Philadelphia Expired Tags Ticket Lawyer

I Received a Ticket for Expired Tags. What Do I Do?

Receiving a citation can subject you to penalties under the State’s code. In Pennsylvania, a police officer can give you a traffic citation when he or she notices you have invalid or Expired Tags. Indeed, police officers are always on the lookout for expired tags, because they give them a reason to conduct an investigatory stop. Expired Tags are often indicative of other criminal behavior, such as driving stolen vehicles or drug offenses, as well as other traffic offenses.

The citation you will receive in this case is for violation of PA §75 §1301(a), “Driving Unregistered Vehicle Prohibited,” which states:

(a) Driving unregistered vehicle prohibited – No person shall drive or move and no owner or motor carrier shall knowingly permit to be driven or moved upon any highway any vehicle which is not registered in this Commonwealth unless the vehicle is exempt from registration.

Let’s say your tags expired a few days ago. According to the statute and relevant case law, you can be charged with driving an unregistered vehicle, just as if it had never been registered. While this does not seem right, since your car had a prior registration, what counts is whether your car is registered now.

There are even consequences for those who allow someone else to drive a vehicle with Expired Tags. Under the statute above, it doesn’t matter if you drove or you allowed someone to drive the unregistered car.

Penalties for Driving with Expired Tags

If your car was registered within the 60 days before you received the citation, you will only pay a $25.00 fine. However, if your car wasn’t registered within the 60 days prior to your citation, you’ll instead pay a $75.00 fine. These penalties remain the same regardless of whether you are the person driving, or you merely allow someone else to drive.

Should I Consult a Lawyer?

In addition to the penalties listed above, there are also other penalties PennDOT may choose to impose, so it is important you contact a lawyer who can discuss possible defenses and inform you of any consequences arising from the citation. The Law Offices of Greg Prosmushkin, P.C. employ Attorneys with decades of experience handling matters like these. Call us today or Contact Us online for a free consultation.

This content was written on behalf of Greg Prosmushkin.