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Funkybeatzzz t1_ire2ycz wrote

Yep, 1-9 are Jan-Sep and 0 for October for regular vehicles. Commercial vehicles are all Nov and Dec and vanity plates are Nov.

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ConversationOk2210 t1_ireb1y0 wrote

Registrations renew yearly, so what if you buy a car in November or December? I did here in mass, plate ended in three.

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Funkybeatzzz t1_ireb9nh wrote

You get a 0-9 if you have a regular vehicle just like I said. Doesn’t matter if you buy in November or December December or January. This just means you’ll have to pay to renew sooner.

Edit: they use the last day of the previous month as your registration expiration. So, if you register in November you’ll get a plate ending in 0 for October. If you register in January or December you’ll get leftover plates from other months.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vehicle_registration_plates_of_Massachusetts?wprov=sfti1

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BradMarchandsNose t1_irfk3d8 wrote

Registration is good for 2 years. I bought my car in November but my registration renewal date is in March. When I bought my car in November of 2018, my registration was due for renewal in March of 2021

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seesp0trunn OP t1_ireeog2 wrote

Had no idea, thought all the numbers were random.

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NCSUGrad2012 t1_irercod wrote

Vanity plates are November and commercial are December but otherwise, correct!

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Ecstatic_Tiger_2534 t1_irescsf wrote

Thank you for clarifying this. I came to the comments to ask how this works when there are 12 months but only 10 digits. This makes sense.

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youjustlostthegameee t1_ire6eqc wrote

Me and my vanity plate disagree

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Wavally t1_ireqdxh wrote

You probably think this post is about you.

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seesp0trunn OP t1_iref1d8 wrote

Fair. It’s silly you have to pay more for those

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toadstoolfae3 t1_irejty5 wrote

Do they not send yall yours to renew in the mail? I always get the bill in the mail each year in May to renew mine.

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Dragongala t1_irelmt3 wrote

I don't think they do it anymore, they used to tho

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gryphongod t1_irfyxsf wrote

I just got mine in the mail a couple weeks ago.

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Easy-Progress8252 t1_irh3ci5 wrote

I got my reminder in the mail, renewed it online and still haven’t gotten my stickers. That was 2 weeks ago.

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seesp0trunn OP t1_irf3j41 wrote

Cop told me they don’t send reminders out anymore. Though I moved so it could have easily gotten misplaced if they did.

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VibrantSunsets t1_irf66ku wrote

Both me and my boyfriend received renewal letters this year.

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toadstoolfae3 t1_irff1wr wrote

I definitely got one this year in May. I thought maybe if anything the changed that after I got mone but I doubt they'd change that in the middle of the year.

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VibrantSunsets t1_irff7mz wrote

Right. I got mine in April but he got his last month so definitely no changes recently. I know they stopped sending reminders for license renewals awhile ago, maybe the cop who told OP that was confused.

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toadstoolfae3 t1_irffnwl wrote

Ah yes maybe it's license renewals he was referring to and got it confused.

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seesp0trunn OP t1_irfssy8 wrote

Well shit I’m glad he was confused because he may have not let me renew it right there and towed me if he thought I just ignored the notice.

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VibrantSunsets t1_irfte1i wrote

I’m sure it depends but anyone I’ve ever known who forgot and let it lapse then got pulled over were allowed to just renew it right there. They see the confirmation and they’re good. But there will always be that one asshole.

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PabloX68 t1_irh7q4l wrote

Don't take legal advice from cops.

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seesp0trunn OP t1_irh9cd5 wrote

I’m Im aware, but it wasn’t really legal advice lol

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egv78 t1_ire2z3x wrote

IIRC, 1-0 = Jan - Oct for cars. Trucks are 1, 2, for November, December.

I was told this by an RMV employee when I had to get new plates (so I had to select from the ones she had in stock that ended in the same month as my old tag)

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seesp0trunn OP t1_ireexmm wrote

I’ve transferred plates before a few times but I’m now realizing never into MA, possibly why I never figured it out

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ahecht t1_irejr86 wrote

All trucks with commercial plates are December, but trailer plates are November.

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egv78 t1_irf4tw6 wrote

It's a good thing I gave them up, cause close, but no cigar for me!

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SmuglySly t1_irekrvr wrote

Yea this might work for the initial plate registration but now I am 4 cars in using the same plate that ends in 7 but my renewal is in March. So I am sure there might be more exceptions to this rule than anything.

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HaElfParagon t1_irexvkj wrote

This isn't correct. Mine is a 2, but I have to renew in March

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SynbiosVyse t1_ire39xs wrote

Then what do you do for double digits?

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theskepticalheretic t1_ire3y3n wrote

A,B.

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LinguiniAficionado t1_ire8wu5 wrote

That would be logical, but that’s not how it works. 1-0 is Jan-Oct, vanity plates are in Nov, and commercial plates are in Dec. I think there are other plate types that fall into Nov/Dec too but I don’t know what they are.

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haroldebarel t1_iregoh5 wrote

Wow, had no idea. Seems like just a few other states do this.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_license_plate_designs_and_serial_formats

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AchillesDev t1_irevu0l wrote

Some states are really dumb and use known algorithms to encode a bunch of your private info into your D/L number. MA does too but I don't think anyone has cracked it.

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haroldebarel t1_ireyhb2 wrote

I was wondering about that actually. The first 5 characters of my wife’s drivers license now match the first 5 characters of my own after she changed her last name. (NJ drivers license and the numbers are a bit longer than the ones in MA)

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AchillesDev t1_irez2xz wrote

Here's a site that shows the algorithm for FL, WI, and IL. It claims that MA uses the SSN, but I don't think that's the case, as you've noticed the number wouldn't change with a name change if it was based on SSN. Shortly before I moved back here ~5 years ago, I checked this algorithm against my FL license number and it was accurate, fwiw.

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NCSUGrad2012 t1_irersi3 wrote

Yeah, West Virginia and Missouri also do this. West Virginia is unique because they don’t have the month anywhere on the plate outside of the the first number on the plate which is the month it expires. Both Massachusetts and Missouri while including it in their number also put the month in the upper left. Although, when Massachusetts was issuing green plates they didn’t put the month on the plate and instead put it on the sticker.

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seesp0trunn OP t1_irf3cy4 wrote

Yea the whole thing is a lot more organized than I ever gave them credit for lol

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TheConeIsReturned t1_ireri76 wrote

I've seen plenty of license plates that end in a letter. What then?

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VibrantSunsets t1_irf5zm0 wrote

I’m guessing it’s the last number. Mine ends in a letter but the last number is a 4 and I had to renew in April.

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PakkyT t1_irfkvuq wrote

It is still simply the last number on the plate. So "846 JFA" would renew in June.

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seesp0trunn OP t1_irf3wtz wrote

Vanity plates? Older system? Grandfathered in?

I don’t know man, I only learned about that one little factoid yesterday

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Academic_Guava_4190 t1_irgey9j wrote

Umm… how does that work for double digit months. Mine ends in 00 but it’s up in Oct.

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dorkswerebiggerthen t1_irenwse wrote

I'm sorry, I'm not from here. What's renew your registration? Don't you just register once when you get car?

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AlistairMackenzie t1_irerrqi wrote

In Massachusetts you have to renew your auto’s registration every other year. Partly that’s so they can make sure you’re insured and partly it’s bureaucracy. You also have to have an annual safety inspection and pay an annual excise tax on the nominal value of the car.

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dorkswerebiggerthen t1_iresrlv wrote

Damn I knew about the yearly inspection but not the every other year registration. Thanks for the heads up!

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Graflex01867 t1_irgyzkn wrote

My plate ends in 3.

I bought the car in 6.

Does not compute?

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Statest16 t1_irhvu1z wrote

My plates were stolen and replaced so they don't correspond that way

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seesp0trunn OP t1_iri2cct wrote

People still steal plates? That’s some crazy bad luck

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Statest16 t1_iri6ibh wrote

Yea working nights driving Limo's in North Adams and my personal car was in the parking lot late at night ,and got back and the plates were gone.

There's a registry in North Adams I got new plates next day for $10

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seesp0trunn OP t1_iri7i6r wrote

I work overnights and I’m always worried my car will get broken into. Never thought about my plates, I may not even notice.

As much as it sucks, that seems like it was the easiest and cheapest thing you could have possibly had to replace at least.

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Statest16 t1_irir0ey wrote

Yea it was great ,plates and a new registration on the spot for ten bucks

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superbbuffalo t1_ire7v4s wrote

False. Mine ends in 4 and we have to renew in July.

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toadstoolfae3 t1_irffhxn wrote

Mine ends in 2 and I renew mine in May. Like I posted earlier I also get a letter in the mail for my registration so maybe this is just how different counties do it? Either way I'm confused.

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fun_guy02142 t1_ire9kf2 wrote

Your registration or inspection?

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mikemerriman t1_ired0vh wrote

false. 9338 original plate renewed in oct.

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ahecht t1_irej868 wrote

If your plate number is 9338, which is a lottery plate on a 2003 Dodge Dakota, your registration is next due on August 31, 2023. You're also overdue for your inspection, since your sticker expired in August.

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mikemerriman t1_ireld6c wrote

There are letters after the numbers.

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Funkybeatzzz t1_irg6xm6 wrote

> In addition to the standard serial formats, Massachusetts also issues "reserve" plates. Reserve plates permit the plate holder to receive the same serial number when new plate styles are issued, or to transfer the serial number to family members. These plates are either all-numeric (1 through 99999) or consist of a single letter followed or preceded by a number (A 1 through Z 9999 and 1 A through 9999 Z). Reserve serials may also be of the forms A#A, A##A, #A#, and #AA#, where # represents any number, and A represents any letter. Low-number reserve plates – now called "Lottery Plates" by the RMV – are of the forms #, ##, ###, ####, A#, A##, #A, and ##A only. When a registrant cancels a low-number reserve registration, the number is placed in an annual lottery.

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