Late In Renewing Car Registration (DMV, car inspection, tax)

[tb75252]

I forgot to mail in the paperwork and payment for my car registration which was due in August.
I had the car duly inspected, but I forgot about the registration part till today.
What happens if I mail in payment and paperwork on Tuesday? Is there a grace period for registration? I seem to recall that for car inspections there is a five-day grace period. But for automobile registration?

[JH6]

Do it online and it will take effect quickly, keep your receipt. You can also take it to HEB and get the renewal.

[tb75252]

Originally Posted by JH6

Do it online and it will take effect quickly, keep your receipt. You can also take it to HEB and get the renewal.

Will there be a penalty for not renewing in time?

[wxf848]

There's a 20% penalty if you were charged with an offense for driving with expired registration. Otherwise, you simply renew it as usual. It's still an offense to drive without the sticker, even if the registration is valid because you renewed online. Your best bet is to go in person and get a sticker as soon as possible. You'd probably be okay renewing online and waiting for the sticker, but there's no guarantee. If a cop runs your plates, he'll see that the registration is valid. But if he sees your old sticker and has a quota to meet, you could get a citation.

[gguerra]

There is/was a $10 penalty for late registration. It may be more now. You get 5 days grace period.

[tb75252]

I did some research and found the following:

Can I legally drive my vehicle after the registration expires?
Yes, for a limited time. A vehicle may be operated up to five working days after the registration expires without penalty. After those five days, you can receive a citation of up to $200.

Source: TXDMV.GOV - Register Your Vehicle

[KathrynAragon]

The clerk will probably ask you if the vehicle has been in storage if you go in person. If it was in storage, the penalty is usually waived.

[lepoisson]

I went to the county tax assessor's office earlier today to get a lien-free title on my vehicle. I figured that I could swing by during lunch. Well, I ended up waiting 50 minutes and the title process only took 5 minutes.

Want to know why it took so long? 90% of the people in the office were renewing their registration!

It's baffling to me why these people would wait over an hour to renew their registration when you can do it online, through the mail, and in person in just about every Kroger or Tom Thumb store.

Meanwhile, the poor old 85 year old lady beside me had to wait almost an hour to get her handicapped placard because some people are too dumb to renew their registration in a way that's more convenient for everyone.

[westhou]

Originally Posted by lepoisson

I went to the county tax assessor's office earlier today to get a lien-free title on my vehicle. I figured that I could swing by during lunch. Well, I ended up waiting 50 minutes and the title process only took 5 minutes.

Want to know why it took so long? 90% of the people in the office were renewing their registration!

It's baffling to me why these people would wait over an hour to renew their registration when you can do it online, through the mail, and in person in just about every Kroger or Tom Thumb store.

Meanwhile, the poor old 85 year old lady beside me had to wait almost an hour to get her handicapped placard because some people are too dumb to renew their registration in a way that's more convenient for everyone.

Maybe they had to get new plates. I always went to Kroger to get mine renewed but was sent away once because they said I needed new plates so I had to go to the county clerks office.

Don't judge unless you know everyone's situation.

[jerbear30]

Yeah, they ask if you've driven the car since the registration expired. Telling them "no" is just a formality--everyone does it and they don't check.