Does a Ticket for Expired Tags Affect Insurance Rates?

Holding a driver's license comes with responsibilities. Among those responsibilities is registering your vehicle. All drivers are responsible for keeping their vehicles registered in their state of residence.

What does that have to do with auto insurance?

The role of auto insurance companies extends beyond issuing you an auto insurance policy and collecting premiums or paying claims. In general, insurance companies work closely with the state’s department of motor vehicles to improve public safety. One of these combined efforts aims to ensure that all vehicles are safe and roadworthy. To encourage safe driving and prevent drivers from driving improperly registered vehicles, insurance companies usually increase your rates if you get a ticket for expired tags.

What Happens When You’re Pulled Over with Expired Tags

Car owners are responsible for ensuring their cars are properly registered with their license plates properly displayed. State motor vehicle departments may send out a reminder when it's time to renew their registration. However, even if a car owner does not receive or see a renewal reminder, they are still legally responsible for the car’s state registration.

If you get pulled over by a police officer for speeding, a safety check, or anything else, they will verify your registration. If a police officer finds that your car is not registered, there are a couple of ways they may address the situation.

There are five things that could happen if you get caught with expired tags:

You could receive a ticket or warning. While there are no legitimate excuses for allowing your tags to expire, it's something police officers encounter quite often. If the tags fairly recently, the officer may choose to issue you a verbal warning. Alternatively, the officer could issue you a ticket. The fee you have to pay may be higher if your registration date is long overdue.
You could have to pay a penalty to re-register your car. Your state department of motor vehicles may require you to pay a fine to get your car re-registered. The fine could be in direct proportion to the length of time your tags have expired.
The officer could have your car impounded. Police officers are responsible for ensuring all vehicles on the road can be safely operated. Having expired tags may be an invitation for a police officer to take a closer inspection of your vehicle. If your car has broken lights or is otherwise damaged and the officer believes it is a hazard to you or others on the road, the officer can legally impound your car. If this happens, you'll have to pay storage, towing, a release fee in addition to a potential ticket.
You might be assigned a court hearing. A police officer could assign you a date for a court hearing. Even if you have re-registered your car beforehand, you must attend the court hearing. If you pay your fees and promptly take care of the registration issue, there's a chance the judge may decide to dismiss your ticket.
You may be taken to jail. It is against the law to drive a car without registering it. In most states, driving with expired tags is considered a non-moving violation. This is not an extreme offense and sending you to jail isn’t usually on a police officer's radar. However, when taken in the context of other driving offenses, such as driving with an expired driver's license or not being able to show proof of auto insurance, a police officer may arrest you and take you to jail, though this would be a more extreme and rare situation.

What You Should Do After You’ve Been Pulled Over with Expired Tags

Whether you can't find your registration card or you failed to renew expired tags, you will need to respond to the officer's request to produce it. Here are some things you can do when faced with an officer asking for your registration.

Prove You Have a Current Registration Card.

Explain to the officer that your car is registered, and while you cannot find proof of the registration immediately, you are willing to try. Here are some ways you can make that effort:

Call a family member or friend and ask them to find your registration and send you a photo of it.
Call the department of motor vehicles and see if they can track your registration by the vehicle identification number (VIN).
Check your department of vehicles website to see if you can pull up your registration online.
Check to see if your state has a grace period for getting registration.

Immediately Take Steps to Update Your Tags.

Ask the officer for time to register your tags. They may or may not allow you to, so if they do, be sure to take care of it at your earliest opportunity.

Register online, if possible, and print your receipt.
Go to the DMV and register in person.
Send in your payment with your renewal notice by mail and keep a copy of your check.
Use a self-service kiosk if your DMV offers one.

Attend Your Court Hearing on Time.

You should address a traffic court hearing with the same level of importance as any other court hearing. Failing to attend may put you in violation of the law.

Take careful note of the date, time, and location.
You may ask an attorney to attend with you.
Be early so you don’t risk being absent when your name is called.
Dress appropriately for the hearing to show respect for the court.
Show proper respect for the police officer, judge, and others in the court.
Listen carefully to the judge's decision and instructions.
If you are unsure of anything, be sure to ask.

Police officers and judges will often be more lenient on cooperative drivers who demonstrate they are doing their best to comply with the law. Be sure to do your part to show you are willing to take care of your responsibilities.

How Much Is a Ticket for Expired Registration?

Depending on where you live, expired registration could result in a ticket ranging from $25 to over $200. In addition to the ticket, your auto insurance company will periodically check your driving record for tickets and accidents. Therefore, upon discovering a ticket for expired tags, they could increase your rates, and you may lose safe driver discounts.

Get Auto Insurance Coverage through Clearcover

Don't be surprised if an auto insurance company is not willing to insure your car without the proper registration in place. Call or visit your local DMV to start the process if you can't do it online.

Maintaining proper vehicle registration is an important responsibility of car ownership. You should keep your tags displayed properly at all times. The ticket fees, fines, and court costs can add up quickly if you get caught with expired tags, and your insurance rates will probably go up too.

Driving can be expensive, so it's always a good idea to save wherever you can. If you're facing an insurance rate increase due to registration issues, explore your options and see what you can save with Clearcover—it’s easy to make the switch. Take control of your coverage and get a free no-obligation quote from Clearcover today!