Anyone have experience with Florida temporary tags?

ShawnOT

ShawnOT

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Utica, NY
I'm flying down to Florida (from New York) in August to look at car, and if all goes well, hoping to buy the car (private sale) and drive it back to New York. I've done some research on getting temporary Florida tags which seems like what I'll need to do, but I'm getting a little confused.

According to the Florida motor vehicles website "If the vehicle will be titled in another state, the buyer will need to contact that state for proper titling procedures. The buyer may purchase a temporary tag at a motor vehicle service center that will be valid for 30 days so that they may legally drive the vehicle to that state. The buyer must pay Florida sales tax when purchasing the temporary tag."
This makes it sound like I have to pay Florida sales tax on the purchase price of the car in addition to the New York State sales tax that I will have to pay when I register the car in NY, but that doesn't seem right to me. What am I missing here? If anyone has experience with or knowledge about this process it would be really helpful and much appreciated.

Thanks,
Shawn
 
If the car is currently registered, just drive home with the existing plates. And mail it back later.

Or you can look up a temp tag from YOUR state too.
 
centerpunch said:
I always just take a plate with me from one of my cars and drive home on that. Done that several times.
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Bad idea - lots of cop cars have automatic plate readers now so the odds of getting busted for fictitious plates is higher than it used to be ( and illegal with a fine as a minimum ) especially when the car is out of state.
 
tucsonsx said:
Bad idea - lots of cop cars have automatic plate readers now so the odds of getting busted for fictitious plates is higher than it used to be ( and illegal with a fine as a minimum ) especially when the car is out of state.
Click to expand...

I've done it probably ten times. The plate is not fictitious, just registered to another car I own. I don't see why it would ring any bells with a plate reader.

I always get insurance coverage and documentation from my agent before the trip and have that with me.

If I was ever stopped (never have been, don't know why I would be), I'd be 100% straight with the cop, say I just bought the car, the logistics of getting a temporary plate were impractical for my schedule and since I bought from a private seller, so I used one of my other plates so I'd be linked to the car. And here's my insurance documentation. Sir.
 
drew said:
If the car is currently registered, just drive home with the existing plates. And mail it back later.

Or you can look up a temp tag from YOUR state too.
Click to expand...
If I sell a car, my plate comes off, before the car drives off. My plate, my responsibility. If I was the seller, not going to drive off that way!!!
 
Yea, no way I'm planning to use the current owners plate or take one off one of my other cars. Neither of those ideas even crossed my mind, especially since I'm not driving 10 miles to cross a state line, I'd be going 1,000+ miles. There are completely legal ways to do this type of thing since It happens all the time, I'm just putting feelers out there to see if anyone can point me in the right direction.
 

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I would make my own plate....
 
centerpunch said:
I've done it probably ten times. The plate is not fictitious, just registered to another car I own. I don't see why it would ring any bells with a plate reader.

I always get insurance coverage and documentation from my agent before the trip and have that with me.

If I was ever stopped (never have been, don't know why I would be), I'd be 100% straight with the cop, say I just bought the car, the logistics of getting a temporary plate were impractical for my schedule and since I bought from a private seller, so I used one of my other plates so I'd be linked to the car. And here's my insurance documentation. Sir.
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I don't know how it works in other states but here in Arizona and in California the cop's plate reader shows the registered owner, make/model, unpaid motor vehicle fines, outstanding warrants, etc. The citation you get is for a Fictitious License Plate because it is not assigned to the car it is on. You can probably get away with it on a car you just bought if the cop just finished his donut and is happy but not always ( not that it ever happened to me ). To the state, as always, it is about the money. They can't allow people to only pay one registration for all the cars they own. That is why so many people have " wholesale " dealer's licenses - so they can get a dealer's tag.
 
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ShawnOT said:
The buyer must pay Florida sales tax when purchasing the temporary tag."
This makes it sound like I have to pay Florida sales tax on the purchase price of the car in addition to the New York State sales tax that I will have to pay when I register the car in NY, but that doesn't seem right to me. What am I missing here? If anyone has experience with or knowledge about this process it would be really helpful and much appreciated.

Thanks,
Shawn
Click to expand...

Contact NY's motor vehicle division and ask the question. When I bought my Jeep Grand Cherokee in Az a few years back I told the dealership I was going to drive it back to CO and title it there. I paid only city and county tax on the purchase price and then CO collected the difference based on the CO tax rate.

Also check with NY for a temp tag to move the car into the state. Several states will issue you a 48-96hr temp plate to move the car to the state you plan to register and title the car in.

Or drive it without a plate but have a bill of sale that shows time and date of sale as well as the signed title in the car with you and your insurance card, that way if you get stopped you have all supporting documentation. Some states (like CO) actually give you 48 hours of driving the car without a plate (as long as you have a date/time stamped bill of sale) to get a temp tag or an actual plate.
 
centerpunch said:
You guys are pretty concerned with this, so I'm sure you never drive faster than the posted speed limit! You could get stopped by the police and get a ticket!
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I don't know that would be a fair assessment. The OP asked if anyone had experience and was looking for options and advice, we are just providing that, as you did as well. Just because multiple options are being provided (which is what the point of the forum is) doesn't necessarily mean that everyone providing those options and thoughts would follow them if they were in the OP's situation. Different strokes for different folks.
 
RPM217 said:
If I sell a car, my plate comes off, before the car drives off. My plate, my responsibility. If I was the seller, not going to drive off that way!!!
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Smart move. People have been known to be discussing the mischief "their " Porsche got into with law enforcement many months after it was sold because they left the plate on it since the buyer was a nice guy and didn't have the money to register it just yet ( not that it ever happened to me ).
 
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After making calls to my own DMV in NY and DMV offices in 4 different Florida counties, I think I got the info I needed, so I'll post it here for posterity.

I can get a temporary Florida paper tag that is good for 30 days and allows me to drive the car back to NY legally. In order to get the tag I need to go to a DMV/Tax Collector office in Florida with: A bill of sale, proof of car insurance, the title showing I am the new owner, $5 for the tag itself, and I must pay in CASH the sales tax on the purchase price of the car at the rate of the NY county I live in, which happens to be 8.75%. The Florida office will then give me a receipt showing I paid them the NY sales tax so that I don't have to pay it again once I register the car in NY. Assuming I bring all the correct documentation and a handful of cash I'll have the tag that day.
 
If it were me, i would honestly drive with no plate. I have driven my NSX from Sacramento to Huntington beach to San Diego, around San Diego for the weekend and then to Sacramento *Supposedly* all with no plate and no issues. This may be different in other states but at least from what I've seen, if a car has no plates its not too big of an issue for the police as long as you're not overly speeding/acting like an ass on the road.
 
YellowScorpion said:
If it were me, i would honestly drive with no plate. I have driven my NSX from Sacramento to Huntington beach to San Diego, around San Diego for the weekend and then to Sacramento *Supposedly* all with no plate and no issues. This may be different in other states but at least from what I've seen, if a car has no plates its not too big of an issue for the police as long as you're not overly speeding/acting like an ass on the road.
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That is also what I would do and have done. If the title is in your hand and you have the car insured you should not have a problem.
 
IIRC, some states have a grace period before you are required to register a newly purchased vehicle. I've heard some say 3 days others have said 30 days. I say as long as its insured the possible reg ticket will definitely less than paying cash for the sales tax in Florida and hoping the DMV system is fast enough that you can register it in NY with no issues. If you were to get a ticket, I'd see it as a free pass to drive it as normal since most cops wont write a second ticket for the same offense unless its a moving violation like speeding or reckless driving.
 
ShawnOT said:
After making calls to my own DMV in NY and DMV offices in 4 different Florida counties, I think I got the info I needed, so I'll post it here for posterity.

I can get a temporary Florida paper tag that is good for 30 days and allows me to drive the car back to NY legally. In order to get the tag I need to go to a DMV/Tax Collector office in Florida with: A bill of sale, proof of car insurance, the title showing I am the new owner, $5 for the tag itself, and I must pay in CASH the sales tax on the purchase price of the car at the rate of the NY county I live in, which happens to be 8.75%. The Florida office will then give me a receipt showing I paid them the NY sales tax so that I don't have to pay it again once I register the car in NY. Assuming I bring all the correct documentation and a handful of cash I'll have the tag that day.
Click to expand...

This is the right way to do it. In other parts of the country you may get away with driving without plates or different plates but in the North East you have no chance.
Thanks for posting and good luck with your new toy. Post some pictures from the trip.
 
Glad you got that straightened out. Sounds like a pain in Florida. I’ve purchased cars from out of state and never had to pay taxes to get a temp plate on said car as I was driving it back to Ohio. For example: I just bought a car (RLX Sport Hybrid…the most under the radar Acura ever made IMO…) in PA a few weeks ago, drove over the border to Ohio with a two month PA temp plate obtained at the dealer, got PA title ten days later, paid my State/local sales tax at my local DMV, bingo I have full plates.
 

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