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Vehicle registered and titled in Wake County, NC from 2001-2021. Driven several states away due to an unexpected emergency in 2021. Has been sitting in garage ever since. No new registration, no new title, not driven. But insurance coverage kept continuous to prevent a lapse. NC driver's license expired shortly after arriving so had to get a new DL in the other state. Plan was only to be out of NC for a few months. Plan was always to retain NC residency for vehicle purposes.
3 weeks away from permanent return to NC.
Question: how am I supposed to drive vehicle back to NC in order to get it inspected and renew the registration there since the registration expired in 2021? I am not a resident of any location now, and will need to find a new place to live in NC once I am there.
Vehicle cannot be towed.
My assumption is that NC issues temporary tags for situations like this. I don't know how else it would possibly get done. I have never driven any car without everything - license, insurance, registration, etc...being fully up-to-date and current. So I am worried about having to risk driving it on a long trip and then around NC for a few weeks until I can get the problem fixed. Surely there is another way to do this.
Complicating matters is that it might not pass the inspection once I am back in NC, but there's a chance. It is extremely unlikely to pass an inspection done FOR NC in the other state, since that state does not do nor do they require such inspections.
Vehicle registered and titled in Wake County, NC from 2001-2021. Driven several states away due to an unexpected emergency in 2021. Has been sitting in garage ever since. No new registration, no new title, not driven. But insurance coverage kept continuous to prevent a lapse. NC driver's license expired shortly after arriving so had to get a new DL in the other state. Plan was only to be out of NC for a few months. Plan was always to retain NC residency for vehicle purposes.
3 weeks away from permanent return to NC.
Question: how am I supposed to drive vehicle back to NC in order to get it inspected and renew the registration there since the registration expired in 2021? I am not a resident of any location now, and will need to find a new place to live in NC once I am there.
Vehicle cannot be towed.
My assumption is that NC issues temporary tags for situations like this. I don't know how else it would possibly get done. I have never driven any car without everything - license, insurance, registration, etc...being fully up-to-date and current. So I am worried about having to risk driving it on a long trip and then around NC for a few weeks until I can get the problem fixed. Surely there is another way to do this.
Complicating matters is that it might not pass the inspection once I am back in NC, but there's a chance. It is extremely unlikely to pass an inspection done FOR NC in the other state, since that state does not do nor do they require such inspections.
An inspection done in another state wouldn't be accepted in North Carolina anyway.
What's this "other state"?
What legal address are you using now? How are you getting mail? Rented PO box?
How are you keeping the car's insurance current without a physical address?
Let me guess...someone hasn't been honest with their insurance company about the current state of the car. You probably had the option to switch its coverage to "stored, non-op" temporarily that would have lowered the cost. You didn't do that.
Think about it. You can't legally operate an untitled, unlicensed, uninsured car in any state, so you probably need to start by approaching the DMV in the state the car is currently located in to obtain the necessary documentation to put it on the road right from the start. Not NC. That comes later. You can try explaining the circumstances, but this unnamed state the car is located in probably won't give you any breaks because you let everything lapse so long. Any temporary or grace period you might have had initially is probably long gone. This unnamed state may permit registering a car to a PO Box address, but it might not suffice for the title or for insurance. You'll need to find that out.
Bring the insurance company up to date. Think about it. If anything were to happen to the car, its driver or passengers, or some other driver once it is back on the road, you're risking major financial and/or legal trouble if the insurer finds out the car isn't even titled or registered anywhere correctly.
Once you obtain title for this car wherever it is now, check to see if that state will issue some sort of temporary or transit permit so you can drive it back to NC.
Once you arrive in NC you'll have to go through NC's title and registration process all over again, and that will require passing inspection. If it won't pass, you'll need to repair it until it does or give it up.
Yes, all this will cost $, but that's the price you pay for not keeping the car's documentation current in the first place.
Another option is to sell this car (again, you'll have trouble doing that without being able to provide legal title) and take mass transit or drive a rental back to NC and start all over again with another car.
Last edited by Parnassia; 03-03-2024 at 02:27 PM..
The idea that the police give a ...you-know-what...about an expired registration is laughable. Used to handle insurance claims....tag expired? no valid insurance card? No Problem!! Go on your merry way now. You're the victim's problem.
You're going to pay dearly when you get back to NC for letting it lapse though. Dearly.
I'm more curious how you got a DL in another state without declaring residency. Depending on the state, might be a better bet to register it there, because you're going to pay the equivalent of a registration transfer when you get back here.
But why can it not be towed ? Surely if it can be driven, it can be towed, or do you just not want to do that? How much is the car worth ?
And when/if you get back here, be prepared for a challenge with the DMV. Registration/tags might not be so bad, but DL could take a long wait. I just moved back to Wake County from VA, no appointments available for several months, so waited seven hours in the DMV office just for the DL ( no road test ). They had 60 customers and only one "agent" ... Line started an hour before they opened. By noon they were turning people away.
But why can it not be towed ? Surely if it can be driven, it can be towed, or do you just not want to do that? How much is the car worth ?
And when/if you get back here, be prepared for a challenge with the DMV. Registration/tags might not be so bad, but DL could take a long wait. I just moved back to Wake County from VA, no appointments available for several months, so waited seven hours in the DMV office just for the DL ( no road test ). They had 60 customers and only one "agent" ... Line started an hour before they opened. By noon they were turning people away.
Maybe things have improved since October.
IMHO getting a new DL in NC is the least of this OP's problems. If asked, they can produce the out-of-state DL plus a copy of their NC application showing that they're waiting for the bureaucratic wheels to turn. Dealing with the car's gonna cost them!
One of my kids is away at university in another state. Their inspection came due, and NC accepted an inspection that was done in the state they are currently in - to save them having to drive the car to the first NC inspection station over the NC state line then drive back again. The registration was renewed upon receipt of that state's inspection, and they got the new tags for their car mailed to them.
I am not sure if this is solely for out of state college students though.
It's not just for college students, and if the state you are in does not do inspections, a recent maintenance receipt works. We did this just last year and it was remarkably easy. Granted, the registration was current and just up for renewal - we hadn't let it expire, and had continued paying property taxes on it. Info on out of state inspection exemptions: https://www.ncdot.gov/dmv/title-regi...s/default.aspx
Just drive. You are very unlikely to get pulled over, and if you are, all you have to do is renew registration by the time the court date hits and they will dismiss the ticket. I've driven from NC to NYC and back with 1 year expired plates, had cops behind me even in Virginia and didn't get pulled. RPD cops behind me never gave a ****. Got pulled for it twice in Fayetteville though, both times was just the dismissal.
Just drive. You are very unlikely to get pulled over, and if you are, all you have to do is renew registration by the time the court date hits and they will dismiss the ticket. I've driven from NC to NYC and back with 1 year expired plates, had cops behind me even in Virginia and didn't get pulled. RPD cops behind me never gave a ****. Got pulled for it twice in Fayetteville though, both times was just the dismissal.
Yes, this seems to be the real-life answer. I sent the NC DMV an email detailing the situation and asking what I am supposed to do. I doubt I will get an answer. A temporary 10-day tag would solve the problem but I expect that to be too simple, straightforward and easy.
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