Expiring vehicle registrations

The new rules on TIP's (just like the old ones) specifically state that the registration of a vehicle brought into the country lawfully does not expire until the FMM connected to that vehicle does; no matter what the expiration date on the registration is.

Of course, the minute you pass back into the US, you are fair game!!

My BC Registration expires on the 15th of December! I went in to My Autoplan agent a few days before We left and got the Decals and Documents for the next 12 Months!

I was never even asked at the TIP Office, so I really don't think it is a big deal!

That said If Your Plates expire and You have not renewed You will be in Violation as soon as You cross back into the USA!You also won't be insured!

Some of Our Mutual Buddies had this happen last Winter.I think that They had the Renewals sent to a DHL Office for pickup.

I was flagged down by a group of transitos in Toluca. After showing him copies of all the documentation he asked for, he got a smirk on his face, and asked about the plates, which expired 6 years ago. I showed him a copy of Article 106 in Spanish, and he just stood there. Guess he realized he wasn't getting any mordida, and was thinking what to tell his buddies, as I drove off. I do have a Residente Temporal.

A tag or registration that is expired in the U.S. is only a problem in the U.S. Mexican officials only are interested in the proper importation of the vehicle, in the case of a tourist with a vehicle it is for 180 days for a car or truck and a 10 year permit for an RV, a person entering on a tourist visa is issued a 180 day visa same as the car.

The expired tag will be a problem while transiting through what ever border town in the States you happen to cross back, every cop in every town will issue a ticket, the best thing to do is to pay the registration and have the documents stating that the registration has been paid on the vehicle and letting the police know that you are going to pick them up real quick or have family or friends send the tags via UPS.

navegator

yeah I don't think its an issue, but I have never encountered it before. I would not allow it to expire when in Mexico anyway, but i was wonderign abotu it expiring before the 180 days even if Mexico is departed before then.

Some interesting logic being applied here. For instance, wouldn't insurance cover be conditional on your vehicle being registered and fully legal. If the tags get out of date, the registration is invalid and you are driving illegally. If that doesn't apply in Mexico, then surely it would apply the moment you drove back over the border.

No connection what so ever. Once Aduana issues you your car permit, the hologram goes on the windshield, you are good to go for 180 days. Stickers are irrelevant. The only condition is the car permit is only good if your immigration status is current and valid. Stories about someone going to jail for an expired license plate tag are pure BULL loney. Yeah a cop "could" make an imaginary issue out of seeing an expired tag. I had one in Zacatecas (a city transito) try and make a fuss over a four year old expired tag. I laughed at him and pointed to the windshield hologram. Wanna know what he did? He shrugged then walked off. He gave it his best and was ridiculed for it. People who don't bother learning basic Mexican law are the ones who fall for this kind of nonsense. I'll bet that idiot cop didn't think it was so funny when the feds came down on his boss because I turned him in via a Green Angels complaint. Got it all: Name, badge number, date, hour, location, the whole enchilada.

The Mexican vehicle permit is another thing altogether. Aduana is nightmarishly strict about being processed at the border and surrendering the permit. Even if you have an accident or get sick and document it, prepare to lose your deposit. The 'official' take of Aduana is "You should have returned here earlier"

Most folks do not know that the 180 day car permit is only good as long as your FMM tourist card is valid. The 10-year RV permit is another thing altogether.

We drove a VW bus in Mexico that the registration tags expired half way trough the 180 day permit, my mother in law at the time paid for the tags and sent copies of the paper work, not the tags, no one said a word, for the insurance purposes you might go on line and pay for the tags, the actual tags may be sent to your rescidence or have them waiing for you at the first RV campground when you enter the U.S.

If you pay trough the internet, print all emails and all documents, you should have a paper that states that the tags have been paid.

If you mean the expiration on the actual vehicle importation permit, you better head for the border before the actual expiration, if it is the insurance, that you can extend any time

navegator

I do the same with the plates, it is not the tag I was wondering about it is the expiry date on the registration papers itself while gettign as permit. Here in BC insurance documents & registration are the same sheet of paper, since liability insurance is all done through the same agency as licensing.

Try to go on line and have the registration paid for on line and print all pertaining info, that way you can prove that the registaration in the U.S. is paid for and waiting for you, the Mexicasn Police probably do not care to much but CBP might and or the Police on the town where the crossing is done.

I always take the plate with the tabs off and place the front one on the back, and store the back one under the front seat, I have had a plate stolen in the city of Chiuhuhua at the motel, reported it at the border crossing in El Paso.

navegator