DMV Extension of July Vehicle Registration Fees, letter from Ted Gaines

You should know that the CA Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) has granted an automatic 30-day extension for vehicle registration fees due in the month of July only. Motorists are being notified about the 30-day waiver via a special notice that’s included in their DMV renewal packets, but it’s easy to be confused, since the special notice contradicts the late fee information that’s printed on the actual renewal form.
Here’s what happened: Last May, Democrats in the state legislature, still hoping to raise Vehicle License Fees as part of their state budget plan, passed a special bill (SB 94) ordering the DMV to stop sending annual notices for renewals due in July and later months. (July 1st is the start of the state’s fiscal year). The delay was intended to provide the legislature extra time to increase DMV renewal fees. But the final budget deal did not include the anticipated renewal fee increase, and in the past couple of weeks, the DMV started catching up on its needlessly delayed renewal notices.

What to do: As long as you make your DMV payment by mail, online, or in person within 30 days of your July renewal notice’s due date, you will not have to pay any late fees. Law enforcement agencies in California have been notified to not issue late registration tickets during this grace period. For example, a vehicle with a July registration tag won’t be ticketed for late registration until the month of September.