[MikMal]

I'm looking to purchase a new (to me) vehicle from a private party and was wondering is it's legal to drive it home with no plate, just the bill of sale. Some states allow XX days to title and register it; I just don't know about Florida.

[Corrie22]

Mik, you have 3 days....bill of sale and proof of insurance

best to have the seller meet you at the title/tag office...exchange money there...and do the paperwork and get the tag

[Huasho]

Originally Posted by Corrie22

Mik, you have 3 days....bill of sale and proof of insurance

best to have the seller meet you at the title/tag office...exchange money there...and do the paperwork and get the tag

Definetely, you want to make sure that the title is Legit and Clear of Lenders, and thats the place than can process your transaction totally with no headaches when you're done.

[LifeIsGood01]

Originally Posted by MikMal

I'm looking to purchase a new (to me) vehicle from a private party and was wondering is it's legal to drive it home with no plate, just the bill of sale. Some states allow XX days to title and register it; I just don't know about Florida.

Better to have the seller drive it to your house and do the transaction there and go to the DMV and get the plates and registration.

Otherwise you can leave it at the sellers house, take the paperwork to the DMV via Uber and then come back with your plates and registration and take it home.

I think you may be able to drive it home I would take the bill of sale to the rear window. I can't recall ever seeing a car without a plate driving without a temporary plate.

[Florida2014]

I've sold two cars in the last 5 months, both times to private sellers who drove it straight to the DMV. As someone else said, there is a short few days grace period.

One thing not to forget is to call your auto insurer to get it covered before you drive it home, that's more important than the title. Once that bill of sale is signed, the seller no longer is responsible for their coverage. With the GEICO app it takes literally 5 minutes, you can even scan in the VIN and it pre-populates much of it for you.

[MikMal]

Thanks, all, for the replies.

[MikMal]

Originally Posted by Corrie22

Mik, you have 3 days....bill of sale and proof of insurance
....

Originally Posted by Florida2014

..... As someone else said, there is a short few days grace period.
....

Ends out that is not correct.

I did buy the vehicle and drove it, tagless, to the local tax collector's office yesterday to title and tag it. Once I got there, there was a "Closed" sign on the door. I called and they said that due to Covid that they are taking appointments, the soonest being next week. When I asked if it would be OK do drive the vehicle there next week, would I get hemmed up for driving without a tag beyond the three-day grace period. The clerk just laughed, stating that there is no "grace period" and it is illegal to drive without a tag regardless of whether you have a bill-of-sale or not.

[Johnathon Hills]

ALWAYS conduct private sales at your local tag office. The transaction ends when you get the vehicle title transferred, the car is tagged and payment & bill of sale are in hand. Common Sense.

[Huasho]

Originally Posted by Johnathon Hills

ALWAYS conduct private sales at your local tag office. The transaction ends when you get the vehicle title transferred, the car is tagged and payment & bill of sale are in hand. Common Sense.

On Post #3, I said basically the same tune !!!

[Florida2014]

My guess is 99.99% of police officers would give you a break if you showed them the paperwork and you were en route to the DMV. This assumes you're not speeding, driving recklessly or generally acting disrespectful if they pulled you over for lack of a tag.