arrested driving without tag registration florida?
I bought a car online from Ohio. I have the title from Ohio in my name but I live in Florida so I have to register for the car here. My temporary tag has expired and Ohio law says the car dealership won’t allow me to get a second temporary tag. Well it’s about $400 to register my car in florida and i won’t have that amount of money until February. the 30 days to register the car has passed. So my question is will I get arrested for driving without my tag/registration in florida in the meantime until Feb? or will it be OK since i have the title in my name, just not registered in florida yet.
Entidtil: yeah, well this was my first time buying a car and I was surprised to find out that registration was so much. thanks anyways.
Comments (2)
Yes, You will be arrested for driving an unregistered vehicle. Wouldn’t it have been wise to have had the registration money before the time ran out.
According to Ohio law, the dealer may not be able to give you a 2nd temporary tag but you can go to a Deputy Registrar (you’d have to go to Ohio to do this or call a Deputy Registrar to see if there are other ways of doing this since you are out of state.)
From the Ohio BMV website:
If a temporary tag expires before the purchaser has received the title, the customer may obtain permission from the Registrar of motor vehicles to purchase a second temporary tag from a Deputy Registrar ONLY. The customer must present the original purchase order and a copy of the original temporary tag registration.
I would try to go ahead and get another 30 day tag but be prepared to have a good argument for the Deputy Registrar.
You are subject to being stopped if you do not have the appropriate tag on the vehicle or proof that it was registered. Technically once the car is brought into Florida it must be registered (and insured) immediately.
Based on my experience in other states you will probably receive a ticket (could be as high as $165) for no registration. It would be UNLIKELY TO BE ARRESTED FOR THIS VIOLATION ALONE. However, I’d recommend getting the Ohio temporary tag if there is any way you can do so, because to be driving with no registration will probably make it look like the car is stolen and will give any police officer probable cause to pull you over. You’d probably get tired of the hassle after awhile and it would give the cops a good reason to pull you over and look for any other violations.
In summary, either try for the 2nd 30 day extension back in Ohio or don’t drive the vehicle in Florida until you have the money to register it.
Disclaimer: I do not live in either FL or OH and am only going by my interpretations of what the states’ website are saying.