Vehicle Registration
Multi-Year Registration
A multi-year registration may extend from two to five years. All regular registration fees are due at the time of issuance. There are no refunds for any unused portion of the registration.
Vehicles eligible for multi-year registration:
- Passenger cars
- Non-commercial trucks and trailers
- Motor homes and house vehicles
- Motorcycles and mopeds
License plate types eligible for multi-year registration:
- System assigned
- Initial reserve
- Personalized
Methods for Registration
First-time Registration
- In person at a deputy registrar license agency
- If you are temporarily out-of-state, use the Application for Registration by Mail (form BMV 4625)
Renewal Registration
- In person at a deputy registrar license agency
- Online at OPLATES.com
- By mail, please contact the BMV for further assistance
Ohio Revised Code: 4503.103
Multi-Year and Permanent Registration for Trailers and Semi-Trailers
Commercial trailers and semi-trailers can be registered from one to eight years at any deputy registrar license agency.
Multi-year registrations may transfer from one commercial trailer to another. The following transactions can be completed under the multi-year process:
- New
- New/renew
- Replace/renew
- Renew
- Transfer/renew
- Replace/renew/transfer
For fleets of at least 100 registered commercial trailers, universal validation stickers without specific plate numbers are available at no additional cost. Weight stickers are not issued.
Permanent Registration Plates
Customers may pay eight years of registration fees to receive a non-transferable, permanent registration plate.
- Only new registrations can be completed as a permanent plate.
- Permanent registration is not eligible for a class transfer from commercial trailer to non-commercial trailer.
- Permanent plates have “permanent” printed between the bolt holes and “no exp” (no expiration) printed in the bottom right corner to indicate no validation sticker is required.
- You will receive a 30-day trailer temporary window card until the arrival of your permanent license plate by mail within 10-14 business days from the date of purchase.
Methods for Registration
In person at any deputy registrar license agency.
International Registration Plan
For more information, please see our IRP registration for commercial trailers section.
Ohio Revised Code: 4503.103
Staggered Registration
Staggered registration assigns a new primary expiration month for commercial vehicles based on the last two numbers of the carrier’s tax ID number (TIN) or Social Security number (SSN).
- Staggered registration allows carriers to choose the best plan for their company.
- The carrier may split fleets into predetermined months.
Fleet Vehicle Chart
Commercial Vehicle | Expiration Date |
---|---|
One vehicle/fleet | Primary month |
Two vehicles/fleets | Primary month and secondary month* |
Three vehicles/fleets | Primary month, secondary month and one assigned optional month |
Four or more vehicles/fleets | Primary month, secondary month and one or two assigned optional months |
*The secondary month is six months from the primary month.
- All registrations will expire on the last day of the month.
- All registrations are eligible for renewal 90 days prior to expiration.
- During the transition period only, some registrations may exceed 12 months.
- Required documents must be presented at renewal or when applying for a new commercial registration.
Staggered Registration Chart
TIN or SSN | Primary Month | Two Divisions | Three Divisions* | Four Divisions |
---|---|---|---|---|
00-07 | January | January July |
January July April or October |
January July April October |
08-14 | February | February August |
February August May or November |
February August May November |
15-22 | March | March September |
March September June or December |
March September June December |
23-30 | April | April October |
April |
April |
31-39 | May | May November |
May November August or February |
May November August February |
40-48 | June | June December |
June December September or March |
June December September March |
49-57 | July | July January |
July January October or April |
July January October April |
58-65 | August | August February |
August February November or May |
August February November May |
66-73 | September | September March |
September March December or June |
September March December June |
74-82 | October | October April |
October April January or July |
October April January July |
83-90 | November | November May |
November May February or August |
November May February August |
91-99 | December | December June |
December June March or September |
December June March September |
Ohio Administrative Code: 4501:1-7-03, 4501:1-7-05, 4501:1-7-06