Police Officer Preparation & Law Enforcement Resource - Archive

I was just curious as to what the reasoning is for the emphasis on stopping cars with expired tags. Me, I get mine almost as soon as the 90 day before they are due comes into effect. I have seen cars here (ohio) with 03 still.

Also, for the LEOs in other 2 tag :( states, if there are expiration tabs on the front as well, is there a specific reasoning by the state for this? I know VA does the dual sets of tabs, but cannot recall the other states. Is there a benefit such as being able to tell by the tab color as you pass they are good?

In the case of TX and NY, is it hard to read the exp stickers in the windscreen, and when did those methods of expiration go into effect? If you are behind someone, do you just randomly run the tags for expiration date since they are obviously not on the rear tag? :confused:

I get a good deal of dope and fugitive arrests off of those expired plate stops. Here in Missouri we have two plates with the month/ year tab being on both. I run any plate that looks like it may have had the tabs removed or tampered with and since we have huge problem with license tab theft, many are expired but the driver is running around with some else's tabs.

Some people demand to know why I ran their license plate and even tell me that I cannot do that, that it is a violation of their rights. Problem is the license plate is owned by the state not the driving and is issued for the privilege not the right of licensing their vehicle.

Here in Washington if you get stopped for having expired tabs you are likely to get a citation for it. We also DO have a requirement that you have license plates on both the front and rear of the vehicle, however I think it was sometime in 2001 that the state began only requiring new tabs on the Rear plate.

I'm not sure what the question actually was....why do we stop them, or why do we not stop them?
One good thing about stopping someone with expired registration is I automatically have probable cause for the stop if I find something else later. If I write someone a ticket for driving without a license and that is it, I'll get a nastygram back from the traffic division telling me to explain why I had PC to stop them in the first place. If I cite for both the registration and license, problem is solved and it's unlikely I'll ever see court because registration violations are easy to prove by the traffic DA's using the DMV computer.
Do I always cite for registration? No...for a variety of reasons....I may believe that the person just bought the car and is in the process of registering it (still a violation), or maybe they are trying to get the car up to smog standards so it can be registered (still a violation), or maybe I know they are a crook and I want PC to stop them again in the future because I know they won't heed my warning and actually register their car.

If they expired the month before and they are not committing any other infraction, I usually don't pull em over. More than 2 mos, they're gettin a ticket. Those with expired temporary tags usually have an array of warrants or something else I end up going to jail on. Altering a temp tag is a felony in TN, so those are always fun to lock up. ;)

In Texas, License PLates were being stolen simply so the registration tags could be removed and sold illegally.

Placing inside the windshield cured THAT problem.

The purpose for registration is mutli-faceted. The purpopse of enforcement is the same as other violations.

I stop expired tags because you have to show proof of insurance to get current tags. Not current, more than likely no insurance. (Or your DL is expired becasue you have warrants.)

I make a target of expired out of state tags as well. I tagged a guy with NJ plates that had been driving on them for 9 years and never been stopped.

Another reason is a little problem folks on the wrong side of town have: They'll buy a junker thru a private sale and never register it. One car will change hands 5 or 6 times.

Good luck showing proof of ownership at the impound lot. :D

Spotting them thru the windshield? No problem at all. Each year is a different color.

I stop vehicles for expired tags because it's illegal.

Several reasons-

1. Because it's the law
2. Vehicle safety/inspection issues, broken windshields, inoperative equipment
3. Often indicates other problems, suspended driver, no insurance, warrants, drugs, etc.
4. Theft of plates and/or registration stickers
5. Why should they not have to follow the rules and pay the state registration when I do :mad:

Here if it's expired by three months or more and/or doesn't have insurance the vehicle gets impounded and has to be released by the state.

In CA you must have two plates affixed. The rear is where your reg stickers go. Although I've seen people get super creative the way they put them on, but that's another thread.

I'll stop and cite for expired tabs/reg. If I have to pay my registration fees, so do you. Have reg that is expired for more than 6 months for 5 or more unpaid parking violations and your car is mine..... :cool:

It's also good as PC for a stop and start the digging and sniffing process...:)

In Texas, License PLates were being stolen simply so the registration tags could be removed and sold illegally.

Placing inside the windshield cured THAT problem.


Lol I learned about Texas registration the hard way, I stopped a van for expired plates and they were kind enough to point out the windshield sticker to me.

I like the idea, but wish it was more visible.

One nice thing about Minnesota is that the are randomly sending out requests to registered vehicle owners.

You must respond to the letter with in a certain date with vehicle insurance information or your license is suspended.

We've got a problem with uninsured vehicles and this is one way of gaining compaiance. They do make it easy to respond. You can return the sheet to them or log onto a secure website and put in the information.

Are any other states doing something simular to insure that vehicles have insurance?

I was just curious as to what the reasoning is for the emphasis on stopping cars with expired tags.


Most states have this thing, but shhh, I didn't tell you this, its called:


THE LAW

I have heard the term berfore, but what is a license plate tab? Is that the little sticker with the experation date on it?

You got it :)

Jeez, alot more responses than I would have gotten on a different site. Very cool to have a cop's point of view. Thanks again everyone. :o

People that don't take care of things like renewing their tags generally don't take care of other things in their lives, like warrants. I hated working traffic, but I never let an expired tag get by me if I could help it. It wasn't the expired tag per se, but the fact that the person didn't see it important to renew. They probably didn't see a lot of other things as important too that are probably much more important.

I was just curious as to what the reasoning is for the emphasis on stopping cars with expired tags. Me, I get mine almost as soon as the 90 day before they are due comes into effect. I have seen cars here (ohio) with 03 still.

Why stop them? Because the law says that you need to have a lawfully registered/ inspected vehicle in order to be on the public roadway. People that drive with expired tags often have other problems with their driving record . Lots of reasons to make the stop.


Also, for the LEOs in other 2 tag :( states, if there are expiration tabs on the front as well, is there a specific reasoning by the state for this? I know VA does the dual sets of tabs, but cannot recall the other states. Is there a benefit such as being able to tell by the tab color as you pass they are good?

In NYS, the only plates that still have stickers on the plates are trailers.No stickers go on any front plate in NY anymore.


In the case of TX and NY, is it hard to read the exp stickers in the windscreen, and when did those methods of expiration go into effect? If you are behind someone, do you just randomly run the tags for expiration date since they are obviously not on the rear tag? :confused:

Our registration stickers went from the plate to the windshield about 30 years ago when I was a kid; the expiration date is on the sticker in big bold print that makes it relatively easy to read.The biggest problem with the registration expiration date is that people think it means the registration expires on the last day of the month the way the inspection does; actually, the registration can expire on any day of the month, and that actual date is in smaller print right on the sticker as well.

The inspection sticker punches CAN be difficult to read, and unless you are stopping the car for something else, or on a checkpoint, you wont be able to see the punchhole. I had one coworker who used to sit by the roadside with a pair of binos checking the punches, but thats a bit extreme in my mind......

NYS specifically forbids randomly running plates, although I cannot say that it isn't done.

Usually I am able to determine the hole punched in sticker as I am driving up to speeds of 40mph by suspect vehicle's. Now we have implicated the use of registration sticker that are similar to inspection stickers showing month and year..even easier now. Sticker also come now printed with last 6 of VIN and current LP on it. Easier to tell if has been swapped from different MV without running LP. As for citing...I gave warning once (8 mths over)...ATTITUDE IS EVERYTHING.

Here in Minnesota they have two stickers on front and back. They goofed up with the 2006 sticker however, making it almost impossible to distinguish from a 2004 sticker. The 04 is pink, the 06 is red. Very hard to tell as you're meeting a car. Now given, 05 is green, but you still see some people with 04 stickers. They should have picked a different color that hasn't been used for a few years instead.

Like the LEO's said, first off it IS illegal to drive around with expired plates, and secondly it's a great way to catch people who are doing other, more dangerous things. A lot of cases involving very bad people doing very bad things with drugs and/or weapons get solved when a cop pulls them over for expired tags -- at least in this town they do.

In our department the deputies run just about every plate that passes them (or at least it seems). We're only 40 miles from the Mexican border and we get a lot of stolen vehicles headed that way. Also, just because the tab says that it's current doesn't mean that it is and the same goes for if the tab says it's expired.

Frequently vehicles are found as suspended registration or stolen. Registration can/will be suspended on anyone with a warrant known to MVD or for someone that hasn't paid a fine. It can be suspended if a person's license is suspended and they are the sole registered owner of the vehicle. Same thing goes for people who let their insurance expire. So, they run (as I said) just about every plate that comes across their paths.

When it comes to stolen vehicles it's usually because the bonehead that stole the vehicle decided to take the plate off of another vehicle and put it on theirs. One time I had a deputy that ran a plate that came back to an older model white 4-door sedan and as a stolen license plate. The vehicle he was looking at in the Circle K parking lot was a gray, brand-new 2005 Chevy pickup. When he hooked up the girls in the truck I overheard one of them saying "I didn't know it was stolen."... Despite the screwdriver shoved into the ignition and the fact that the truck was stolen less than an hour prior. ;O)

Cheers.

I stop vehicles for expired tags because it's illegal.

lol, remarkably simple isn't it.

Its because we live in Communist Russia,Now show me your papers or I will Taser you.

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