How can I drive a car in CA before my license plates arrive in the mail?

September 22, 2009 9:09 PM

I am in California and I am about to buy a car last registered in Michigan. The car is here. In Michigan, the plates follow the owner and therefore the car won't come with any plates. Once I take it to the DMV and register it, will they give me some kind of window sticker or something so I can drive the car around before my CA plates arrive in the mail?
posted by twblalock to Travel & Transportation around California (10 answers total)

Unless Michigan has the same smog requirements as California, you may not be able to register it in CA. Check it out before you buy it.

If you do get registered, then yes, you get a window sticker (well, a bit of paper to put in the window) until the plates arrive.
posted by anadem at 9:15 PM on September 22, 2009

I would suggest you call the CA DMV and ask. In my state the DMV issues temporary cardboard plates to use for 30 or 60 days.
posted by JayRwv at 9:15 PM on September 22, 2009

Response by poster: Some clarifications:

I talked to the DMV and they will register it for me if it passes a CA smog check, which it already has. I forgot to ask them about temporary plates when I was in there, and their phone hotline is unusable.

It is actually easier to register an out-of-state car if it is older rather than newer. If it is new (which, according to the DMV, means it has less than 7,500 miles on it), then it has to have been specifically manufactured to meet California emissions requirements and it has to say so on a sticker under the hood. If it is old, it just needs to pass a standard smog check.
posted by twblalock at 9:30 PM on September 22, 2009

Best answer: You'll get a temporary permit with a giant white number on a red background that you stick in your back window. The number corresponds to the month the permit expires. Perhaps you've seen them around on other cars.
posted by zsazsa at 9:32 PM on September 22, 2009

And don't worry about getting pulled over on the way to getting the temp permit if you don't have any tags just because you don't have plates on your car. Here in CA almost all rental cars don't have license plates, so it isn't going to raise any flags. Kinda blew my mind when I first started driving out here. That being said, of course, don't get pulled over if you don't have the registration - but to ease your mind on the way there.
posted by banannafish at 9:54 PM on September 22, 2009

I am kinda laughing.
In southern Georgia you will often see hand-written scrawl: "Tag Applied For" on random paper products (yes, a plate once) taped to the back of a car and it is all so acceptable and understood. Never questioned.

But yeah, I am hoping the Hungarian is correct

because there HAZ to be a better way
posted by will wait 4 tanjents at 10:03 PM on September 22, 2009

Response by poster: Well, the former owner is going to put the plate on it for me when I take it to the DMV, and then will take the plate back. That way I won't get pulled over.

Of course, I only live about 2 miles from the DMV, so it probably wouldn't matter anyway...

Thanks to all the respondents, and I'll mark this as resolved.
posted by twblalock at 10:28 PM on September 22, 2009

When I registered my WA car in CA, they gave me plates right then and there. They had a big stack of 'em.
posted by jeffamaphone at 11:20 PM on September 22, 2009

When I registered my WA car in CA, they gave me plates right then and there. They had a big stack of 'em.

Same thing here. They even let me borrow a screw driver to put it on.
posted by purplevelvet at 7:34 AM on September 23, 2009

3rding my MA car that I registered in CA in February -- they just handed me plates.
posted by brainmouse at 8:22 AM on September 23, 2009