DMV primer

Brubaker

Brubaker

Well-known member
Lining everything up for a DMV trip. Just spoke with someone there, and was informed title cannot be obtained until vehicle is in running condition. It's a 'frame-up' restoration, and that will be awhile.
I guess the question is, do most folks tackle the DMV without telling them the car is still "in pieces", or wait until the car in put back together.
Was looking forward to taking care of this. Bill of sale,VIN verification,YOM form,etc. in-hand. Calif BTW.
 
I was told that if your using your original frame number you need to have the number verified by a the hwy patrol or certified person in ca ?
 
I got a "title Only" on my '31 s/w, they gave the car a phony license number but no plate. This did not allow me to drive the car but was proof of ownership.

Do that now while the value is low, if you do it after you complete the car you may end up paying on the restored value of the car
 
again,
I had a private vin verifier visit my vehicle where it sits today , I dismantled most of it, leaving the motor attached to the frame and all it's running gear , mentioning to the verifier that the vehicle will be reassembled in due time to its original condition.
after assisting in locating these numbers ( they don't like to be told ) , I let it be known what I identified and from there it was verified.
the car does not run. i presented the hand written bill of sale from the previous owner, he never titled it. the original title, bill of sale or year of manufacture does not exist ( however the dates on the fire wall are respected) .
the forms were filled out on the premises and handed to me , I presented brought these to the Ca.DMV, they asked me for the fee of new title and registration. handed me new plates and stickers , said happy driving.
I have not insured this vehicle and was mailed suspension and I will either non op or let it go until complete restoration then pay the fourteen dollar fee and incurred back registration . I have the new title in hand , i can not set this on any public street or flat tow it by law.
this will take a few years to complete and being I will not need to drive it this is the best way to go about it.
also contact your highway patrol , they should be very happy to visit your property and inspect your vehicle for free running or not and fill out the proper forms .
mine is not running and I had no issues titling this 1929 non running not drivable model A ford station wagon .
 
Just did the bonded title for the delivery, other than the fact that the vehicle had to be in assembled condition for pic's and the VIN inspection nothing else was that important. Had a small scuffle over the color (some rusty, some in rattle can spray primer and some of it black or blue), but wheather or not it ran at the time was not important. Just my experience in Nebraska. Laws vary state to state. Rod
 
I had an officer within our local PD sign-off on the VIN verification. So that's taken care of. I suspect the '30 plates I have will be an issue. They've been restored and the DMV doesn't care for that.. At least the number is clean(as of last week). I know sometimes the numbers are re-issued(ie for motorcycles).
 
plate restoration will only be accepted if accompanied with a document stating authorization, they do prefer those had been original to that car in particular. and I hear that new manufactured front plates are being accepted if authentic to make a pare if an authorized duplicator fabricates it and documentation is required . look at the cadmv under vintage plates, there is their guy , there is a couple in long beach that sells work at a booth at the veterans stadium and also an ad in drive monthly , that might be the same outfit all around .
I've got vintage ca plates worth nothing unless pared .
 
I have gotten titles to many non roadworthy vehicles in CA. They want your money and don't care about the vehicle. I have dry assembled more that one and taken it to the CHP for number verification.
 
Hey guys! Mass. DMV is a NIGHTMARE. This meaning the employees and managers of DMV doesn't know their own laws so one will need to go back and forth MANY times until they figure out which forms you need, But, one good thing, is here, you can probably get a title to a wheel bearing if that's all you've got. Seems bottom line is the high fees they really know how to levy. Y.O.M. plates here must be in "good repair" and NOT re-painted.
 
'29wagon said:
I have not insured this vehicle and was mailed suspension and I will either non op or let it go until complete restoration then pay the fourteen dollar fee and incurred back registration . I have the new title in hand , i can not set this on any public street or flat tow it by law.
this will take a few years to complete and being I will not need to drive it this is the best way to go about it. .
Click to expand...

As cheap as insurance for the A's are, why not insure it? God forbid something should happen to where you have the car stored, the insurance would cover your loss.
 
Thanks Mike V. but the car is outside in the backyard, being disassembled, parts cleaned, inspected and set aside for painting. I plan to have the motor out then begin reassembling it. gonna take some time to purchase what is needed, prepare the motor and build the body. no rush, its sat for over thirty years now, what's a few more.
non op. will do fine for now. it's plenty far from any "something should happen".
I've stated it was purchased for $200 and i've got maybe $100 into it.
tax title tags, diesel, prime paint, no parts purchased as of yet. inventory.
 
In Ontario an ownership is just an ownership without any care of the state or condition of the vehicle. We transfer the ownership when the car is at its lowest value to save the taxes. If the auto is 25 years of age or older, an appraisal is required therefore lower tax paid if it is a parts car vs a fully restored vehicle. Once ready for the road we obtain a safety check and plate the vehicle. We are taxed on tax on tax; one of the highest tax rates in the world but lung transplants are free.
 
In Minnesota, they apparently issue (or did 30 years ago?) an ID sticker that was supposed to be applied to the firewall. When I restored my 30 coupe the first time, back in 1980, from a doodle-bug chassis without a body, I remember going into Alexandria(MN) DMV office and simply getting title for the basket-case with no hassle, with my dad. We got "Pioneer plates", and apparently the missing sticker wtih the same number on it as the plates. I never saw it, I'm sure it got lost or thrown away as it was several years before there was even a 'firewall' to put such a sticker on! I know I never saw it....
30 years later, after my car was officially "totaled" by insurance company (I 'purchased' it back of course) I re-restored it. During the re-restoration I decided to put on 1930 Minnesota plates since I'd found a nice pair on ebay. Since the car had been totaled, I figured I needed to get it re-titled too, so after I had her road-worthy again, and upon direction from our local DMV office in Stillwater(MN), I brought the plates and photos of the project into the central DMV inspection office in St.Paul who does vehicle inspections for roadworthiness, etc... which is required here for a new title, I guess... I started to explain the situation and that I wanted new plates and probably needed a new title as well, and the two guys looked at each other, made a show of putting their hands over their ears, and said "we can't hear you".... go away. :-) They said they'd pretend I never came in, and that I should simply go to my local DMV office with my existing (30 year old) title and transfer the title to the new DOM plate number from the original Pioneer plates. I forget the details, I think I was able to change the "VIN" to my frame & engine number, instead of that pesky sticker ID with the Pioneer plates number, that I hadn't even known they issued to my Dad 30 years ago... and then have my plates transfered so my LEGAL plates are now the 1930 plates. Bottomline after all this rambling, seems there is a bit of lee-way within the DMV on how they handle this stuff, and if they go by the letter of the law, instead of the spirit of the law, you could have a miserable time of it. If I had not run into a couple of nice guys at the inspection station, I might have been in for a real hassle. (part of the story they 'didn't want to hear' was that I'd lost, actually never seen!, that little firewall VIN sticker....)
One other point, confirming previous posts; the local DMV was adamant that the plates needed to be original, not restored, to do the transfer. Once they looked at them, took a photo copy of the plates, and submitted the paperwork, then I sent them in for restoration (and they said that was fine).
 
Dr J. in Canada..."We are taxed on tax on tax; one of the highest tax rates in the world but lung transplants are free." skip adds-->If you live long enough to get one.

Our 'new deal' in the States on health care when it starts in 2012...well...is considered a benefit and the amount of $ valve, just like unemployement insurance, will be taxed. So how much is a lung Transplant here???

When I had Fourintune Garages Incorporated in Cedarburg, Wisconsin I had a 1959 Austin Mini and a 1959 Austin Healey 100-6. Both Wisconsin titles and registrations only said "1959 Austin"

So it had occured to me that one set of plates and one insurance policy would cover both cars as long as that one VIN number plate that was factory pop riveted onto the Mini firewall remained 'lost'. I'll be horn swaggered how that plate fell off that Mini firewall but it did. Lack of front plates is pretty common. And not enforced.

It was kind of cool to see two cars with the same Wisconsin plate numbers on them in my shop. Nobody ever said a word.

skip.
 
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Brubaker said:
I had an officer within our local PD sign-off on the VIN verification. So that's taken care of. I suspect the '30 plates I have will be an issue. They've been restored and the DMV doesn't care for that.. At least the number is clean(as of last week). I know sometimes the numbers are re-issued(ie for motorcycles).
Click to expand...


It is advisable to take your YOM plates to the DMV before you have them restored.
 
'29wagon said:
plate restoration will only be accepted if accompanied with a document stating authorization, they do prefer those had been original to that car in particular. and I hear that new manufactured front plates are being accepted if authentic to make a pare if an authorized duplicator fabricates it and documentation is required . look at the cadmv under vintage plates, there is their guy , there is a couple in long beach that sells work at a booth at the veterans stadium and also an ad in drive monthly , that might be the same outfit all around .
I've got vintage ca plates worth nothing unless pared .
Click to expand...


V C Section 4463.5 Facsimile License Plates


Facsimile License Plates

4463.5. (a) No person shall manufacture or sell a decorative or facsimile license plate of a size substantially similar to the license plate issued by the department.
(b) Notwithstanding subdivision (a), the director may authorize the manufacture and sale of decorative or facsimile license plates for special events or media productions.
(c) A violation of this section is a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of not less than five hundred dollars ($500).

Added Ch. 859, Stats. 1986. Effective January 1, 1987.

I also found this,
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Year of Manufacture (YOM) Plate Program
[FONT=Times New Roman,Times New Roman][FONT=Times New Roman,Times New Roman]
New Policy​
[/FONT][/FONT][FONT=Times New Roman,Times New Roman][FONT=Times New Roman,Times New Roman]
Legislation effective July 1, 2009, extends the Year of Manufacture (YOM) plate program to include currently registered autos, trailers, and motorcycles with a year model of 1969, or older and commercial vehicles (including pickups) with a year model of 1972, or older.
The YOM plate(s) must be an officially manufactured California plate(s) issued in 1969, or prior for autos, trailers, motorcycles and in 1972, or prior for commercial vehicles.
The standard Auto, Commercial, Trailer, Motorcycle (ACTM) year stickers will be issued to YOM plates for all original and renewal YOM plate applications. The Partial Year (PYR) stickers will no longer be issued. The YOM application fee will increase to $45.00 for all applications started on or after July 1, 2009.​
[/FONT][/FONT][FONT=Times New Roman,Times New Roman][FONT=Times New Roman,Times New Roman]
Revised Form​
[/FONT][/FONT][FONT=Times New Roman,Times New Roman][FONT=Times New Roman,Times New Roman]
The Application for Year of Manufacture (YOM) Plates (REG 352) has been revised to include a list of requirements for YOM applications. The REG 352 will only be available online, at​
[/FONT]​
[/FONT][FONT=Times New Roman,Times New Roman][FONT=Times New Roman,Times New Roman]www.dmv.ca.gov [/FONT][/FONT][FONT=Times New Roman,Times New Roman][FONT=Times New Roman,Times New Roman]under Forms.
Effective July 1, 2009, all YOM applications must be submitted on the revised REG 352, (REV. 2/2009). YOM applications with fees paid prior to July 1, 2009, may be accepted on previous revisions of the REG 352 and are not subjected to the fee increase. ​

[/FONT][/FONT][FONT=Times New Roman,Times New Roman][FONT=Times New Roman,Times New Roman]
Background​
[/FONT][/FONT][FONT=Times New Roman,Times New Roman][FONT=Times New Roman,Times New Roman]
Legislation was passed to amend​
[/FONT]​
[/FONT][FONT=Times New Roman,Times New Roman][FONT=Times New Roman,Times New Roman]California Vehicle Code, [/FONT][/FONT][FONT=Times New Roman,Times New Roman][FONT=Times New Roman,Times New Roman]Section 5004.1, to include autos, trailers, and motorcycles with a year model of 1969, or older and commercial vehicles (including pickups) with a year model of 1972, or older. ​

[/FONT][/FONT][FONT=Times New Roman,Times New Roman][FONT=Times New Roman,Times New Roman]
Reference​
[/FONT][/FONT][FONT=Times New Roman,Times New Roman][FONT=Times New Roman,Times New Roman]
California Vehicle Code​
​
[/FONT]​
[/FONT][FONT=Times New Roman,Times New Roman][FONT=Times New Roman,Times New Roman]§§5004.1, 5004.5 ​

[/FONT][/FONT][FONT=Times New Roman,Times New Roman][FONT=Times New Roman,Times New Roman]
Registration Manual​
​
[/FONT]​
[/FONT][FONT=Times New Roman,Times New Roman][FONT=Times New Roman,Times New Roman]§4.460 ​

[/FONT][/FONT][FONT=Times New Roman,Times New Roman][FONT=Times New Roman,Times New Roman]
Distribution​
[/FONT][/FONT][FONT=Times New Roman,Times New Roman][FONT=Times New Roman,Times New Roman]Notification that this memo is available online, at [/FONT][/FONT][FONT=Times New Roman,Times New Roman][FONT=Times New Roman,Times New Roman]www.dmv.ca.gov [/FONT][/FONT][FONT=Times New Roman,Times New Roman][FONT=Times New Roman,Times New Roman]under Publications was made via e-mail alert in July 2009.
[/FONT][/FONT]
 
I'd advise you to contact the sheriff to check the plate number , if the number does not come up then it is yours to issue , car or motorcycle . Then present them to the DMV and don't restore them ( or don't tell them you did or will ) but have them done professionally or some touch up would be respectful . If you present them to the DMV they may require you to forfeit them if they match a motorcycle or some other dispute. also check your DMV website, Ca. has a contact to restored plates and then contact that restorer to restore yours. google "vintage plate restorations" in your state, it's a business.
 
29Wagon,
I checked with Sacramento DMV, and my YOM plates/number have no record. After much frustration with DMV(shocking, I know), I sent an irate email to my representative in Sac. They eventually gave up a number to speak with an actual person.
Had my plates done already. Probably too 'nice'. May take several trips to get the 'right person'. I have a backup set(also clean) that will use if I have to. Those I can later restore myself. First pair were a little rough.
 
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