Your NC license plate is state property! - WTF?

[RoaminRebel]

Different states are different: In CA the plate stays with the car when you sell it. If you leave the State, you are supposed to surrender them to the DMV.

[LordHelmit]

Weird, when the time came to renew my plates 2 years ago I straight up said "Can I get a new plate? I collect plates from states I've lived in and don't have NC yet." The lady obliged no questions asked?

[Stagemomma]

NY wants theirs back. They will also refund you any unused months.

I assume it is for fraud protection/crime prevention. If someone stole my old plate, I might not bother to report it because I don't think I need the plate anymore. Then someone could be running around committing crimes in a car with a license plate associated with my name. Who needs the hassle?

[Nodpete]

You can throw them away in IL. or do whatever you want with them.

And did you know - the government owns your mailbox ? There use to be a tag inside a mailbox (I'm talking the kind you put up yourself) that said it was the property of the USPS. I can't remember if there was one in the last one I bought.

[roscomac]

Originally Posted by Quick Enough

I recently renewed mine and they tool the old one.

Maybe your local office is NOT following the rules.

Many states will give you a "refund" for months not used for that year.

You can order a new one online now. There's no one to take your old one.

[Francois]

Yes, they take them back--even personalized ones that you presumably would want to keep.

It wasn't always like this--we used to hang them (old ones) in the garage when I was a kid. But, I can't deny that it cuts down on people driving "illegally" with unregistered cars or (e.g.) swapping plates between two different cars so you only have to register one of them.