[skyguy79]

Originally Posted by Skip

You need the NYS title and must bring the car to the County Office with you. They need to check the VIN visually.

Don't throw away your old plates, you need to return them to Albany (with a special form). When the insurance company notifies NYS that you are no longer insured in NY and they don't have your plates back, they issue a warrant. Next time you get stopped, you'll be arrested if there's a warrant out for you.

Many New Yorkers forget to do this and put their old plates on their golf carts. Bad-Bad !

Skip

As a retired NYS Motor Vehicle Supervising Representative I'd like to help clarify a few things.

What actually happens is when you cancel you NYS Insurance on your vehicle is the insurance company enters the cancellation on your NYS DMV record. If your plates haven't already been surrendered, you will then receive a notice to surrender your plates or face suspension if you fail to do so. If the plates have not been surrendered within (IIRC) 90 days from the date so ordered, your drivers license or privileges will also be suspended for a period equal to the uninsured period.

Frequently when someone moves to another state and no longer have the plates to turn in, (or even if you do have them) it is acceptable to send proof of the date you registered in the other state, usually a copy of the registration. This proves to NYS that you no longer have an insurable interest as of the date it was registered out of state and any liability ends on said date.

One thing that I never heard of is any warrant ever being issued for anyone's arrest for failure to return the plates. If your caught using the vehicle itself with or without the NYS plates on them, you can be subject to arrest if there is an indication on the DMV records that your vehicle is uninsured, but that's about it! However, that should not happen if your vehicle is properly registered and insured in Florida despite the indication on the NYS record. You could however be arrested if you're driving the vehicle in NYS while any suspension against your license or privileges is in effect, and that includes for an open suspension on the insurance cancellation that took place. If in any doubt about your status you should contact the NYS DMV if you're from NY - http://www.nydmv.state.ny.us/callorvisit.htm or the appropriate state authority if your from another state.

Disclaimer: I retired from my official position with the DMV nearly 10 years ago and I what I have stated is to the best of my knowledge, but it has not been stated as a current representative of the department and the information may have been affected by changes that have since occurred.