Registering a car in the US with expired registration from Canada

December 1, 2015 2:47 PM

My partner moved from Ontario to Massachusetts two years back. His car was registered in Canada. He put his certificate in the washer and it came out in pieces that he taped together. MA didn't accept this torn up certificate when he tried to register the car, and ON was unresponsive about mailing a new certificate, so he procrastinated the registration. Meanwhile, we just realized that the ON registration expired a few months back, so he shouldn't even be driving this car. What are his options now to get the car registered in MA?
posted by redlines to Law & Government (4 answers total)

You can renew your sticker on-line in Ontario. Does he have someone at an address in Ontario that he can use? Also, hopefully he doesn't need an inspection certificate.

Once you've renewed, get the sticker/registration and take it to MA DMV.

Is this a PITA? Yes. It's the tax you pay when you don't take care of things when you're supposed to.
posted by Ruthless Bunny at 2:56 PM on December 1, 2015

The DMV will have a procedure for registering cars that are not currently on the road. If that process (whatever it is) won't work for you, you may be able to have him "sell" the car to you and you can register it with the title and bill of sale.
posted by metasarah at 3:25 PM on December 1, 2015

Be warned that registering Canadian-market cars in the US can be impossible in at least some cases. My step-mother had a Hyundai SUV that was purchased in Ontario was ineligible for registration in Maryland due to the lack of documentation indicating the car was in compliance with US safety standards. I'm unclear if this was a Maryland issue or a US issue; I can check if you are interested.
posted by Alterscape at 4:31 PM on December 1, 2015

A car that is registered in Ontario will not have a separate document representing title, only a transferable registration permit. You need to get Ontario to replace this for you. As a footnote on ServiceOntario's page on "Renew or replace a licence plate sticker: outside Ontario":

Replace a vehicle registration permit (green ownership document)

Please call ServiceOntario at 416-235-2999 or toll-free at 1-800-387-3445 (within Canada) to find out what you need to replace a permit, if you are outside Ontario.

Since your partner has probably dealt with ServiceOntario before, he knows what a pain this will be. I wish him luck.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection has a page on Importing a Motor Vehicle that describes other regulations you will have to meet to import a car.
posted by grouse at 5:46 PM on December 1, 2015