Can a new car be driven on the road without license plates?
4 Answers
A new car without license plates can be driven on the road if it has temporary license plates, but it is prohibited to drive without temporary license plates. Below is more information about temporary license plates: Types of temporary license plates: There are two types of temporary license plates. One has a sky-blue background with black characters and black borders, which is only valid for driving within the city, known as local temporary license plates. The other has a brown-yellow background with black characters and black borders, which can be used for driving across cities, known as non-local temporary license plates. Rules for using temporary license plates: Before the official license plates are issued, only temporary license plates should be used. Once the official license plates have been issued, even if the temporary license plates are still within their validity period, they cannot be used anymore. If caught by traffic police, corresponding penalties will be imposed.
When I bought my car, I also pondered this issue and specifically asked a friend from the traffic police. Actually, a new car can hit the road without official plates, but temporary plates are a must! Like when I picked up my car last week, the 4S dealership helped me apply for a paper temporary plate on the spot—a palm-sized piece of paper that must be properly affixed to the lower right corner of the front windshield. This temporary ID has a validity period of 15 days to 1 month, during which you must drive it to the DMV for inspection—don’t drag your feet until it expires. One night during a DUI checkpoint, the police even used a flashlight to check the anti-counterfeiting mark on my temporary plate. If you dare to drive without it, not only will you lose all 12 points, but your car will also be towed away—totally not worth it.
Young people who just got their driver's license often ask me about this. Let me put it this way, the regulations posted on the wall of our vehicle management office state: unregistered vehicles are allowed to drive with temporary license plates. I've seen people get fined 200 yuan for stashing the temp plate in the glove compartment—it only counts when properly displayed in the designated spot on the windshield. There are two types of temp plates—blue background plates are restricted to city use only, while yellow background plates allow inter-provincial travel. Last year, I helped a neighbor apply for one; just bring your ID, purchase invoice, and compulsory insurance documents, and it's done in ten minutes. The most crucial thing is to avoid unauthorized modifications. A friend who bought a new SUV got black roof film applied, and the vehicle management office refused to register it—had to remove and redo everything, a total waste of effort.
Having worked in an auto repair shop for twenty years, the most common unlucky cases I've seen are people getting caught with expired temporary license plates. The first thing to do after buying a new car is to get this piece of paper, which serves as the vehicle's temporary ID. The process is simple: bring all the purchase documents to the DMV and pay a ten-yuan processing fee. Three key reminders—insurance must be active before hitting the road, don't drive outside the permitted area of the temporary plate, and avoid dark window tints on the rear window that obstruct visibility. I once saw a young guy whose temporary plate had expired for three days—his car got impounded, and he had to spend 2,000 yuan on a tow truck to get it back. Really not worth it.
