How to Return New York License Plates When You Move Out of State

Do You Have to Return Your New York License Plates When You Move?

Yes, if the car will be registered in another state. New York wants its plates and registration back, and the timing matters as much as the return itself: you must surrender them before the New York liability insurance on the car is canceled. If you do not turn the plates in, the DMV will suspend the registration and can suspend your driver license, according to its guidance on surrendering plates and registrations.

The plates go back to the New York DMV, not to the motor vehicle office in your new state. This guide covers a permanent move. If New York stays your home and the car only spends the winter elsewhere, it keeps its New York plates and policy. Our guide to keeping a New York car legal while it winters in Florida covers inspection and registration from out of state, and our page on snowbird car transport covers seasonal moves. New York's temporary surrender for a car taken off the road for a season is a separate process.

In What Order Should You Handle the Plates, Insurance and New Registration?

The order is where most moves go wrong. This sequence keeps the car registered and insured at every stage:

1. Leave the New York plates on the car and the New York policy in force while the car travels.
2. Buy a policy that meets your new state's requirements and register the car there. Keep the New York plates.
3. Remove the New York plates and surrender them with a PD-7 form, by mail or at a DMV office.
4. Keep the FS-6T receipt, and note the postmark date if you mailed the plates.
5. End the New York policy only after the surrender date.

Your new policy has to meet the requirements of the state where the car is registered, as the DMV notes in its guidance on moving to or from New York, and many states want proof of it before they register the car. California asks for it at the DMV visit, as our guide to registering an out-of-state car in California explains. The two policies may overlap briefly. What New York checks is that its own coverage lasts until the plates are surrendered.

How Do You Return New York License Plates by Mail?

Mail is the practical route once you have left New York, and it starts with your address. The DMV mails the plate surrender receipt, form FS-6T, and any refund check to the address on the registration. Change your address with the DMV before you send the plates, and file a forwarding order with the Postal Service.

Take the plates off the car and remove the frames and fasteners, because the DMV will not accept plates with them attached. Destroy the registration and inspection stickers on the windshield. Then fill in a Plate Surrender Application (PD-7) for each set of plates, giving the plate number, the plate class printed on your registration and the first three letters of the registered owner's last name.

Send the form and plates in an envelope, not a box, to NYS DMV, 6 Empire State Plaza, Room B240, Albany, NY 12228. There is no fee by mail. The DMV treats the postmark date as the date you surrendered the plates and asks you to allow 21 days for the FS-6T receipt. A tracked mail service gives you your own record of when the envelope left.

Can You Return the Plates at a DMV Office Instead?

Yes. Bring the plates, with frames and fasteners removed, and a completed PD-7 to a DMV office. County motor vehicle offices charge a $1 fee to process the surrender. A relative or friend still in New York can take the plates in for you. Give them only to someone who will actually surrender them, as the DMV advises, and get the FS-6T receipt afterward.

What Happens If You Cancel Your New York Insurance First?

New York counts it as a lapse. Replacing the New York policy with out-of-state coverage before the plates are surrendered leaves a registered car without valid New York insurance, and the DMV will suspend the registration and may suspend your driver license. It acts on your New York record even after you move, which can affect your ability to hold a license in your new state.

For a lapse of 90 days or less, you may be able to pay a civil penalty instead of surrendering the plates and serving the suspension. The DMV's civil penalty page sets it at $8 a day for days 1 to 30, $10 a day for days 31 to 60 and $12 a day for days 61 to 90, so a 90-day lapse costs $900. The option is not available for a lapse of 91 days or more, or if you paid a civil penalty in the past 36 months.

If the lapse came from a move, the DMV asks for a copy of your out-of-state registration in your name and, if available, your out-of-state insurance, showing your name and address and the car's year, make and VIN. Mail them to the Financial Security Bureau, New York State DMV, P.O. Box 2725 ESP, Albany, NY 12220-0725. The DMV applies that proof to your record to reduce or clear the lapse your insurer reported.

Will New York Refund Part of Your Registration Fee?

Sometimes. Most passenger cars carry a two-year registration, and the refund depends on when you surrender the plates, according to the DMV's page on refunds for surrendered plates. Within 60 days of issue, with the sticker unused, you get the full fee back minus $1 for processing. Later in the first year you get half the fee, minus $1, and in the second year nothing.

The plate fee, title fee and any taxes you paid at registration are not refunded. If you are owed money, the Office of the State Comptroller mails the check to the address on file, which is one more reason to update your address first.

What If Your New York Plates Are Lost or Stolen?

You still have to surrender the registration. If both plates are lost, stolen or destroyed, report it to the police first. Inside New York, a police agency completes form MV-78B. If it happened in another state, get a report on the letterhead of a police agency there. Take the report to a DMV office to surrender the registration, as set out on the DMV's page on lost, stolen or destroyed plates. If the police will not give you a report, the DMV accepts form MV-1441.3 instead, showing when you asked and which agency refused.

How Does Shipping the Car Fit Around the Paperwork?

Ship the car with the New York plates on and the New York policy in force. It arrives ready to be driven to an inspection, VIN check or DMV appointment in your new state, and the New York registration stays valid until you surrender it. Keep the title, registration and insurance papers with you rather than in the car, and note any damage on the bill of lading before you sign at delivery.

Rivalane coordinates door to door transport out of New York with licensed, insured carriers, and we typically assign a carrier within one to three working days after you book. Pickup and delivery dates are estimates, not guarantees, so leave room before your new state's registration deadline. Our route pages cover shipping a car from New York to Florida, Pennsylvania and many other states, each with that state's arrival rules, and our car shipping routes page lists them all. Leaving Florida instead? Our guide to Florida license plate surrender covers that state's process. You can also read about car shipping in New York or price your route with the car shipping calculator.

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