How to register a vehicle after skipping over a year (2013, insurance)

[SomeGuy1123]

Hi,

I have a spare vehicle that is not in use (It has just sat in my yard for 2 years).

The registration expired 2/15/10
The last tax bill that wakegov lists was due 7/01/09 (paid on time).
Wakegov shows no taxes due since then (since car wasn't registered).
The Inspection was due for renewal 1/31/10
The insurance policy never lapsed. It has been covered via my multiple car policy all along.

I just renewed the inspection today 5/17/11. I will attempt to renew registration tomorrow but I'm not sure what to expect. There is no block on the registration on-line (since no delinquent taxes). It's as though the state thinks I no longer own the car, but just didn't turn in the tags.

The NCDOT page says that there is no fine for late registration, but there is a fine for driving without it. There are fines for paying late taxes, but no tax bill was sent. Tax bills are sent out after registration. It's almost as though I slipped through the cracks EXCEPT, I did find mention of a possible fine if inspection is over 4 months out of date. One of the waivers, of NC General Statute 20-183.8A is if the car was not driven by any person. It seems a little odd though as one has to drive it to get it to the inspection. This was literally the first time I drove the car in 2 years.

Does any one have any advice on this matter. What applicable fines if any are there here?

Thanks

[arbyunc]

No fine for anything that I can see. There's no law that requires you to register a car. "Skipping" registration is not that uncommon...people travel out of the country for a year or more, or otherwise have no need for their car. That's not a problem at all.

The only potential problem is that in NC, unregistered vehicles are taxed as part of your personal property. So if you didn't list it on your personal property filing with your county, then you might have to pay back taxes and a small fine. I don't know the chances of getting caught with this, but just wanted to make you aware.

[SomeGuy1123]

Originally Posted by arbyunc

No fine for anything that I can see. There's no law that requires you to register a car. "Skipping" registration is not that uncommon...people travel out of the country for a year or more, or otherwise have no need for their car. That's not a problem at all.

The only potential problem is that in NC, unregistered vehicles are taxed as part of your personal property. So if you didn't list it on your personal property filing with your county, then you might have to pay back taxes and a small fine. I don't know the chances of getting caught with this, but just wanted to make you aware.

Yep, thanks for your input. All I needed to do was to buy a new tag for $33 dollars (and show proof of insurance). The tax bill is sent out a few months after registration. Since the car was never registered in 2010, there was no bill generated. I appear to have no outstanding charges on the Wakegov site. You are probably right that it should have been taxed as part of my property, since I still owned it, but I don't think they even knew I still had it since it wasn't registered. This car isn't worth much. Taxes on it our only $30, so I'm fine to pay it if anyone asks.

Thanks again.

[ncguy_82]

how did you get the car inspected if it wasn't registered? did you still had a license plate on it?

[roadpony]

Originally Posted by ncguy_82

how did you get the car inspected if it wasn't registered? did you still had a license plate on it?

If you're asking the OP, you might want to direct message him. His profile indicates that he hasn't been on C-D since Many 2011.

[Ex-LI]

For anyone else who may be looking at this forum, the law has changed since 2013 in NC. You now pay your property tax directly to the DMV when you renew your registration. There's no four month lag time.