Nevada DMV warns drivers to avoid temporary dealer tags sold online
The Nevada Department of Motor Vehicles is warning drivers not to buy or use temporary dealer registration placards offered for sale online.
DMV police earlier this year warned residents about widespread use of fraudulent out-of-state dealer placards, which often sell for $50 or more. Now, they have taken action against a local car dealer.
Criminal citations were recently issued to two unlicensed salespersons at J’s Motorsports in Las Vegas, after DMV officers were alerted to an online advertisement offering in-state temporary tags for $200. The ad prompted investigators to conduct an audit that found 37 temporary placards issued with no record of an actual dealer sale.
Further investigation revealed the placards were allegedly sold to Nevada residents by the unlicensed salespersons using social media. Several other violations were noted during the audit, including unlicensed salesperson activity and misuse of Loan and Dealer assigned license plates.
The DMV is now in the process of revoking the dealer license of J’s Motorsports.
Illegal placard sales are fueling a spike in vehicle impounds and citations, including one issued to a driver who spent hundreds of dollars on illegal temporary tags purchased over the course of nearly two years.
Temporary tags can only be legally issued when a Nevada-licensed dealer sells a vehicle to a resident with a dealer report of sale (DRS) that is submitted to the DMV. Each vehicle sold is allowed only one temporary placard, which is good for 30 days before a full registration of the vehicle is required.
J.D. Decker, chief of DMV’s Compliance Enforcement Division, said investigators don’t usually find phony Nevada tags offered up for sale. He said it’s more common for temporary tags to be illegally altered by individual vehicle owners.
“Temporary dealer placards are easy to obtain online, but they are fake,” Decker explained. “Using fake placards can result in expensive citations and an impound of the vehicle, and they do not constitute a legal registration.
“Paying $50 or more dollars for a fake registration isn’t worth the cost of the vehicle being impounded, particularly when the DMV offers legal movement permits for $1,” Decker added. “And the owner will have to acquire a full registration to recover their vehicle from impound.”
Nevadans in the process of meeting the requirements for registration can get a movement permit at any DMV office without an appointment. Permits are available online at dmv.nv.gov if the owner has an expired Nevada registration.