# Texas Temp Tags in Northern Virginia **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 20, 2021, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/texas-temp-tags-in-northern-virginia/940388 "2021-04-20T15:46:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![iamthewalrus\_3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/258eb7/32.png) [@iamthewalrus\_3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamthewalrus_3)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2021, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/texas-temp-tags-in-northern-virginia/940388/21 "2021-04-20T21:23:11Z")
Looks like [you can get a temporary tag from FL](https://www.flhsmv.gov/safety-center/consumer-education/buying-vehicle-florida/buying-private-sale/), but you have to pay FL sales tax which could be a major hassle since you’ll also be expected to pay a use tax in whatever state you register it in. ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2021, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/texas-temp-tags-in-northern-virginia/940388/22 "2021-04-20T21:42:48Z")
> [@TheZenPaperboy](#): > > I knew that would be a problem. where i live there are a lot of Hispanics. There are a lot of Hispanics in Texas. The possibilities of being able to buy a car in Texas and have brought to Virginia by family is a possibility about the reselling the cars in Virginia. Or just plain wrong in your mind. Why is this wrong in your mind? There’s nothing wrong in my mind about people buying cars where it’s cheaper and bringing them to where they’re more expensive, and I don’t see why either family or demographic group has anything to do with it. Do they salt the roads in Virginia? > [@jnglmassiv](#): > > If my plate is run, it comes back clean & valid, a trooper on the interstate might not notice the cars don’t match. They’re going to notice. > [@BigT](#): > > Alternatively, maybe you can just drive it with the previous owner’s plates temporarily. That would be very unwise of the previous owner. Any later trouble involving those plates will come back on them; and they have no way of knowing that there won’t be any. ---
**Author:** ![jnglmassiv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f07891/32.png) [@jnglmassiv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jnglmassiv)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2021, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/texas-temp-tags-in-northern-virginia/940388/23 "2021-04-20T22:11:13Z")
> [@QuickSilver](#): > > Temporary tags are generally available at the DMV if you show the proof of sale/purchase and signed title. My research said you could get placeholder tags till your permanent (Florida) tags arrived but I may have misinterpreted that at the time. It was 14ish years ago. Looking now, the website does say that temp tags would have been the thing to do. That would also have been easiest with a lot of help from the seller to and from the DMV with a wait in between and kind of a lot to ask. On the other hand, he did pick me up at the airport (never fun) and he would probably have done it. The worst part of the whole deal was the washer fluid tank was full of (mostly?) water and stayed frozen solid for months. ---
**Author:** ![TheZenPaperboy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a9a28c/32.png) [@TheZenPaperboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheZenPaperboy)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2021, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/texas-temp-tags-in-northern-virginia/940388/24 "2021-04-21T03:22:31Z")
The Texas tag is different than is different than the Virginia tag. Larger. Hearing the drivers talk Spanish as I walked to my car. And after I saw the one tag it stuck in my mind. Then the other tags just jumped out into view as I walked by. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2021, 12:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/texas-temp-tags-in-northern-virginia/940388/25 "2021-04-21T12:03:38Z")
I’m moving this to IMHO. Most of the answers seem to be personal anecdotes, rather than, for instance, cites of regulations, and it doesn’t look like we will be getting GQ type answers. So i think this will be a better home for it. ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2021, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/texas-temp-tags-in-northern-virginia/940388/26 "2021-04-21T19:20:33Z")
A lot of people around here are military, and maintain tax homes in other states. If they bought a car, it would be registered to their home state. If they bought it around here, I presume it would have Virginia temporary tags - but if they bought it back in Texas then drove it here, it would not. Virginia sales taxes on cars are actually lower (from what I can find quickly) than cars bought in Texas, so that shoots one theory as to why it might be beneficial to purchase elsewhere. ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2021, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/texas-temp-tags-in-northern-virginia/940388/27 "2021-04-21T21:10:43Z")
> [@Mama\_Zappa](#): > > Virginia sales taxes on cars are actually lower (from what I can find quickly) than cars bought in Texas, so that shoots one theory as to why it might be beneficial to purchase elsewhere. Most states allow dealers to not collect local state sales tax if they can show that the car is being purchased for licensing out of state. Your driver’s license as a buyer is sufficient proof of that. When you register the car in you state, tax will be applied before tags are issued to you. In the event that such provisions are not available, there are reciprocal agreements that prevent people from being double taxed. I’ve read that the DMV can extend temporary tags for 60 days for a fee. It’s at their discretion so I’m not sure what qualifies as valid reasons for granting such extensions. If that is the case then that may explain why the tags OP saw had June 6, 20201 expiration dates. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2021, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/texas-temp-tags-in-northern-virginia/940388/28 "2021-04-22T01:07:51Z")
In New Jersey we are getting flooded with phony Texas temp tags. Since it’s happening here I don’t doubt it’s happening in other states. It’s gotten to the point that Texas officials are training other states on their laws and how to spot fakes. Although it’s possible that someone buys a car in Texas and drives it to New Jersey while the temp registration is still valid, I have yet to see a valid registration here. Every single one has been fugazi. ---
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2021, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/texas-temp-tags-in-northern-virginia/940388/29 "2021-04-22T01:10:36Z")
If you buy a used car in Texas, the plates remain on the car, valid to the previous owner’s expiration date. So for an American, no transit plate needed. A border Mexican who buys a Texas car can get a special border plate valid only in the border zone. The fronterizo plates are very common in border cities. So my WAG is the cars were driven by Mexicans who had bought them a year or so ago, old Texas plates expired, but the cars never technical left US and been imported into Mexico, so legally stilll USA cars. If the old Texas plate has expired, the transit plate is required to drive in US ---
**Author:** ![BippityBoppityBoo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bippityboppityboo/32/5745_2.png) [@BippityBoppityBoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BippityBoppityBoo)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2021, 4:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/texas-temp-tags-in-northern-virginia/940388/30 "2021-04-22T04:51:06Z")
Never mind [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/texas-temp-tags-in-northern-virginia/940388.md?page=1)