ORLANDO, Fla. – News 6 traffic safety expert Trooper Steve Montiero answers viewer questions about the rules of the road every week, helping Orlando-area residents become better drivers by being better educated.
[ASK TROOPER STEVE: Send safety question to Trooper Steve]
The most recent question asks: Is there a grace period for when your license plate expires?
Trooper Steve’s answer:
When it comes to the date that your vehicle license plate expires it differs for every registered owner.
Not all expiration dates are the same. Most expiration dates fall annually on the primary registrant’s birthday. Depending on the type of vehicle and how it’s registered some plates will expire together on the last day of each year.
A registrant must know when to renew a vehicle registration. Unlike a lot of things in our adult life that expire at the end of each month, we need to remember that the date at the top right corner of our vehicle registration indicates exactly when that registration will expire.
Florida vehicle registration shows a date at the top right corner and even indicates “midnight” next to that date. This shows that the registration expires on that specific date and time and must be renewed before that expiration.
Technically the very next day past that specific date your license plate is considered expired.
As long as you have your address updated and good contact email the State of Florida does send a reminder out in the mail. But remember it is always your responsibility to ensure that your vehicle registration is current and displayed properly.
A lot of the time I will hear people say that you have until the end of the month past whatever your expiration day is to pay for that registration. This is not true and could result in you receiving a citation or hire renewal fees.
I always recommend setting some type of reminder to ensure that you know when these important dates are due to avoid any unwanted stress or monetary consequences.
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