Asked in Traffic Tickets for Colorado

Q: Will I be fined for an expired tag within the grace period?

My car registration expiration date is Sept 2016. I can not afford the registration fee until Oct 15th.

The state of Colorado has a 30 grace period for expired tags. Does this apply only to the fees or does this include fines as well?

I have searched the web and found conflicting results. Please help.

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1 Lawyer Answer
Tristan Kenyon Schultz
Tristan Kenyon Schultz
Answered
  • Fort Collins, CO
  • Licensed in Colorado

A: If my memory of my car registrations is correct, this is how the system works in Colorado. You have until the end of the month for the soon-to-be expiration to make a payment without a penalty. If you miss the end-of-the-moth payment, you have an additional 30 days (read: end of next month) to make the payment BUT a penalty is assessed (I think it is 5-7% of the registration fee). After the second months grace period (i.e. three months after expiration), you can be ticketed by the police AND the registration fee is required plus the penalty and interest. I think that after 6 month post-expiration you have to go the county office to re-register the vehicle. Also note, you can pay online but pay a $2-5 transaction fee; checks are free (minus postage), but in my experience generally are not proceeded for 2-3 weeks from the mailing date. All this information is on the renewal notice (I remember reading all this when I registered my car last month...).

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