The temp tag is what your buyer drives home on while the title and plates catch up. Every state runs it differently: who sells you the stock, which system you key it into, how many days it's good for, and what log you keep. This guide lays that out state by state, with the source for every line.
They get mixed up all the time. Your dealer plates stay on your inventory: demos, test drives, moving cars. A temporary tag goes on a car you've sold, in the buyer's name, until their own registration comes through. Once the car is sold, your dealer plate comes off.
States call it different things. Georgia has temporary operating permits (TOPs). North Carolina has temporary markers. Indiana has interim plates. New Jersey and Massachusetts issue temporary registrations. New York's is the MV-TCR. Colorado calls it a temporary registration permit. Same job in every case.
Across the states we checked, the direction is the same: issuance moves into systems that tie each tag to a dealer, a car and a buyer, with limits on how many you get.
Record the tag number on the deal in DealerVLO. Your state's temp tag log fills from your deals. $29/month, free to try — cancel any time.
Each row comes from the agency page, form or statute in the Source column. Where a source didn't say, we say so instead of guessing. State names link to our dealer plate guide for that state.
| State | System / how issued | Validity | Records / logs | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | Dealer-issued 20-day temporary tag with a receipt | 20 days | Keep a record of each tag issued for 1 year (Code § 32-6-217) | Ala. Code § 32-6-217; Ala. Admin. Code r. 810-5-1-.228 |
| California | Temporary plates from the report-of-sale system, attached at the sale | Until plates and registration card arrive, or 90 days from sale | Not covered on the pages we checked | Cal. Vehicle Code § 4456 |
| Colorado | DMV Dealer Access Portal (DRIVES); permit printed and fixed to an approved mounting board | Up to 60 days, not renewable. A second 60-day permit if title or registration isn't done in 60 days | Copies of any analog (outage) permit and dealership letter, sent to the DMV | Colorado DMV; 1 CCR 204-10 Rule 34 |
| Florida | Temporary dealer plate, $2 plus a $2.50 service fee per transaction | 30 days | HSMV 84016 temporary tag record (tag no., VIN, year, make, buyer, date issued, stock no.) | FLHSMV HSMV 84016 |
| Georgia | Temporary operating permit (TOP) stock from GIADA or GADA; since July 1, 2025 the quantity is based on last year's sales in DRIVES | Dealer can't extend or renew. The buyer can get one 30-day TOP at the county tag office | Store TOPs in a secure area; deliveries traceable | Georgia DOR |
| Indiana | Plates on Demand: buy credits at $3 a plate, print on white paper at the dealership | 45 days or until the regular plate is issued | The system logs which user issued each plate | Indiana SOS Auto Dealer Services |
| Kansas | KDOR Dealer Portal | 60 days | Not covered on the pages we checked | Kansas Department of Revenue |
| Kentucky | Temporary tags through your county clerk | 60 days | TC 96-210 temporary tag log, kept 2 years, shown to the dealer commission and police on request | KYTC TC 96-210 (KRS 186A.105) |
| Louisiana | Dealer buys plates from OMV ($20 each) and reports each one electronically the day it's issued, before the buyer gets it | 60 days or until plates arrive. One 60-day extension if the title is defective or delayed | Permanent record of plates received and issued, kept at least 3 years | La. R.S. 47:519 |
| Massachusetts | Temporary registration printed through the RMV's dealer business-to-business access | 20 days (MA residents) | Not covered on the pages we checked | Our MA temporary registration guide |
| New Jersey | MVC eTemp Tag system; insurance must be confirmed first. Dealers with under 4 NJ retail sales in 12 months can't issue | Non-resident tags: 30 days, plus one 30-day extension for a lost title or slow lienholder ($25) | Not covered on the pages we checked | NJ MVC dealer notice (P.L. 2017, c.352) |
| New York | MV-TCR temporary certificate of registration, when the buyer transfers plates. Wholesale dealers can't issue | Up to 45 days | Not covered on the pages we checked | 15 NYCRR § 78.20 |
| North Carolina | Temporary markers bought from DMV in sets of 25, issued from a receipt book | 60 days. A second marker only if the dealer can't get the title or MSO | Markers received and issued, kept at least 1 year | N.C.G.S. § 20-79.1 |
| Ohio | Issued electronically on the dealer's own equipment; $2 plus $13 per registration | 45 days, not transferable or renewable | Not covered on the pages we checked | Ohio Rev. Code § 4503.182 |
| Pennsylvania | Separate PennDOT agent contract with a $30,000 bond per location; $20 per plate to the dealer | Not covered on the pages we checked | Agent duties under 67 Pa. Code ch. 43 | 67 Pa. Code ch. 43 |
| South Carolina | Every dealer transaction runs through an EVR provider (since Jan. 18, 2024) | 45 days | Not covered on the pages we checked | SCDMV |
| Tennessee | EZ Tag | One 60-day tag by law; Revenue currently allows one extension (2 total) | Not covered on the pages we checked | TN Motor Vehicle Commission |
| Texas | No paper buyer tags since July 1, 2025 (HB 718). Metal plate assigned in ePLATE, title in webDEALER, plates ordered in IMS | General issue plate stays on the car. Out-of-state buyer plate: 60 days | Plates kept locked; plates off trade-ins reassigned in 10 days or destroyed | TxDMV HB 718 |
| Virginia | Agreement with a DMV-approved print-on-demand vendor | 30 days | Not covered on the pages we checked | Virginia MVDB |
| Washington | DOL E-Permits, required for all retail dealers | Not covered on the pages we checked | Not covered on the pages we checked | WA DOL |
District of Columbia: DC DMV's public temporary tag page covers the tags the DMV issues itself (a 45-day tag for new residents, a 5-day paper tag for out-of-state buyers in a private sale), not dealer-issued tags. Check with DC DMV dealer services.
Checked October 2026. Fees and day counts change, so confirm with your state before you rely on a number.
Where the state sells you the stock, it usually wants to know where every tag went. Where the state runs the system, the system often keeps the record for you. Indiana's Plates on Demand logs which user issued each plate, for example.
DealerVLO doesn't connect to any state tag system and doesn't issue tags. You still issue the tag in ePLATE, Plates on Demand, eTemp or whatever your state uses. The sheet just saves you retyping the deal.
One deal record holds the buyer, the car and the tag number, and the log, title paperwork and bill of sale fill from it. $29/month, free to try — cancel any time.
Through whatever system the state runs. Many of the states we checked issue electronically: Colorado's Dealer Access Portal, Indiana's Plates on Demand, New Jersey's eTemp, Tennessee's EZ Tag, South Carolina's EVR providers, Washington's E-Permits, and Ohio's electronic registrations. Some still use stock you buy, like North Carolina's markers or Georgia's TOPs. Texas stopped printing buyer tags on July 1, 2025 and now has dealers put a metal plate on the car at the sale.
It depends on the state. Massachusetts temporary registrations run 20 days, Alabama tags 20, Florida 30, Virginia 30, Ohio 45, Indiana interim plates 45, South Carolina 45, New York's MV-TCR up to 45. Colorado, Kentucky, Kansas, Louisiana, North Carolina and Tennessee use 60 days. California's temporary plates last until the plates arrive or 90 days.
Only where the state allows it, and usually only for a title problem. Louisiana allows one 60-day extension when the title transfer is defective or delayed. North Carolina allows a second marker only when the dealer can't get the title or MSO. Colorado allows a second permit if title or registration isn't done in 60 days. Tennessee's law allows one tag, and Revenue currently allows one extension. Georgia bars dealers from extending a TOP; the buyer goes to the county tag office.
In many states, yes, under its own rules. Texas issues an out-of-state buyer plate good for 60 days on the rear. New Jersey non-resident temp tags are good for 30 days, with one 30-day extension for a lost title or a slow lienholder. North Carolina lets dealers issue markers to nonresidents for taking the car out of state. Colorado says a buyer moving out of state gets a Colorado tag and then follows the new state's law.
Kentucky's TC 96-210 log (tag number, salesperson, delivery and expiration dates, buyer, VIN, make, model, year) is kept 2 years. Florida's HSMV 84016 records each tag issued and where the stock came from. North Carolina dealers keep marker records for at least 1 year, Alabama for 1 year, and Louisiana for at least 3 years. Louisiana also requires an electronic report to the state the day the plate is issued.
In Tennessee, unauthorized use, like selling tags or putting one on the wrong car, can bring civil penalties up to $5,000 per day per occurrence, plus suspension or revocation. Louisiana makes a violation a misdemeanor with up to a $1,000 fine, a year in jail, or both. In Ohio, violating the dealer rules is a first-degree misdemeanor. North Carolina and Colorado can suspend your right to issue tags after a hearing.
In many states, yes. Indiana dealers print interim plates on white paper, and Colorado dealers print permits onto approved mounting boards. Texas is the big exception: since HB 718 took effect on July 1, 2025, paper buyer tags are gone and dealers issue metal plates.
No. You still issue the tag in your state's system. DealerVLO keeps the temp tag number on the deal, builds the temp tag log for Kentucky, Florida, North Carolina and Alabama from your deals, and prints a sheet of the deal's values to type into portals like Texas ePLATE and webDEALER or Indiana Plates on Demand.
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