Massachusetts dealer plates and the 20-day temporary registration, explained

"Can I drive it home today?" Every customer asks it, and in Massachusetts the answer used to be awkward. It's better now — the RMV issues a real temporary registration — but there are four different paths depending on the buyer, and mixing them up means someone drives off illegally. Here's the map.

The 20-day temporary registration (the normal path)

Key facts about the Massachusetts 20-day temporary registration that dealers issue to buyers who have no plates to transfer.

The MassRMV now lets dealers issue a temporary registration valid for 20 days (for MA residents; non-residents receive 15 days). You print the temporary paper registration, the buyer puts it in a plastic sleeve on the back of the vehicle, and they drive off the lot the same day while the RMV mails the permanent metal plates to their home.

• Fee: $20.
• Issued by an authorized dealer through the RMV's Business-to-Business (B2B) services, or as a walk-in.
• Bridges the gap so a buyer with no plates to transfer can still leave legally.

This is the one that solves the old problem — a cash buyer who sold their last car (or never had one) can now drive home the day of the sale.

The 7-day plate-transfer grace period (MA resident with existing plates)

Step-by-step process for Massachusetts residents transferring existing plates to a newly purchased vehicle during the 7-day grace period.

If your buyer is a Massachusetts resident who already has active plates and has lost possession of the old vehicle (traded it to you or sold it), they get a 7-day grace period: pull the old plates, put them on the new car, and drive — as long as they carry the transfer paperwork. The new registration gets filed within those 7 days.

The non-resident short-term registration (out-of-state buyer)

Selling to someone who'll register the car in another state? The RMV's Non-Resident Short-Term Registration gets them home: for a $20 fee you issue a 15-day temporary plate so they can legally drive the vehicle back to their home state and register it there.

Dealer plates are a different thing

Don't confuse any of the above with dealer plates. Dealer plates are issued by the RMV to your licensed dealership for your use — moving inventory, test drives, dealer errands — not for handing to a customer on a sale. A customer leaves on a temporary registration or transferred plates, never on your dealer plate.

The desk cheat-sheet

Quick reference checklist showing which Massachusetts dealer plate or temporary registration option applies to different buyer scenarios.

Get the customer registered at the point of sale and there's no awkward "leave it here overnight" conversation. The registration ties back to the RMV-1 and the rest of the MA paperwork — handle them together and the car leaves clean.

When the deal's done, DealerVLO fills the RMV-1 from it, along with the federal forms, so the registration paperwork is ready before the customer leaves.