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The laws that apply to license plates tend to vary across the country. In some states, the owner of the vehicle can keep them, in others it is necessary to transfer them to another vehicle, but in Florida it is essential that they return them to the state . This procedure is extremely important when buying or selling a vehicle: the seller must transfer the title to the new owner and within that transfer the registration plates should not be included, since they are associated with the car registration. The transferred vehicle is supposed to go through a new registration process involving new copies, while the seller goes through the process to return the old plates to the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles (FLHSMV).
Contrary to popular belief, license plates do not belong to drivers but to the state of Florida, and therefore laws require their return when outside of use. According to the FLHSMV, the procedure for the return of license plates in the state of Florida can be carried out in person, by going directly to a local FLHSMV office, or by mail, sending the corresponding application and license plates to the address FLHSMV postcard.
Not considering the license plate delivery process in the state of Florida has some consequences:
1 . If the car insurance is canceled or expires, the driver’s license of the person responsible for the plates not delivered could be suspended . Financial penalties could be added to this suspension.
2. If the driver responsible for the license plates acquires a vehicle in the future, he will not be able to be exempt from the registration fee as he will not have the receipt to prove the delivery of plates.
3. The process of returning the license plates is also important because prevents them from being used by other people who could commit infractions or crimes while driving . In these cases, the financial responsibility will also fall on the driver who did not carry out the process because the record will still be in his name.
In addition to the mandatory return, Florida state traffic laws require drivers to replace their license plates every 10 years, although these have not changed from the standard design. Like other states like California, the state of Florida also allows drivers to personalize their license plates.
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