CA DMV vehicle renewal notices and late fees

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jplee3
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CA DMV vehicle renewal notices and late fees

Post by jplee3 »

Hi all,

My wife just pointed out that we're past due on our vehicle registration for one car and at this point they've assessed a late fee as well. We moved residences in the past year and overlooked having to do the change of address form amidst all the busyness of moving, kids' school, etc. We did have mail forwarding setup and USPS forwarded the DMV renewal for our other car recently but not the one that's past due so not happy with them on this as anything from the DMV should especially be something that gets caught and forwarded proeprly. I don't know what happened with the renewal for this car - you would think that if the residents of our prior apt got it they'd be courteous enough to put it back in the mail or something. I guess I think too highly of people lol...

Anyone gone through anything similar? Will DMV waive the late fee if you explain the situation? It may not even be worth the time but my wife is currently trying to chat with them.
Broken Man 1999
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Re: CA DMV vehicle renewal notices and late fees

Post by Broken Man 1999 »

How much is the late fee?

Broken Man 1999
“If I cannot drink Bourbon and smoke cigars in Heaven then I shall not go." - Mark Twain
mega317
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Re: CA DMV vehicle renewal notices and late fees

Post by mega317 »

Not 2 weeks ago I called the CA DMV, accepted the call-back option, and had a knowledgeable helpful person on the phone in like 10 minutes.

I have no experience with their chat but I do chat a lot at work and a phone call seems to be superior for anything more than a quick FYI message.
sailaway
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Re: CA DMV vehicle renewal notices and late fees

Post by sailaway »

In four years, the CA DMV has never gotten a notice to my new address. Twice, I was able to get a registration with my new address by going in person. However, my 2022 registration, which I was able to do at a kiosk, has the old address again. I am now trying to update from that old address to a new new address.

They did not waive the late fee. Plus, I found out the first time because I got a parking ticket :(

Good luck.
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mmmodem
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Re: CA DMV vehicle renewal notices and late fees

Post by mmmodem »

A few years ago, CA DMV admitted they were late on sending out renewal notices. The due date was before the postmark date on the envelope.
https://abc7news.com/archive/8260075/

When we received our notice, we went to the DMV to make our case. The employee unapologetically said, the system won't allow us to waive the late fee. You can pay for it and I can issue you your registration or you can leave and wait until the system fixes itself. We paid the late fees, what else could we do? We did not want to risk getting pulled over. We were not refunded even after they found their error.
Topic Author
jplee3
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Re: CA DMV vehicle renewal notices and late fees

Post by jplee3 »

Broken Man 1999 wrote: Mon Jun 20, 2022 4:45 pm How much is the late fee?

Broken Man 1999
$36. Per mmmodem's response, I think we might just suck it up and pay it... I don't anticipate getting hit with late fees often anyway. It just sucks knowing it was something overlooked in more than one way.
Broken Man 1999
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Re: CA DMV vehicle renewal notices and late fees

Post by Broken Man 1999 »

jplee3 wrote: Mon Jun 20, 2022 6:02 pm
Broken Man 1999 wrote: Mon Jun 20, 2022 4:45 pm How much is the late fee?

Broken Man 1999
$36. Per mmmodem's response, I think we might just suck it up and pay it... I don't anticipate getting hit with late fees often anyway. It just sucks knowing it was something overlooked in more than one way.
Eh, stuff happens. The late fee is all in all pretty cheap tuition.

We register our vehicle for two year intervals. Never missed getting new registration on time, but we might slip up one day.

Broken Man 1999
“If I cannot drink Bourbon and smoke cigars in Heaven then I shall not go." - Mark Twain
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goingup
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Re: CA DMV vehicle renewal notices and late fees

Post by goingup »

You can sign up to get your renewals by email.
dmv.ca.gov/online
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quantAndHold
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Re: CA DMV vehicle renewal notices and late fees

Post by quantAndHold »

What I learned years ago is that they ask the USPS to not forward renewals. You are supposed to give them the new address yourself when you move. I found this out when I realized that my registration was due on that day and I hadn’t gotten it. When I called, I found out I had left my apartment number off when I sent in the change of address, so the renewal notice had gotten returned to them.

Anyway, you can do it all online. Suck it up, pay the late fee, and be done with it.

I also learned from a friend who is a cop that they won’t write tickets on late registrations until they’re two months overdue.
Mudpuppy
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Re: CA DMV vehicle renewal notices and late fees

Post by Mudpuppy »

If you create an online account, you can set it up so the CA DMV will email you renewal notices, along with the paper notice. The email notices are frequent and persistent, as I discovered this year when I was in the middle of "life" and didn't pay until about a week before it was due.
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Morgan22
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Re: CA DMV vehicle renewal notices and late fees

Post by Morgan22 »

goingup wrote: Mon Jun 20, 2022 6:31 pm You can sign up to get your renewals by email.
dmv.ca.gov/online
Do this. ^^^^^

You can create an online account with them and receive all notices by email. Every time you move you can update your address directly with them online also. You can also update your voter registration through the portal too.
tj
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Re: CA DMV vehicle renewal notices and late fees

Post by tj »

Years ago, I wrote a letter requesting the fees be reversed as I did not receive a notice. Eventually saw a reversal on my credit card statement
Topic Author
jplee3
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Re: CA DMV vehicle renewal notices and late fees

Post by jplee3 »

tj wrote: Mon Jun 27, 2022 9:15 am Years ago, I wrote a letter requesting the fees be reversed as I did not receive a notice. Eventually saw a reversal on my credit card statement
You mailed a letter in? They were saying the easiest/quickest way to appeal is just to go into a DMV and file it in person. The problem with that is that there are usually lines and a wait. Last time I went to the DMV nearest to us though, it actually wasn't too bad... especially with the appointment system. Not nearly as bad as most other DMVs I've had to go into :(
BernardShakey
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Re: CA DMV vehicle renewal notices and late fees

Post by BernardShakey »

sailaway wrote: Mon Jun 20, 2022 5:25 pm In four years, the CA DMV has never gotten a notice to my new address. Twice, I was able to get a registration with my new address by going in person. However, my 2022 registration, which I was able to do at a kiosk, has the old address again. I am now trying to update from that old address to a new new address.

They did not waive the late fee. Plus, I found out the first time because I got a parking ticket :(

Good luck.
I wonder if this is common. I've dealt with the CA DMV for over 40 years now, having lived at 7-8 different addresses. Never an issue.
An important key to investing is having a well-calibrated sense of your future regret.
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quantAndHold
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Re: CA DMV vehicle renewal notices and late fees

Post by quantAndHold »

BernardShakey wrote: Mon Jun 27, 2022 11:19 am
sailaway wrote: Mon Jun 20, 2022 5:25 pm In four years, the CA DMV has never gotten a notice to my new address. Twice, I was able to get a registration with my new address by going in person. However, my 2022 registration, which I was able to do at a kiosk, has the old address again. I am now trying to update from that old address to a new new address.

They did not waive the late fee. Plus, I found out the first time because I got a parking ticket :(

Good luck.
I wonder if this is common. I've dealt with the CA DMV for over 40 years now, having lived at 7-8 different addresses. Never an issue.
A common problem back when everything was on paper was that people didn’t realize that you had to fill in separate change of addresses for every vehicle and every driver’s license. That bit me once. I haven’t moved in years. I wonder if it’s still the same in the digital era.
sailaway
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Re: CA DMV vehicle renewal notices and late fees

Post by sailaway »

quantAndHold wrote: Mon Jun 27, 2022 12:57 pm
BernardShakey wrote: Mon Jun 27, 2022 11:19 am
sailaway wrote: Mon Jun 20, 2022 5:25 pm In four years, the CA DMV has never gotten a notice to my new address. Twice, I was able to get a registration with my new address by going in person. However, my 2022 registration, which I was able to do at a kiosk, has the old address again. I am now trying to update from that old address to a new new address.

They did not waive the late fee. Plus, I found out the first time because I got a parking ticket :(

Good luck.
I wonder if this is common. I've dealt with the CA DMV for over 40 years now, having lived at 7-8 different addresses. Never an issue.
A common problem back when everything was on paper was that people didn’t realize that you had to fill in separate change of addresses for every vehicle and every driver’s license. That bit me once. I haven’t moved in years. I wonder if it’s still the same in the digital era.
When I moved four years ago, this was true. And they successfully updated my license, but not my vehicle. Now, you can do them as one process, as long as the "old" address is the same for both, which mine was not because they haven't updated the vehicle, despite having an updated address printed on the registration for two out of four years...
GibsonL6s
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Re: CA DMV vehicle renewal notices and late fees

Post by GibsonL6s »

goingup wrote: Mon Jun 20, 2022 6:31 pm You can sign up to get your renewals by email.
dmv.ca.gov/online
+1 that is what I do and they send several reminder emails in advance.
tj
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Re: CA DMV vehicle renewal notices and late fees

Post by tj »

jplee3 wrote: Mon Jun 27, 2022 11:03 am
tj wrote: Mon Jun 27, 2022 9:15 am Years ago, I wrote a letter requesting the fees be reversed as I did not receive a notice. Eventually saw a reversal on my credit card statement
You mailed a letter in? They were saying the easiest/quickest way to appeal is just to go into a DMV and file it in person. The problem with that is that there are usually lines and a wait. Last time I went to the DMV nearest to us though, it actually wasn't too bad... especially with the appointment system. Not nearly as bad as most other DMVs I've had to go into :(

Yes. This was around 2011. I mailed the letter in the same envelope as the credit card information.
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