Your 'registration' is the sticker placed on your windshield and the paper registration certificate that you must keep in your vehicle. 

You or your business must register and title any vehicle you own or lease. Registrations do not need to be in the owner's name, or for only one person. Auto dealers can register and title vehicles, and issue plates (and charge a fee for this).

See information about vehicle plates or vehicle titles.

Vehicles already registered in New York

Renew

You can renew your registration online and print a 10 day document to use until your new registration arrives in the mail. Please note: If your vehicle has been altered or stretched to increase the number of passengers or if there are other special circumstances, you cannot renew your registration online. See additional information and other ways to renew a registration.

Renew registration online

Other transactions

• Change address
• Change name or other information
• Check registration status
• Replace registration (and get a temporary document)
• Surrender (return) plates and cancel registration
• Tell DMV your new registration has not come in the mail

Suspensions

See information on registration suspensions due to

• Parking tickets 1
• Toll violations
  
• Insurance lapses
  
  

Register a vehicle in New York

You must register any vehicle owned by you or your business. 2 

Special situations

• Deceased owner
• Imported vehicles
• Homemade vehicles and trailers
• Leased vehicles
• More than one owner or registrant
• No title for a newly purchased vehicle
• Out-of-state vehicles
• Register for someone else 
• Register while you are out-of-state
• Salvage vehicles that do not have a 'Salvage' title

See what you need to register 

Complete DMV’s Document Guide to make sure you have the correct proofs of identification and other documents before you come to the DMV.

Find your proofs for registration

Transfer the registration from another vehicle you own

After you sell or give away a vehicle, you can transfer the registration and vehicle plates to another vehicle you own. You must bring all of the documents required to register a vehicle, along with a completed Statement of Transaction (if this is a vehicle you have just purchased and do not currently have the title or transferable registration in your name), to a DMV office.

• 1. DMV does not handle parking violations or regulate parking. If you receive a parking ticket you must respond to the locality where they were issued. Do not contact DMV. If you fail to answer parking tickets, the locality can notify the DMV which can prevent the renewal of your vehicle registration, or suspend your vehicle registration. See a list of local Traffic Courts in New York State
• 2. This includes all of these types of vehicles (if you plan to drive them on a public road). See specific requirements for different vehicle types below.
  • Cars
  • SUVs
  • Vans
  • Pick-up trucks
  • Motorcycles
  • Trailers
  • Custom and homemade trailers
  • Agricultural and farm vehicles
  • Boats
  • ATVs
  • Mopeds
  • Snowmobiles

  There are some motorized devices that cannot be registered in New York.

• 3. (except for limited use motorcycles and mopeds)
• 4. Passenger vehicles have no business advertisements and are used exclusively for non-commercial purposes.
• 5. Non-residents of New York State with snowmobiles registered in their home states can apply online for a NY State snowmobile registration to operate their snowmobile in New York. If you registered your snowmobile in New York before, do not register again. Instead, you can renew your registration. This is not available to New York residents.