Question about personalized plates (lease, transfer, DMV)

[daftshadow]

My car lease is expiring later this year and I will be returning the car back. As for the personalized license plates, do I have to surrender them back to the DMV or can i just keep it? I've read about certain annual retention fee and/or other related fees if I decide to keep them. Do I have to pay these fees? After returning the car, I'm relocating to Texas but I want to keep the plates as a souvenir since they are the black/yellow california legacy 1960s plates. I'm not intending to use them again in the future.

[marcopolo666]

I am surprised that so many people just don't know about google.com (or maybe they are just lazy).


Typing this :
keep Personalized Plates return site:dmv.ca.gov

The second link is : https://www.dmv.ca.gov/portal/dmv/de.../howto/htvr24/

which says :

How Do I Reassign to Another Vehicle, Retain for Future Use, or Release Interest in a License Plate?

Complete a Special Interest License Plate Application (REG 17) form indicating that you want to reassign the license plates to another vehicle, hold the license plates for future use, or release interest in the license plates. If you are retaining license plates for future use, most have an annual retention fee. The retention fees vary by type of license plate and are listed on the second page of the REG 17. Failure to pay the annual retention fee will result in cancellation of the license plate and possible reassignment of the configuration.


And has a link to the form.

Page : https://www.dmv.ca.gov/portal/dmv/de...orms/reg/reg17

Actual direct PDF : https://www.dmv.ca.gov/portal/wcm/co...=AJPERES&CVID=


Check the Retain Interest for Future Use box. Send a check. Then simply never renew it (the actual text written on the plates will thus be released for future use by somebody else).


You must transfer a vehicle with plates, or fill out the form(s) (it is a govt agency, after all).

Happy hunting!