Nevada DMV says pandemic-related grace period for expired tags is long over

LAS VEGAS, Nev. (FOX5) - For a while, it was valid to use COVID-19 as a reason for new out-of-state residents not changing over their car registration when relocating to Nevada.

The Nevada DMV was closed from March 17 to June 14, 2020. Then, people had to wait months just to get an appointment to visit a DMV office.

The DMV offered some leniency, but pandemic extensions expired in the fall of 2020 and people who still aren’t current are finding they must pay up.

“If your vehicle registration is say $200 and you’re a year late, first of all, you’re going to have to pay the entire $200 for that year you were late. Then the late fees are going to add up to about $87. Plus, then you’ll have to pay the $200 for the year going ahead. So that will add up to $487,” said DMV spokesperson Kevin Malone.

The higher the value of the car, the more you will pay.

Malone says many people who are moving here will not have to pay anything extra, even if they’ve been living and driving in Nevada for a couple of years. He says it is difficult to show when someone moved here. But that only includes new residents with current registration. If their car’s registration from another state is expired, they will be responsible for late fees along with back registration.

Malone says about 18 percent of vehicle registration renewals are late each year. For the fiscal year 2022, he says that’s about 342,000 late renewals out of 1.9 million total.

Malone says by law people must register their car and get a new driver’s license within 30 days of moving to Nevada.

While the DMV offered a grace period to allow residents to get current on tags, with some difficulties accessing the DMV, Metro Police say they want to be clear, officers never stopped issuing citations for expired tags. Officials tell FOX5 while issuing a ticket is up to each officer, drivers can be pulled over, cited and even arrested in some cases for expired tags.

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