What happens if you don't renew your license plate sticker?

Answer 1

If you fail to renew your vehicle registration, you are driving an unregistered vehicle. That's a violation of the vehicle code in every state. You can be cited, and, if the "lapse" is severe, you can have your vehicle towed away and impounded. That costs big, big bucks. Your new registration, when you go get it, will come at a penalty. You will be given a "late fee" at the motor vehicles department. And that's if you haven't gotten a ticket to motivate you to do it sooner. The ticket may or may not cost you money, but you'll certainly pay more for a "late registration" than you would have if you'd been on time. But there are other problems. If you have an accident while "between registrations" as it were, your headaches will greatly increase. Insurance may not cover you in a situation like this. And that makes it very important that you get a new sticker ASAP. Certainly law enforcement officers hand out tickets by the handful to folks who have let their registrations lapse, but don't be one of them. Work at keeping things current. It is cheaper and a lot less of a hassle to do so. And you can avoid some major headaches (read: consequences) by taking care of business as required. Good luck covering all the bases.