I.T.D. Reduces Time To Register Newly Purchased Vehicles

With appointment waits in the 60 day+ range, the Idaho Transportation Department has reduced the registration requirement from 30 days to 72 hours for newly purchased vehicles.

If you purchase a new or used vehicle from a dealership in Idaho, prepare to wait in line to get it registered immediately after you purchase the vehicle. I went with my wife to purchase a new car over the weekend, which is always exciting, but as we were getting ready to leave we saw the date on the temporary tag they taped to the back window, just three days into the future. Surely this is a mistake, I questioned. They informed me that the law JUST changed back last week, to 72 hours instead of 30 days.

Currently, if you want to make an appointment at the DMV, you'll have to wait until at least June, maybe even July, depending on what services you need.

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Now, for the sliver lining... This has not been confirmed by any official sources but we've been told if you get pulled over for not having registration on your new car after the expiration date of the temporary tags, that if you show the police officer who pulled you over your appointment slip for the DMV, and the intent to get it done, they'll likely not ticket you.

The good thing is, relative to other states, registration in Idaho is pretty inexpensive and you can register for two years at once so that you're not making an annual trip to the DMV. The bad thing is, you have to go to separate facilities to get driver's licenses and registration.