do you return license plates

It varies state by state. Here in the people's republic of IL, plates stay with the owner. I have a whole bunch nailed to a wall in the garage.

The dmv does have you mail in a form indicating sale or destruction of the vehicle. They ask for the date of sale, vehicle description, vin and buyer/seller's information. Sellers Report of Sale is what the form is called. Interestingly they don't ask for the plate number.

PA says you may return but if you keep it you should destroy it. Quoting “You can also destroy the plate yourself and have it recycled. Retaining the old plate could open the registered owner to fines or legal actions should the plate be stolen and used by another person.”

That being said you are allowed to take the plate to a PENNDOT agent (usually a "special notary) who may charge a fee so that might be an option. The list of PENNDOT agents can be found at https://docs.penndot.pa.gov/Public/DVSPubsForms/Agent%20Serv...

Pennsylvania does not require it, it merely suggests that you do to prevent misuse and to have the tag marked dead, but you are not obligated to return it.

There are tons of license plate collectors, I was one of them, but lost interest and sold my collection.

Massachusetts explicitly says to destroy old plates. Rhode Island I'm fairly sure doesn't require their plates back either.

you have a certain number of days to return a defunct plate.

to AAA and they wanted $29 to handle it. I smiled, and took my plate with me, proceeding out the door.

I texted my buddy and he said cuz I have hundreds of plates in the garage, I have never once returned any.

Neither have I. I'm not going to spend $29 to do it, I'm not even going to spend $10 to mail it. Not when folks are driving left and right without licenses, registrations, insurance, inspections, and have limo tints.

Not always gonna be Ned Flanders! lol

For real, when I read the form, it says both the recipient of the form, must keep it for 3 years, and the registrant, indefinitely. Good luck with that, really. Our registration expires 8/31/25.

imho? Trying to return it yields a higher probability that the plate winds up with a collector or on another car, than if I keep it.

In many ways PA is messed up. I tried....

In days gone by when PA was required by law to reissue every plate in the state every ten years they would want the plates back so they could reissue that set of numbers/letters sometime in the future.

Then the law was changed when we got the new issue of blue white yellow plates, that look like a visa card, lol. The 'visa' card plate was going to be the last reissue and every plate in the state would don those colors, including state and municipal plates which were a different color than normal plates.

Well, like Windows 10 was supposed to be the last OS, (now there is Windows 11) the state has come out with a new plate for standard issue, the Let Freedom Ring" plate and after a while all plate with be on this new base.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-PsstlGM2JU

Bottom line, returning plates has not been legally required for some time. In fact there are tons of plate collector groups that sell and trade plates all the time. There are even places that make nik-naks from retired plates.

Now if you want to hear something really crazy, the state of Delaware has these legal active black and white plates that people pay thousands of dollars for just to display them on their cars, the lower the digits the more money they go for, it's insane.

https://www.thedelaware3000.org/values/

In Ontario, we just put the old plates on the next car if we want. They simply register them to the the next new or used car.

If we want new clean & shiny plates, we can turn in the old and get new plates..

If you're of the Senior Persuasion, reusing the old plates, makes it easier to remember your license number. ????

unless it is an antique plate (which I don't have), I always have them returned to avoid troubles down the road.

Live in Illinois. Also have multiple old plates nailed to the wall in the garage.

I usually just drop mine off at any PA. State Police barracks.

here in New Mexico I believe the law is that you must return all plates to the DMV. I also believe hardly anyone actually does so. When I took one in to the DMV to return it the clerk looked genuinely surprised.

Missouri issues stickers to put on your existing plates and periodically issues new plates. You are not required to return the old plates, but they will recycle them if you bring or drop them off. There are soo... many local licensed offices, that it is pretty easy to just do a drop off when you are passing by on some other errand.

I think the same applies to plates removed from a sold vehicle. Of course there is some associated risk with unexpired plates.

I have procrastinated, so I have sets from 3 vehicles that I will drop off one of these days.

In years past, I had amateur radio plates that I keep for the garage wall.

On all the years I've received new plates, vanity or not, I've never returned the old plate. Not sure what happens to the old plate numbers, especially, if it's a vanity plate. I assume it becomes avaliable for anyone requesting it, even though I continue to hold the old, expired plate with same name.

…..since 1973. Even though the plate design changes from time to time, I keep the same number. It’s my old badge number from when I was a police officer. Ohio does not require you to return old or expired license plates.

In Pennsylvania if a plate number/vanity goes unregistered for 5 years it becomes available to anyone who wants it.

Make sure your EZ Pass isn’t specifically “tied” to a discarded plate and update the info for a current plate of a new vehicle.

...you to return your canceled license plates:

Alaska
Connecticut
Delaware
Florida
Kentucky
Louisiana
Maine
Maryland
Nebraska
Nevada
New Jersey
New York
Pennsylvania
Rhode Island
South Carolina
Vermont
Washington
Wyoming
according to: https://privateauto.com/license-plates/license-plate-disposa...

But I think there may be more nuance to this list, because here in NC, if I understand things correctly, if you're downsizing the number of vehicles you own, you can't just cancel your car or truck insurance policy until you turn your plate in first, and NC isn't on the list above. You can transfer the plate to a different vehicle without turning the plate in. You can transfer your vehicle coverage to a different company, and this cancels your old policy, but you keep your plate, of course. If the vehicle is a total loss and the plate can't be recovered, you can fill out a form attesting to that. But I was told you can't cancel coverage and keep the plate. This keeps people from taking out mandatory insurance to get a license plate and then cancelling the policy to go without coverage.

Your Mileage May Vary!

Nope never did.

In Michigan, you can replace a plate any time you want for $5. You can do whatever you want with the old plate, though the state suggests you destroy the old one. Every one that could be traced to me since the 70s is in a box in my spare room.

Edited to add: There are 39 of them Lots of cars through the years!

Use them in the garden as shade for starters plants.

No, I keep using the same old plates.

If / when you cancel the car insurance, you're required to return them.

Otherwise you get like a $50 ticket and you still have to provide them

Go ahead.. ask me howci know this??

trying to be logical because it seems nobody does return them, and from the list, I have not, in PA, NY, and VT. Maybe the states can't accurately track anything and people legitimately don't renew them? Really not sure because it would seem a person enters insurance info upon renewal--is this actually verified or just to have on record in case there is fraud in the future? Fraud and omission is quite different, but I get it ignorance usually doesn't cut it either...

Again in PA, to me it's dicey saying whomever took the plate has to keep the form for 3 years (fat chance), and the registrant indefinitely. That's just a bad situation for anyone who is involved with the process.

There doesn't seem to be any confirmation that DMV even got the plate.

An alternative list with a summary of the rules per state.

https://www.junkcarmedics.com/50-state-license-plate-rules/

Here in town many years ago, an old expired plate was used on a vehicle during a robbery. It was traced back to it's original owner, who was brought in by the police for questioning. He couldn't remember what had happened to his old plate but after an uncomfortable interview, he was cleared of any involvement.

The point is, if you don't turn in your old plates, keep them secure. I did turn mine in at the local State Police barracks for awhile after that incident and was given a receipt.

That was many years ago though and now, I just put them in a drawer. They can come in handy. Sometimes, I'll cut one up and use the sheet metal for a project. The material they're using now on the new ones is so thin, they sometimes get metal fatigue. Occasionally, I'll disfigure an old plate and put it behind a new one to stiffen it.

Now in PA, but had cars with "89 Pace" and "Rare VW" plates at one time. Just reminders of what I wish I still had...

I agree, it's messy, and some states that say they require a return of course may not be putting any resources into enforcing it.

In Florida, I sold a vehicle and returned the plate at no cost to the tax collector's office. A plate receipt was issued which was needed to cancel the car insurance.

When I sold my motorcycle I was told to return plates or they’d charge me with driving without insurance. Even with no motorcycle!
I had canceled insurance when I sold the bike, and insurance warned me that they under law had to contact the state to say insurance was cancelled.
Being from Illinois I had kept my old plates, with no issues.

North Carolina goes by different rules!!

I went to License Bureau to plead my case.

If you keep the plate. They think you are driving without insurance! And things: “Automatically Proceed with fines!”

“No Sir! NO EXCEPTIONS!”

Yes, get some money back.

Who gives you money for turning back license plates? Not New Mexico MVD.

Here in TX you are supposed to return the registration sticker in the windshield, that is if you want it out of your name faster, otherwise wait till registration renewal comes and don't renew. I think there is a place online where you can indicate you don't have possession anymore in the renewal section. Insurance removal from a registered vehicle may generate a letter indicating insurance lapse that must be answered, simply check the box that you don't have possession and mail back. If you don't answer you may get fined for no insurance if the vehicle is still registered in their system. They don't want the plates back.

Because I have USPS informed delivery which shows a scan of what's coming that day, there was a DMV letter and subconsciously the keystone logo was different than the past.

I said oh no, DMV coming to get me. Maybe insurance penalty I dunno.

Nope, it was a renewal for another vehicle. I guess based on what others told me and also the past, I'm not going out of my way to return it. I know it may sound nuts, but I'm not paying $10 and I'm not paying $29, and I'm not waiting in line 2 hours lol

Truth about how I feel--because the actual form is willy nilly--the registrant must keep a copy forever, and the agent accepting it for years, there is more likelihood of having trouble or the plate winding up back on the street with the willy nilly process, than if I keep it/hold on to it. That's how I feel.

PennDoT clearly says

"4. What should I do with my old plate when I receive the new one?

We recommended that the customer return the old plate to the department by sending it to Bureau of Motor Vehicles, Return Tag Unit, P.O. Box 68597, Harrisburg, PA 17106-8597. You can also destroy the plate yourself and have it recycled. Retaining the old plate could open the registered owner to fines or legal actions should the plate be stolen and used by another person."

Since the concern is the plate being stolen or used by another person, just cut the thing into several pieces with some tinsnips or bend it repeatedly until it snaps. if you still have concerns, put half of the plate in this weeks trash and the other half in next weeks trash.

Plates can be discarded at your discretion

There isn't any new plate that we received. The registration isn't being modified in some way. We've canceled the insurance as the vehicle was a total loss. And again, maybe I'm being a cowboy or stubborn, but I'm not paying $10 to mail it to who knows where, nor $29 to hand it to an agent. Probably some are saying what a jerk lol

Take note of what a lawyer says, “Do I Still Have to Pay My Insurance Premiums?
You must still continue to pay your insurance premium, even after your vehicle is considered a total loss, until you return the license plates to the Registry of Motor Vehicles. If you do not have the plates because they were destroyed or stolen, you need to go to the Registry of Motor Vehicles and fill out a lost or stolen plates receipt. You then give this receipt to your insurance company so you can stop paying premiums and cancel your policy.” [https://jimglaserlaw.com/my-car-is-a-total-loss-what-are-my-options/]

As a minimum, I would be checking with the insurance company and their take on the matter.

Heard of PA DMV being referred to as the registry. That sounds like Massachusetts. Again, the agent cancelled the insurance on my behalf, without me asking. What you describe is a scenario where one cannot cancel insurance without some sort of receipt.

The internet is vast and wild, you should have seen what came back when I googled what happens if a school bus' lights turned red while I was driving. It led to attorney's websites and basically my license would be suspended (I was driving in W Phila, waiting, waiting, waiting, finally the person behind me honked, I went, and suddenly the bus had red lights and honked at me--this was about 7 years ago so I'm probably ok by now, but that was the reason I'm very careful today)

What I did learn in our case is insurance pays what they call actual cash value. We found this to be 85% of the highest KBB private party retail, which on an older car seemed to be also what dealers tried to get online (how much can they squeeze out of a 14 y.o. car, not that much). I would have guessed they pay trade in which is next to nothing, not the case.

Here in NC, as I said, and as Barney Badass also indicated above, it does work exactly the way John in PA described. I went through this too with a totaled vehicle, and the advice from my insurance agent was: DO NOT cancel your insurance until you have already returned the plate to the state, filled out a form that tells the state you no longer have the plate, or replaced your insurance policy using a different company (which would mean you have another vehicle to insure), or NC DMV will have a problem with you, because they don't like uninsured drivers. That's what this rule is about, people canceling insurance and continuing to drive the previously insured vehicle. Mileage May Vary depending on the state, but I assume John in PA knows how it works in PA. Perhaps, johnnatash4, your insurance agent told PA your plate was destroyed before canceling your policy, but I would think the state would want your signature on that.

in PA. My insurance agent canceled the vehicle as soon as the loss was paid, saving me about $19. I didn't ask them nor did they ask me about the plate. And as mentioned, I'm not going to spend $29 returning it, nor $10 mailing it, only to have nobody repsonsible and it winds up on the back of a vehicle.

At any rate, I was told our new car is going to cost almost $1,400 a year to insure. I've never paid more than $800. I did consider this much. My 2007 car cost about $790 when brand spanking new and roughly $46k ACV. Today it's about $800. More and it's ACV is likely $7k. In 2025 dollars, however, $790 is $1260, so $800 < $1260.

As much as I think I know, I learned a lot through this experience.

For example, every 2025 vehicle like our new vehicle is the same with respect to VIN:

1GNS6TRLxSRxxxxxx

The first x is a check digit.

The last six x's are the serial number.

TRL indicates the trim.

Interesting when I called the agent, it populated his system, and in his first sentence to me, he said you're adding a vehicle to the x and y cars, correct?

Also, I only read him the VIN once and he got it....1 golf november sierra six tango romeo lima (our value) sierra romeo (our six digits).

Right away he said this is a high country, it will be approximately $116/mo. I said do I multiply that by 12 to get the annual? Yes (it was less by some change).

Our good driver discount went up a tier. But never in my life have we paid this much for a vehicle, it is 2X what we paid in 2011 for the Buick Enclave. This is how costly life is today in 2025!

In an ideal world we transfer the plate as it expires 8/31, but no, the insurance has already been cxld we'll get a new plate.

p.s. this reminds me of an episode of Monk. He's on the radio with a dispatcher reading back a long California license plate.

Monk goes, "A as in what?! A as in what?!"

Dispatcher says, "You already know it's an A, what difference does it make, A as in what?!"

there is no money back in New York. If you want new plates, you have to pay extra.