Where do you keep your vehicle registration card?

[The Mystery Machine]

They just run your plates and license if you get stopped. If the car has been reported stolen, that will show up instantly. Same with your license -- if you have warrants or whatever, they will show up.

I guess what's weird to me is, why would they demand you prove the car is yours in the first place? Obviously if you're driving a stolen car, that's another matter, but what if you're driving your parents'/friend's/cousin's/whoever's car? Aren't y'all allowed to do that?

Well you would look for the insurance and registration and produce it to the police. Hopefully you are smart enough to tell the person that it is in the glove box or hand it to them to produce to the police.

 

[kacaju]

I never thought the police were asking for the information to prove you owned the car.

 

[Mickeyistheman]

In NJ if you can't produce a registration for your car.....the police can seize your car...oh yes plus you get a nice ticket of about $350 if not more!

Your car MUST be registered AND you must have car insurance as well or you can't drive your car. That is in NJ.

 

[Gina]

Well you would look for the insurance and registration and produce it to the police. Hopefully you are smart enough to tell the person that it is in the glove box or hand it to them to produce to the police.

Sure seems unnecessary. I would NEVER have my car title in my car -- it stays with the passports, birth certificates, other vital papers, in a safe place. I guess I just figured every state had the windshield-sticker registration. No personal info on there, and you can't misplace it.

 

[MM27]

I keep my license, registration and insurance card all together in my wallet. Nobody drives my car but me, and I always have my wallet with me when I drive.

 

[phamton]

I would NEVER have my car title in my car

But a registration is totally different than a car title. A registration is to prove taxes are paid and the license plate isn't stolen and just registers your car in that state. Titles can be in other names. Even the bank may have the title and you might just have a duplicate until you pay off the car.

Since I have lived in Texas my entire life, I wasn't used to having registration papers. By law, in Florida, we must have the registration with us in the car. The title still stays in a safe place, but not in the car.

Florida, unlike Texas, has only one license plate (in the back) and we don't have inspection stickers as we aren't required to have the car inspected. The month/year sticker goes on the license plate and we have nothing on the windshield.

 

[DisneyBlonde]

When I lived in CT I kept it in my glove box. The registration there is an 8 x 10 sheet of paper. Now that I'm in new jersey it goes in my wallet, because it's credit card size.

 

[ICF]

In the glove box, in Indiana our registrations are way to big to put in a wallet unless you fold it really tiny....we also dont have any vehicle inspections either.

 

[NotUrsula]

In Missouri the title *is* the registration, and I keep mine in my safe deposit box. What we have on the window is a safety inspection sticker.

What I keep *in* the car is a photocopy of the license tax receipt, with the details of the address blacked out (house number and zip code). My street is several miles long, so just knowing what street it is wouldn't help a thief. No one ever drives my car except me or (very rarely) DH, so that isn't an issue.

It's been at least a decade since I've been stopped for any reason, but my recollection is that officers here don't ask for registration, just license and proof of insurance. They will call in to check the status of the tags and your SSN, and as long as the vehicle isn't reported stolen, they won't question your right to be in possession of it. (Well, I guess maybe if you had a long list of priors for GTA, they might question.)

Now I'm wondering if I should photocopy my title and carry that in the car in case I drive out of state, in case some officer asks me for it.

One funny thing *did* happen to me about 15 years ago when I was stopped for speeding. They ran my SSN and discovered that there was a bench warrant out from Louisiana, where I had previously lived. I was ordered to contact the court and report in. When I called, it turned out that the warrant was issued because I had not renewed my car insurance policy on the car I had when I lived there -- because I had moved out of state and bought a new policy when I changed my domicile. It turns out that the law in Louisiana is that if you let an insurance policy just lapse without notifying the insurer that you no longer own the vehicle or have taken out a policy elsewhere, it generates an automatic bench warrant. Since I no longer lived there *AND* I had sold the car about 7 years previously, they decided to vacate the warrant.

 

[C.Ann]

I believe in NY it must be kept in the car - along with your proof of insurance.. (Glove box..)

Either way, DD's DH will sometimes drive my car (once in a blue moon, my DD as well) and I would never, ever remember to give it to them each time - nor would they remember to ask for it..

 

[Rora]

Glove box!

 

[welovedisneyx4]

So for the police who say not to keep the registration in your car, (and I can somewhat see that POV) what are you supposed to do if someone else is driving your car? Will you not get in trouble or are you just supposed to remember to give it to whoever is driving the car?

DH and I drive each others cars occasionaly and I can see us having a hard time remembering to leave the registration w/ the actual driver.

 

[justjulie]

to keep a photocopy of the registration in the glove box and the original elsewhere ...

 

[sbell111]

We don't have registration cards, we have flimsy paper registrations. Since you do get asked for it if you are pulled over, the registration and the insurance card goes in the glove compartment.

My theory is this: If I produce these things quickly for a LEO, he will be able to quickly do his job and move on with his life. He won't be irritated by having to do more work and he'll be more likely to let me off with a warning.

Also, I rather doubt that the 'car theives will find it and then go rob your house' scenario is really that common. After all, teh fact that they stole your car is no proof that there is no one at home, that your doors are unlocked or that you don't have an alarm. Plus, car thieves and home burglers are not typically the same kind of criminal.

 

[LisaNJ25]

In NJ if you can't produce a registration for your car.....the police can seize your car...oh yes plus you get a nice ticket of about $350 if not more!

Your car MUST be registered AND you must have car insurance as well or you can't drive your car. That is in NJ.

yep, and is isnt registration $ getting out of control. Its getting worst and worst every year.

 

[browneyes106]

The glove box