MyCarPapers Blog
Plain-English answers to the paperwork questions that come with owning, buying and selling a vehicle. Every guide is checked against the state agencies' own pages, and each one links to the free tool that does the job.
What to Do With License Plates After Selling a Car
Keep, transfer or surrender: what happens to your plates after a sale, with rules for six states.
Read the guide → TitlesIs a Bill of Sale the Same as a Title?
What a title does, what a bill of sale does, when you need both, and when one stands in for the other.
Read the guide → RegistrationDoes the Dealership Register Your Car?
What a dealer files for you, the deadlines they face, and what to do when your plates are late.
Read the guide → RegistrationWhy Is Registering a Car So Expensive?
The taxes and fees inside a registration bill, why they vary by state, and ways to pay less.
Read the guide → RegistrationGrace Period for Car Registration
Whether your state gives a grace period, what happens when tags expire, and driving with paid but expired tags.
Read the guide → RegistrationShould You Keep Your Registration in Your Car?
Which car papers belong in the glove box, which belong at home, and why the title never goes in the car.
Read the guide → PlatesWhat Can Someone Do With Your License Plate Number?
What your plate number reveals, what federal law protects, and the real risks like plate cloning.
Read the guide → Driver recordsWhat Does It Mean to Have a Clean Driving Record?
What a clean driving record means to insurers and employers, how long things stay, and how to clean yours.
Read the guide → PlatesHow to Put On a License Plate
Mounting rear and front plates, cars without a front bracket, screws, frames and what must stay visible.
Read the guide → TitlesHow to Fill Out a Title When Selling a Car
Every field on a car title explained, the buyer's application, and California's pink slip.
Read the guide → RegistrationCan I Register a Car Without a License?
What ID works when you don't have a driver's license, the insurance catch, and registering a car for someone else.
Read the guide → TitlesWhat Is a Clean Car Title?
Clean, salvage and rebuilt titles explained, and how to check a title before you buy a used car.
Read the guide → PlatesHow Many Letters Are on a License Plate?
Standard plate formats, personalized character limits by state, and what counts as a character.
Read the guide → RegistrationHow to Change Address on Registration
Deadlines and steps for updating the address on your vehicle registration after a move, state by state.
Read the guide → TitlesHow Long Does It Take to Get a Car Title?
Realistic title timelines for transfers, mailed titles and loan payoffs, and what to do when one is late.
Read the guide → TitlesHow to Remove a Name From a Car Title
Taking a co-owner off a title: AND vs OR, who signs, and what divorce, death or a loan change.
Read the guide → RegistrationDo I Need Insurance to Register a Car?
What proof of insurance states want at registration, the few exceptions, and when a title transfer needs a policy.
Read the guide → TitlesCan I Register a Car Without a Title?
When a state registers a car with no title, how bonded titles work, and how to sell or buy without one.
Read the guide → RegistrationWhere Do I Get a License Plate Sticker?
Where to get a registration sticker, where it goes on the plate, and what to do if it never arrives.
Read the guide → PlatesHow to Get a New License Plate
New plates after a purchase, replacing lost or damaged plates, timing, and changing your number.
Read the guide → TitlesWhat Is a Title Number for a Car?
Where the title number is printed, how it differs from the VIN, and how to look it up.
Read the guide → RegistrationVehicle Registration Card Explained
What the card shows, which number is the registration number, and how to replace a lost one.
Read the guide → MotorcyclesHow to Get a Motorcycle Title
Titling and registering a bike after a sale, motorcycle tags, and bikes with no title.
Read the guide → PlatesWhat Is a Car Tag?
Tag, plate, sticker and registration explained, where your tag number is, and vanity ideas.
Read the guide → BuyingHow to Buy a Vehicle From Out of State
The seller's paperwork, the drive home, sales tax, and registration rules in 15 states.
Read the guide → Bill of saleHow to Write a Bill of Sale
The nine things to include, sample wording to copy, and what some states require.
Read the guide → PlatesLicense Plate Colors and Types Explained
US government plates, yellow, black and red plates, truck plates and foreign country codes.
Read the guide → RegistrationHow to Register a Car
What you need, where to go, and the steps in SC, CA, OR, MI and OH.
Read the guide → TitlesWhere to Sign a Title When Selling a Car
The seller's line, the buyer's line, the odometer section, co-owners and notary states.
Read the guide → TitlesHow to Replace a Lost Car Title
The five steps every state uses, plus the form, fee and quickest route in 24 states.
Read the guide →