I'm about to be a scofflaw, because laws are dumb

EvanR wrote: No way around it. Fly-n-buy next week takes me from Seattle back to Las Vegas. Two possible routes back, one takes me through Oregon, the other through Idaho. Washington will issue me a 3-day temporary plate, but it's only valid IN THE STATE OF WASHINGTON. Nevada won't issue me anything at all before I leave, because even a temporary plate requires a title and a VIN inspection. I could get the title, I suppose, but I can't get a VIN inspection until I'm actually in Nevada, so no luck there. Anybody else see the dilemma? Fortunately, the state of Washington does not require the seller to turn in the license plate. All she has to do is submit a form online saying she's sold the car. No way around it. I have to drive this car without registration across state lines. Illegal as all getout, but there doesn't seem to be any other way. At least I'll have a valid *looking* plate, but you can bet your butt I'll be driving at posted speed limits, at least until I can get to the first Nevada DMV office, which is either in Reno or Winnemucca, depending on route. Boy, laws are dumb.

as long as you have the signed bill of sale AND proof of ins for the car in question (VIN noted on the proof of ins) you should be fine …

while NC isn't where you are, I've asked the question here … from both SHP and small town, we're here to bust your arse, cops … and the answer has always been the same … bill of sale and proof of ins … also, if stopped, a lack of attitude really helps when you're presenting this pieces of paper (and NOT giving them a reason to stop you due to how you're driving)

cwh wrote: My only input is personal experience. Bought a van from a client. They could not find title. Screw it, I want to go to Key West. Took MD tag from my 280ZX, got as far as Tavernier in the keys before being pulled over. It appears that Attaching Tag Not Assigned in Florida is close to manslaughter to the cops. Spent the night in jail. Appeared before Judge Ronald Reagan (no joke) with a letter from my client. Charges were dropped. Will never do that again. Suggest that you do not either.

yep … putting a tag on a car that belongs on another car, WILL land you in jail in most cases

If you are going to be breaking the law anyway, do you mind running interference for my friend Snowman? He is carrying a truck load of Coors and needs somebody to keep Smokey off his tail.

If the previous owner leaves the tag on the car and you haven't transferred the title you aren't breaking any laws, you are just driving someone else's car. You can get pulled over, get tickets, etc... the tag should't even be an issue. Convincing the seller that you won't take advantage of the anonymity and go on a giant Blues Brothers cross country police chase with their car and tag is up to you.

We got a brand new rental (5 miles on it) and it didn't have plates on it. I mentioned it to the rental guy at the gate and he said it was because it was brand new!?!?! Whatever. We then drove for 3 days from Las Vegas to San Fran, without plates and without problems.

After living in WA for 30+ years, you just drive the car on the plates it has, with the bill of sale and title. The plates go with the car in any sale there (they aren't turned back into the state upon sale), so they ARE the plates assigned to that car. Yes, you can cross state lines with the plates assigned to that car, and it takes a few days after it's reported sold to get in the system. But, the other thing is that the registration also goes with the car, so that if the registration is good for another few months to a year, you're registration is prorated on the amount the plates have left, so you have a pretty good grace period on the car once you buy it if it's currently registered. Any cop running the pates will se that it's the plates for the car and registered, so driving it is the same as if you were driving it across state lines as a WA state owner of the car. I HIGHLY doubt you woud be pulled over if you are driving at legal speeds, as they'd have no reason to even be suspicious if they ran the plate during your trip, in any state, any more than anyone from WA making that trip in their own car.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ This, you could cause yourself some serious brain damage (besides the loss of time and coin) trying to obtain letter of the law compliance in multiple states.

If the registration is good get some insurance and have your documentation in hand, and drive it like you stole it!

"Was I really going that fast Sir?" "I just bought it, speedo must be off, I'll get that fixed right away."

Chris_V wrote: After living in WA for 30+ years, you just drive the car on the plates it has, with the bill of sale and title. The plates go with the car in any sale there (they aren't turned back into the state upon sale), so they ARE the plates assigned to that car.

Good info and thanks, Chris. However, it appears those rules changed on 1/1/15, but It's not quite clear if what you say still holds true under the new rules.

OTOH, according to the WA DOL website:

"What is a trip permit?

They allow you to operate your unlicensed vehicles on public highways. A vehicle is considered unlicensed if:

The vehicle tabs are expired.
or
The current gross weight isn’t enough for the load being carried.

The cost is $30/per permit."

So, if this is the case, and the vehicle tabs are UN-expired, then it appears you are 100% correct. It doesn't seem to matter who the plates/tabs are registered TO, just that they are un-expired.

If I read that right, you are 100% correct - I can drive the car on ANY un-expired plate.

You should get one of these to run interference for you:

I would contact the DMV in each state. Chances are you'll get bogus info from some of them, but multiple calls should get you a conglomerate of information that may be useful. Record their names and the time of the call in case you get into any trouble.

Actually, that's not true at all. What I would do is drive the speed limit and anticipate any fines I get as part of the purchase price.

But I've never had any trouble with signed title and bill of sale. This type of thing is such a pain and I've encountered it so many times.

Bought a boat in MD. Since it was a 1983 boat, it wasn't titled. Tried to title it in TX and all they had was a reference that said "yes MD boats are titled" which is true since about 1992. So I had to petition MD, put an ad in the legal section of the paper, wait 30 days, etc. Fortunately I found a sympathetic person in MD who just made up a title for me.

Bought a parts car in NJ, took off my parts, then tried to scrap it in PA. PA requires a notarized title. NJ doesn't notarize titles. So no notary would stamp it since its illegal to notarize something that doesn't have a spot for notary. Ended up having to go to the DOT and get a scrap certificate.... which required no proof that I bought it, no proof of tax paid, and no fee. They verified the VIN but they had no idea if I just stole it from someone's driveway. Odd.

When states have different laws, it gets so hairy. I hate jumping through hoops.

sounds similar to what I went through with my boat.

My sea Sprite was built in 1963. Boats that old do not VINs (or HINS in the case of a boat). New York also does not issue HINS or titles for boats that old. All you need is a Bill of Sale. New Jersey wants both a HIN and a title so I could get it titled and registered here. It finally took my going to a supervisor to find out that I needed to take the boat to the State Marine Police to have them look it over, make sure it was not stolen, and then they would issue my boat a HIN and the rest would be hunky dory.. it took several trips to the DMV to wade through that mess

In reply to mad_machine:

Hunky dory....is that the name of your boat?