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Just sold a car...what does the buyer do for a license plate?

post #1 of 9
7/15/09 at 10:15am
Thread Starter 
I guess this is ultimately his problem, but I just sold an SUV of mine last night to a gentleman - or at least agreed upon a price and he gave me some cash to hold the car. I've got a Bill of Sale ready for him to sign and a title in hand ready to sign off to him. Now normally I don't sell my cars by owner, but I'll have to take the license plate off when he signs the documentation tonight...so where does that leave him? He's got about a 30 minute drive back home. Is he just supposed to drive without a plate or is there something else I'm supposed to do?
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post #2 of 9
7/15/09 at 11:05am
that kind of stuff should be posted on your state DMV website with details.

but from my past experience, you are supposed to surrender your license plate back to your DMV, and he should go to your DMV to report the transfer of ownership and apply for a temporary license plate if he resides in another state, he can't go without any license plate at all.
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post #3 of 9
7/15/09 at 11:12am
Some states allow you to just put a piece of cardboard there that says 'license applied for' or some goofy something. Well, maybe they don't, but I see plenty of cars like that on the road
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post #4 of 9
7/15/09 at 11:18am
It's state-dependent. In some, the owner has to go to the DMV, with the title and proof of insurance, and apply for a new license plate. In these states, you can't drive without a new license plate. In others, you have a few days to get a plate, thus you can just put a note saying that it's been applied for or get a temp plate.
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post #5 of 9
7/15/09 at 12:43pm
You are entitled to a pro-rated refund of your registration fees. Take the plates to the DMV.
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post #6 of 9
7/15/09 at 2:37pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Dakota rube View Post
You are entitled to a pro-rated refund of your registration fees. Take the plates to the DMV.

in virginia this only applies if you paid the registration fees less than 6 months ago. after 6 months, no pro-rated refund. so don't bother waiting in line and taking time off work...
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post #7 of 9
7/15/09 at 3:06pm
You don't say what state you're in, and this is all state dependent. I've bought cars in FL and GA, so I can only speak to their processes. In both, the tag belongs to the person not the vehicle; this means you keep the tag. For the buyer, in Georgia you don't have to have a tag for 30 days after the sale (see my post below), in Florida the new owner has to get a temp tag.

I can't speak to any other states, but that's my experience in those two.

Quote:
Originally Posted by crazyquik View Post
Some states allow you to just put a piece of cardboard there that says 'license applied for' or some goofy something. Well, maybe they don't, but I see plenty of cars like that on the road

In Georgia you don't have to do anything for a tag for 30 days. As long as you keep your bill of sale in the vehicle, you can ride around with no tag at all for 30 days after the sale date with no penalty.
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post #8 of 9
7/15/09 at 6:26pm
Unsurprisingly, the relevant NYS laws are pretty strict. This is a bit long winded but may be useful to someone. The seller needs to remove the plates and registration sticker. The seller then needs to surrender the plates to the DMV and get a receipt. Only that point can the insurance on car be stopped. If you stop the insurance before surrendering plates you can get fined for failure to maintain insurance coverage as well as have the registration suspended for any cars registred in your name as well as your driver's license. The buyer is not supposed to drive the vehicle without first getting insurance under the car's VIN. What a private party buyer would normally do is to pay for the car, get the signed over title and the keys from the seller, contact their insurance company and have them send/fax over a proof of insurance, take the title and proof of insurance to a DMV or one of their agents and get plates and the registration sticker. With those items in hand go back to the sellers place to attach them to the car and you are good to go.
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post #9 of 9
7/17/09 at 8:37am
Keep your plate. He can used the signed title as proof that he just bought the car. Contact your DMV, and fill out the sold car notice.

If he has the plate and or you don't fill out the sold notice, he could speed get tickets and they would all be mailed to you. It happened to a friend.

Take the plate back to the DMW for a plate refund.


Thats how i've done it.
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