Today the Court of Appeals issued a decision that clarifies the current scope of Minnesota’s vehicle registration laws. In the case of State v. Carter, the Court held that it is illegal to drive a vehicle on Minnesota roads unless you have renewed your registration – and that you must renew your registration by the end of the month that it expires in.
The confusion arises from the fact that Minnesota law appears to give drivers a ten-day “grace period| to renew their license tabs. The average person, when reading this statute, would likely think that if their tabs expire at the end of August, they would actually have until September 10 to actually renew their registration.
The Court made it clear that this is not the case. The ten-day |grace period| only allows drivers extra time to display the tabs they already purchased. You still have to buy your new tabs by the end of the month that they expire in. If you’ve been putting off renewing your tabs because you thought you had until the 10th of the next month to do so, think again, and then renew your tabs. If you don’t, you’re just giving law enforcement one more reason to pull you over.
