# Don't have NY state license plates but need to cancel insurance **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 6, 2015, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-have-ny-state-license-plates-but-need-to-cancel-insurance/724411 "2015-07-06T19:18:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![KierkegaardIsMySpiritAnimal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ce73a5/32.png) [@KierkegaardIsMySpiritAnimal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KierkegaardIsMySpiritAnimal)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2015, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-have-ny-state-license-plates-but-need-to-cancel-insurance/724411/1 "2015-07-06T19:18:27Z")
So, long story short, I moved and had my car registered to New Jersey, lost my plates (a lot of moving) and need to cancel my NY insurance policy (I moved from New York so my car was registered and insured in NY). I never changed my insurance policy after I moved to Jersey which I know was a big mistake on my part (I legitimately had no idea that I needed to change my policy, I just assumed it would carry over), but it never really mattered because I never needed to file a claim and didn’t get a traffic ticket. I just moved to North Carolina and need to get NC insurance but want to cancel my NY insurance that I should’ve canceled a while ago. How do I go about this? Can I cancel and pay a fee? Do I have to do something else? ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2015, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-have-ny-state-license-plates-but-need-to-cancel-insurance/724411/2 "2015-07-06T19:21:43Z")
What do your license plates have to do with canceling your insurance? ---
**Author:** ![Enginerd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/bcef8e/32.png) [@Enginerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enginerd)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2015, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-have-ny-state-license-plates-but-need-to-cancel-insurance/724411/3 "2015-07-06T19:23:26Z")
Get your NC insurance (and drivers license, if you haven’t changed that) in place first so that you can say you’ve been continuously insured, and then just cancel it. Your insurance policy is with a private company, not with the state. I don’t think you’ll need your plates for anything at all. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2015, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-have-ny-state-license-plates-but-need-to-cancel-insurance/724411/4 "2015-07-06T19:23:31Z")
You have to get your car un-registered in New York or they’ll fine you for owning an uninsured vehicle. You should have reported the plates stolen a while ago. ---
**Author:** ![KierkegaardIsMySpiritAnimal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ce73a5/32.png) [@KierkegaardIsMySpiritAnimal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KierkegaardIsMySpiritAnimal)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2015, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-have-ny-state-license-plates-but-need-to-cancel-insurance/724411/5 "2015-07-06T19:28:43Z")
The reason why I Think I need my license plates is that the NYS DMV states: “New York State law requires you to surrender your vehicle plates to the DMV before you end the vehicle’s liability insurance coverage.” ---
**Author:** ![KierkegaardIsMySpiritAnimal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ce73a5/32.png) [@KierkegaardIsMySpiritAnimal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KierkegaardIsMySpiritAnimal)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2015, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-have-ny-state-license-plates-but-need-to-cancel-insurance/724411/6 "2015-07-06T19:29:43Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > You have to get your car un-registered in New York or they’ll fine you for owning an uninsured vehicle. You should have reported the plates stolen a while ago. It is un-registered. It’s been registered to NJ since I moved out of NY. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2015, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-have-ny-state-license-plates-but-need-to-cancel-insurance/724411/7 "2015-07-06T19:32:40Z")
It’s a crazy thought I know, but have you thought of calling your insurance company to ask them how to proceed? ---
**Author:** ![KierkegaardIsMySpiritAnimal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ce73a5/32.png) [@KierkegaardIsMySpiritAnimal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KierkegaardIsMySpiritAnimal)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2015, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-have-ny-state-license-plates-but-need-to-cancel-insurance/724411/8 "2015-07-06T19:35:40Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > It’s a crazy thought I know, but have you thought of calling your insurance company to ask them how to proceed? Insurance company pointed me to my agent, my agent pointed me to the DMV anyway, after an hour of waiting on hold, the DMV agent told me I can just report them as lost and cancel them. I was really worried about the whole situation but I guess it’s not that complicated :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2015, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-have-ny-state-license-plates-but-need-to-cancel-insurance/724411/9 "2015-07-06T19:36:43Z")
I think you can safely cancel your insurance and let NY go twirl. Neither you nor the car are there, right? It’s the NY DMV that cares about the plates, not your insurance company, and if the car is actually registered in NJ and now SC or whatever, NY can’t get you for more than a token violation of procedure. IMVHO, IMNAL, I♥NY, etc. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2015, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-have-ny-state-license-plates-but-need-to-cancel-insurance/724411/10 "2015-07-06T19:46:39Z")
> [@KierkegaardIsMySpiritAnimal](#): > > > [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > > > It’s a crazy thought I know, but have you thought of calling your insurance company to ask them how to proceed? > > Insurance company pointed me to my agent, my agent pointed me to the DMV > anyway, after an hour of waiting on hold, the DMV agent told me I can just report them as lost and cancel them. I was really worried about the whole situation but I guess it’s not that complicated :smack: That’s also what the New York State DMV says on its [website](http://dmv.ny.gov/registration/lost-or-stolen), “if the plates were lost, stolen or destroyed outside of New York State, get a report printed on the letterhead of a police agency in the state where the incident happened. If you cannot get a police report, write a statement that includes your plate number and explains why you cannot surrender your New York State plates.” I’m not sure why the insurance company directed you to the DMV to cancel the insurance. If it’s a national company, I think they would be able to transfer your coverage to North Carolina. Presumably there is a standard process for this. ---
**Author:** ![Enginerd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/bcef8e/32.png) [@Enginerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enginerd)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2015, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-have-ny-state-license-plates-but-need-to-cancel-insurance/724411/11 "2015-07-06T19:56:14Z")
> [@Amateur\_Barbarian](#): > > I think you can safely cancel your insurance and let NY go twirl. Neither you nor the car are there, right? It’s the NY DMV that cares about the plates, not your insurance company, and if the car is actually registered in NJ and now SC or whatever, NY can’t get you for more than a token violation of procedure. > > IMVHO, IMNAL, I♥NY, etc. When I was young and stupid (and broke), the Maryland DMV once threatened to suspend my license over unpaid parking tickets in New York. Even just for token procedural violations, the New York DMV has some clout. ---
**Author:** ![doreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/858c86/32.png) [@doreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doreen)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2015, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-have-ny-state-license-plates-but-need-to-cancel-insurance/724411/12 "2015-07-06T22:24:07Z")
> [@KierkegaardIsMySpiritAnimal](#): > > It is un-registered. It’s been registered to NJ since I moved out of NY. I don’t know how long ago you moved to NJ - but if there was still time on your NY registration , the NY registration would have been valid until you surrendered the plates, or reported them lost or stolen etc. The fact that you got NJ plates wouldn’t automatically cancel the NY registration and having an insurance lapse while the registration was valid can eventually result in a drivers license suspension - and it may affect your license in other states, depending upon any agreements that state has with NY. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2015, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-have-ny-state-license-plates-but-need-to-cancel-insurance/724411/13 "2015-07-06T23:44:08Z")
> [@Enginerd](#): > > When I was young and stupid (and broke), the Maryland DMV once threatened to suspend my license over unpaid parking tickets in New York. Even just for token procedural violations, the New York DMV has some clout. Fines for violations are “mutually supported” pretty much across all the states; it’s in all their best interests to do so. A purely procedural, uh, process probably falls outside that cooperation. No one in NY is going to have their tags suspended because they failed to file a smog check on the last CA registration. IMHO. NAL. You know. ---
**Author:** ![andrewm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c57346/32.png) [@andrewm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/andrewm)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2015, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-have-ny-state-license-plates-but-need-to-cancel-insurance/724411/14 "2015-07-07T00:06:07Z")
> [@Amateur\_Barbarian](#): > > I think you can safely cancel your insurance and let NY go twirl. Neither you nor the car are there, right? It’s the NY DMV that cares about the plates, not your insurance company, and if the car is actually registered in NJ and now SC or whatever, NY can’t get you for more than a token violation of procedure. I don’t know about NY, but MD will fine you if you cancel insurance without first turning in the corresponding license plates ([http://www.mva.maryland.gov/about-mva/info/27300/27300-04T.htm](http://www.mva.maryland.gov/about-mva/info/27300/27300-04T.htm)). It’s $150 for the first 30 days, and $7/day for every day after ([http://www.mva.maryland.gov/vehicles/insurance/uninsured.htm](http://www.mva.maryland.gov/vehicles/insurance/uninsured.htm)). Having re-registered and/or insured the vehicle in another state is not an excuse - the point is to get the old plates out of circulation so they can’t be e.g. put on another uninsured vehicle. ---
**Author:** ![crucible](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/5f8ce5/32.png) [@crucible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crucible)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2015, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-have-ny-state-license-plates-but-need-to-cancel-insurance/724411/15 "2015-07-07T16:24:02Z")
I moved from NY state to Florida 15 years ago, sent the plates to my Buffalo contact to return to the DMV. He forgot them, didn’t get around to it. Three years later, we visited from Florida and when a garbage truck driver decided to stop in the middle of an intersection and I got a ticket for blocking the (under construction) intersection, my car’s Vin number triggered a citation for not having insurance… In order to stay out of jail, I had to go immediately to the DMV and pay a hefty fine, get a release… ---
**Author:** ![Hail\_Ants](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/dc4da7/32.png) [@Hail\_Ants](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hail_Ants)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2015, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-have-ny-state-license-plates-but-need-to-cancel-insurance/724411/16 "2015-07-07T21:44:09Z")
> [@crucible](#): > > I moved from NY state to Florida 15 years ago, sent the plates to my Buffalo contact to return to the DMV. He forgot them, didn’t get around to it. Three years later, we visited from Florida and when a garbage truck driver decided to stop in the middle of an intersection and I got a ticket for blocking the (under construction) intersection, my car’s Vin number triggered a citation for not having insurance… In order to stay out of jail, I had to go immediately to the DMV and pay a hefty fine, get a release… For those not from NY State: License plates here **ARE NOT** linked to the driver, but the car. Actually, they’re linked to the car’s insurance policy. They are only issued once a car’s insurance policy has been issued, and they MUST be surrendered or declared lost/destroyed within 30 days upon the car no longer being insured (in NY state). If you don’t, the NY DMV can fine you _ **per day** _ for every day after 30 that the NY plates exist uninsured for NY state… ---
**Author:** ![doreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/858c86/32.png) [@doreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doreen)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2015, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-have-ny-state-license-plates-but-need-to-cancel-insurance/724411/17 "2015-07-07T23:29:15Z")
> [@Hail\_Ants](#): > > For those not from NY State: > > License plates here **ARE NOT** linked to the driver, but the car. Actually, they’re linked to the car’s insurance policy. They are only issued once a car’s insurance policy has been issued, and they MUST be surrendered or declared lost/destroyed within 30 days upon the car no longer being insured (in NY state). If you don’t, the NY DMV can fine you _ **per day** _ for every day after 30 that the NY plates exist uninsured for NY state… That seemed wrong to me , so I looked it up. You don’t have 30 days- the plates must be surrendered immediately upon the insurance ending. If the car is still registered and he insurance lapses , the fines start at day 1- $8 per day until day 30. Day 31-60 get a $10 per day fine and days 61-90 are $12 per day. More than 90 days gets your registration _and_ drivers license suspended. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2015, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-have-ny-state-license-plates-but-need-to-cancel-insurance/724411/18 "2015-07-08T00:06:28Z")
Legal advice is best suited to IMHO. Colibri General Questions Moderator ---
**Author:** ![Spiderman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spiderman/32/230_2.png) [@Spiderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiderman)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2015, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-have-ny-state-license-plates-but-need-to-cancel-insurance/724411/19 "2015-07-08T01:46:40Z")
Just call your insurance co, state that you want to cxl the policy, that you have new insurance in NC & you got rid of the plates when you removed them to put on the NC plates. If I go to the garage, I still have the plates on a (formerly) NY registered vehicle. The car moved out of NY in 1995 & (probably) went to the great parking lot in the sky in 2002.