Lotus Europa Forums > Off Topic Subjects

Ownership of US Federal Number Plates

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4129R:
I have imported back to the UK 7 Federal TC Europas.

I am having trouble registering one of them for UK plates and the DVLA, (bureaucrats and real jobsworths) have asked me for photos of the car with number plates on it.

None of the 7 cars I have shipped back from the USA have had number plates attached.

Do the plates belong to the US State in which the car is registered?

Do you have to renew the plates every year?

Why are the plates removed when the cars are shipped abroad?

I need to explain to Mr Jobsworth why the car has no US plates attached.

Clifton:
In the US they call them licence plates. In Arizona, you buy and own the license plate. If you sell the car, you keep the plate and use it on your next car when you register it. FWIW, I bought an old 1969 Arizona plate on Ebay and brought it to DMV and registered it to use on my car.

4129R:

--- Quote from: Clifton on Sunday,November 19, 2023, 10:35:26 AM ---In the US they call them licence plates. In Arizona, you buy and own the license plate. If you sell the car, you keep the plate and use it on your next car when you register it. FWIW, I bought an old 1969 Arizona plate on Ebay and brought it to DMV and registered it to use on my car.

--- End quote ---

This car was registered in Pennsylvania.

Does each state have different rules on ownership?

BDA:
US "license plates" are different from UK "number plates." License plates do not follow the car. In fact, a car can have more than one license plate during it's lifetime. Since license plates are given out by the state, if a car goes from one state to another and is re-registered, it will receive a new plate. If you are really trying to figure that out, you have to consider that each state is like a quasi country. But it's really more "fluid" than that because in the States, we have antique plates if your car is over 20 or 25 years old. We have "vanity plates" which allow you to personalize your plate with your own "message" of 8 characters. Then some states allow a choice of plate that says you are a pet lover, a veteran, support a certain team, etc. So a car can can have had more than one plate even if the owner and state of registration doesn't change. Mine has. They are only, the best I figure because I've never really thought about it, a way for a cop to figure out who owns a vehicle and for the state to take more of your money. Each year, the registration (which the plate ultimately signifies) has to be renewed. In North Carolina, that means you have to put a sticker on your plate to signify it has been renewed.

In answer to your last question, There are different rules in each state. Usually, plates are issued by the sate but I know people with old MGs who registered their car as an antique and were issued antique plates but they mount a plate from the year of the car but they keep their antique plate under the seat of their car. I don't know how that actually works with the police but it's apparently not a problem.

That's probably a lot more than you wanted/needed to know but your local bureaucrat needs to know that you shouldn't expect a plate to be on the car when you get it from the States. If he or she needs to know that it was a legal car in the states, the Department of Motor Vehicles in the state where it came from should have a record of registration keyed on the VIN. With a Europa, that might be the 5 characters on the plate under the windshield or the "whole" number which includes the month and year of manufacture. A policeman might want to check the VIN of your car to check to see if it's stolen and he would check that plate under the windshield. It should line up with the registration (and thus the plate). I don't know if there is a problem if your registration has the complete VIN (manufacture date + serial number) which is not on the VIN plate under the windshield...

Whew!!! Hopefully that helps!

4129R:

--- Quote from: BDA on Sunday,November 19, 2023, 11:04:05 AM ---With a Europa, that might be the 5 characters on the plate under the windshield or the "whole" number which includes the month and year of manufacture. A policeman might want to check the VIN of your car to check to see if it's stolen and he would check that plate under the windshield. It should line up with the registration (and thus the plate). I don't know if there is a problem if your registration has the complete VIN (manufacture date + serial number) which is not on the VIN plate under the windshield... !

--- End quote ---

My problem is the idiot in Pennsylvania who gave out the Title Certificate called the car 75/3089R, whereas the import papers quite rightly call the car 74/3089R and the VIN plate calls it 73023089R, therefore the idiot jobsworth at DVLA is so stupid he cannot process the paperwork as 753089R does not equal 743089R. So he wants to see the number plates etc. etc. whereas if he deals with imported cars he should know that other countries such as the USA and Germany do not fix the plate to the car, but the plate to the owner.

I have asked Andy Graham for help. If an email from Lotus confirming the identity of the car, and he has actually been to my barn and seen the actual car, does not convince Mr Jobsworth, I will be making an official complaint to DVLA as they are idiots. Two other cars had the right paperwork, but instead of S30471 for the engine number, Mr Jobsworth has put 530471 for the engine number, and called the date of first registration 1/1/74, when they were clearly registered in other months.

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