Overhaulin'

If you relocate outside of Massachusetts and register your car in another state, do you need to return plates?

I recently moved out of Massachusetts and just put my car on the road in another state. I spoke with my insurance carrier who said I needed to return the plates in person to the DMV and since this was not a possibility, said that I could just destroy the plates or keep them, and I did not have to worry about returning them to the DMV. I just want to make sure this is actually true, as when I moved out of New York State I failed to return my plates and as a result had my license suspended for over two years (the time it took between when I took my car off the road in NY and returned the plates). I did find an address where plates can be mailed but my insurance carrier told me not to mail them because they often get lost in the mail. Does anyone know for certain what the Massachusetts policy is? Thanks in advance!

Public Comments

1. if you didnt turn them in when you got your new state plates just throw them a way or give them to the dmv ...so they can throw them away no big deal... theres no need is mailing them they are no good to anyone but you
2. The only thing I know is that the DMV in Virginia didn't want to take back my old plates. No idea why the lady wouldn't tell me. Okay so curiosity got to me so I googled I found one link (below) that might help you. The only other I can tell you is to look up the DMV website for whichever state(s) it concerns.
3. Yes send in your old plates. If they get into the wrong hands it can come back to haunt you. Good luck!