[an error occurred while processing this directive]
05/18/2008

Old plates no good on different type vehicle
Q. I bought a small two-wheel-drive pickup truck at a local Rhode Island car dealer for my son. I filled out all the forms they gave me for the registration and left a check as requested made out to the DMV. They put my son’s old plates (from his Camry) on the truck and told me I was good for three days and to stop by the next day and get the final registration.

05/11/2008

Sales tax formula doesn’t include added fees
Q. I am about to buy a new car, and would like to know on what the sales tax is based. This particular vehicle will have a “destination charge” of $600. Since the dealership is charging this on all cars, I don’t have a problem paying it. But it seems to me that the sales tax I pay should not include this amount, or any “documentation fees” that are added. Can you help me with the answer to this question?

05/04/2008

Ask the Registry: Firefighter plates are for passenger cars
Q. My question concerns the new firefighter license plates that recently emerged. These plates are only allowed on passenger vehicles, and they keep the passenger car license plate type. Purple Heart, Veteran, and National Guard plates (among others) have their own license plate types and their own sets of numbers, and can be placed on pickup trucks, etc. Why is this not the case for firefighter plates? It is probably a safe assumption that a large number of firefighters own pickup trucks as personal vehicles.

04/25/2008

Ask the Registry: Who can supervise a permit driver?
Q. My son just received his driving permit, and he insists that he was told that anyone could supervise him driving, not just a parent. He wants his older brother to take him out driving, but his brother has only had a full license for one year. Can you clarify the law for me?

04/20/2008

April is a good time to consider becoming an organ donor
Q. How does one go about becoming an organ donor?

04/06/2008

Ask the Registry: No one is going to take your plates away
Q. I have one letter, three digit registration plates. My question is, when it is time to renew will I be able to keep this number or will I be issued the new six digit plates that I see so many of? Please let me know what these new numbers replace.

03/28/2008

Ask the Registry: Why the registry can’t handle a 50-cent error
Q. I sent my registration renewal in by mail and got it back with a slip showing that I filled the check out for too much money. It was only 50 cents more. Couldn’t the DMV keep it or just send back a check for the overage? Now I have to wait and I may not get my registration on time!

03/23/2008

Ask the Registry: Dual plates for antique vehicles gives you best of both worlds
Q. What’s the purpose or advantage of registering an older vehicle with antique plates and regular registration? Is this not just an additional expense?

03/16/2008

Ask the Registry: Division of Taxation can help with car values
Q: I recently bought a 1979 Corvette (L-82 automatic with 54, 129 miles) from a private party. I am trying to determine what my sales tax would be for this vehicle. I plan to register the car with the "dual registration" – standard registration and a antique car registration so I can use it as a daily driver if I wish. I understand that because I bought the car through a private sale, the sales tax would be based on the book value as found in the Cars of Particular Interest (CPI) guide. The problem is, this guide is not available to the general public without buying the guide itself or buying a subscription. How can I determine what the sales tax would be without having to buy the guide? Is there another source I can use? Are those values contained in the guide based on the condition of the vehicle?

03/09/2008

R.I. license plate logic, by the number
Q: I have been asking everyone I know why, when Rhode Island started with the new number license plates, they started with number 7. Why not start with 1? Then I thought 7 must be for the year ’07, but in November I saw plates that started with an 8. I would love to know the logic behind this. Am I the only one who is curious, or have you had other questions on the subject?

03/02/2008

Ask the Registry: Plate renewal date depends on last name
Q: In January, I transferred my passenger plate from one car to another and paid the $45 transfer fee. The original registration was good though November of 2009. The new registration is only good through June of 2009.

02/22/2008

Ask the Registry: Widow can keep Purple Heart plates
Q: My father passed away recently and he had Purple Heart Plates. Since he was a veteran and my mother is his widow, would she be able to keep his plates? Or at the very least cancel them and keep the actual plates?

02/17/2008

Ask the Registry: No choice but to order your osprey plate afterward
Q. In January I ordered vanity plates online from the R.I. DMV. I also put in an order to Save The Bay for new osprey environmental plates, which are now available. How do I make sure only the osprey plates are made up with my new registration? Since my vanity plate order is new, I don’t have the registration paperwork to send in for the osprey plates. I’m afraid the new paperwork will come only after the wave plates have been made up, and that would be a waste.