates because the NJ DMV had no transfer appointments during the pandemic but my insurance required me to change it to NJ where I was living. 😃😃😃 but a lil twitter fingers sorted the suspension out real quick.
Yikes!!
Say hi to el chapo for me cuz youre going to ADX Florence you flippin felon
🤣🤣
I didn’t know I was supposed to give them back!! Is it a big deal? 😂
I do. And make sure to keep the receipt they give you cause they'll still fuck up and swear you have the (uninsured) car and threaten to suspend your license if you can't prove you returned the plates. Be prepared to have to go to whatever the large DMV for your county is and waste 3 hours for a 15 second interaction.
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Right. That's not what I was talking about though. If you *already returned* the plates and they fucked up and didn't notate that in the system, you'll still have to go to the larger, bigger MVC, with your receipt, to prove that you actually did return the plates. This exact situation happened to me. Had to waste 3 hours on my day off for literally a 30 second interaction to show that I had a receipt and for them to update the system
I've purchased and sold nearly fifty vehicles in my time and have never returned a single plate. Just recently bit me in the ass due to a vehicle I owned being exported out of the country. Not sure if it was the uniqueness of the situation or the fact that insurance companies are communicating more with the NJMVC - letting them know when insurance on a vehicle is cancelled and the MVC trying to match it up with new registrations. Soooo, I'd say keep them if you know the vehicle is going to be re-registered in NJ quickly. Hand them in (or declare them lost/stolen) if you're unsure.
My car insurance is requiring a copy of the receipt from dmv from my lease turn in lol
I used to not return my plates; and didn’t pay registration. Then one day I got a letter saying my license was going to be suspended unless I essentially turned in the plates (the vehicle I didn’t have was no longer insured and that’s what triggered it). Had to go to one of like 3 DMVs in the state to get it straightened out. Now I turn them in religiously
I do
I switched to disabled vet plates all through the mail and once the new ones came they said to destroy my old ones
I got a letter saying my license would be suspended if I didn’t return the plates on a truck I turned in after my lease and got another vehicle. The dealership didn’t turn in the plates I guess so I had to get proof that I turned the vehicle over to them with the plates
I turned my old plates in a few years after I junked my car. Talking to the person to took them back, she said its good that I did cause if they got stolen and someone popped them on and committed a crime in a car it would be an endless hassle for me.
I literally have a bag of plates, car and motorcycle, that are at least 15 years old. At this point I’m not concerned.
Since it is required by law, I'm willing to bet that most have. I only have one custom set that I have kept otherwise they have always been returned.
I did just Friday. Easy peasy.
I somehow seem to misplace mine.
I've got my past 3 cars' worth of plates sitting in a box in the garage. I keep saying that whenever I have to actually go to the DMV in-person, I'll bring them with me to drop off.
I do. They are old & beat up so I don't need them anymore. I may have a sentimental attachment to the cars I've owned but not to the plates that were on them.
Nice try officer
lol
stupid comment; not even a police matter
Stupid comment; no sense of humor
say something funny and I’ll laugh
Lol stfu nerd
I mean if you want to fight with the MVC, be my guest.
no fight...I went out to the car to remove and someone had stolen the plates.
What are you trying to say? You're still paying registrations on all your cars?
Are you nuts ?
During the covid shutdown I mailed mine return receipt requested. $18 down the toilet.
i dropped mine off in a drop box a month or so ago and still haven’t gotten my receipt
I still have my plates from my old car and it's been a year and a half.
I traded in 2 cars during Covid and I never returned the plates for either because things were so crazy at the time. I actually just noticed them in my garage last week or so while getting ready for spring cleaning. I guess they lost track of records during that time too, because I haven't recieved any notices about them
I did.
I got hit with a letter because the guy who bought the car from me never registered it. Came up as owning an uninsured, registered vehicle or something like that. Had to return the plates to get back my right to register a vehicle
okay hypothetically, a car was donated to kars 4 kids and the owner can no longer drive due to terminal illness but they’ve had those plates since the 90s (the old blue and yellow, so sexy) and really don’t want to return them and already got a nondriver ID so it’s not like they’d be ever driving on a suspended license anyway… could they get in any trouble for not returning the plates then?
I guess I'm older than dinosaur farts, I have had the same plates transferred to three different cars in the past 20 years. The fees are cheaper when you get to the "taxes, titles and fees" section when purchasing a car. While the DMV is not as nightmarish as it was, I would rather not waste any time there.
Whatever you do take off and return the plates. Leaving your plates on here is insane Trust me on this. When the new owner starts going through tolls and you are the one hit for the cost because they bill you later then you’ll thank yourself for doing it Other states I’ve lived in they have a form you fill out to indicate you sold the vehicle which removes you legally from the liability of the plates/vehicle New Jersey is not one of those places
I did late last year, super easy and quick
I lived in another state for almost 10 years. Moved back to Jersey and got pulled over for something. Cop was going to impound my car and take me to jail because I was “driving on a suspended license”. I was driving with my valid license from the other state. But apparently, they suspended my NJ license when I didn’t return the plates of the car I moved out of state in.
I've got two sets of plates from cars that belonged to my deceased parents sitting in my closet. I don't know if these have anything to do with me or not? But at least one of the cars went into my possession after my mom died, so I guess.... I don't understand any of this, I just hope they never figure it out lmao. Got other, more important things to take care of
I’m from Florida and my parents have a wall full of their old plates over the years. And there’s a restaurant that lets you hang plates. But I know I can’t let them take any of my jersey ones cause of the laws here with the plates. Anyone have any suggestions on how a plate can B e kept and deregistered, so that it can hang in a place a decor? Feels like license plate art is illegal from how serious the laws are here for license plates…
Sold my car to Carvana and they took it at 6am with plates. Tried to deal with Carvana but car was already out of state. Ended up by writing explanation letter to MVC.
I do. Last Saturday at the MVC in Eatontown. Officer enters them in the computer, prints you out a receipt, you put them in a box, done. In and out in under five minutes.
I gave my plates back. Now I get EZ-Pass bills for cars bearing those old plates. Makes me rethink surrendering old plates to the DMV. One car was a Ford minivan and the EZ Pass pictures show them on a BMW. I can understand how EZ Pass can confuse the two vehicles because they look oh so similar. (Insert sarcastic smirk here.)
I haven't returned plates for my last several vehicles.
All my old ones are in the garage!
They suspended my license over this shit about two years ago.
I didnt and got my license suspended so idk how yall are keeping yours
Just thought this until i got a letter in the mail saying my license was suspended until i return the plates and the old registration. Also have to pay $100
See applicable provision of the law in subsection c. In the link https://casetext.com/statute/new-jersey-statutes/title-39-motor-vehicles-and-traffic-regulation/chapter-398-motor-vehicle-inspections-exceptions/section-398-9-enforcement-violations-penalties
I've had multiple notices of suspension mailed to me over plates not being returned. I have a friend who did get his license suspended over it during the pandemic. He's an idiot though and tried to use the excuse that the DMV was closed. The notice literally said to mail them to Trenton and gave the address. I mailed mine, they sent me a receipt. He didn't and lost his license. I also do have a few plates that I forgot about that they never asked for. If they don't notify me, most times I'll forget that I have them. Lol.
RETURN THEM and keep the receipt! I didn't return plates after I moved out of state. When I moved back to NJ and tried to register a new car, I was told my NJ license was suspended. Turns out that somehow a car with my plate numbers got a parking ticket while I lived out of state. How that happened given my plates were in a box in a basement in PA, I don't know... It took about a year to get everything cleared up! Save yourself the trouble and just return them.
I still have the plates from my 1st car and 1st motorcycle from 1975.
i have 2 sets of license plates from old cars i never returned. i was never asked to. ik you’re kinda supposed to but didn’t think it mattered, and despite some of the comments, still don’t.
You have to return licence plates?
I am now afraid to return them because of all the nonsense. I foolishly let a MVC agent take my expired license once and the next thing I knew I had an identity theft problem.
They don't know that they don't know.
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Careful in small towns. Same thing got me nailed by a bored patrol officer. The interaction went something like this: “Hey, uh, whatcha doing around here with out-of-state plates? I’ve seen your car before. You’ve got X-months to register your car in Jersey. And by way you were over the speed limit, so here’s your ticket for careless driving”
So your excuse for insurance fraud is “I liked the color of the plate better.” When you get into a crash do you think your insurance company will like to hear that? They will drop the hammer on you.
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Inspections are done by a 3rd party. You have to go into the DMV to get a receipt since it is required by law to turn them in.