Can a Second-hand Car Be Directly Licensed After Ownership Transfer?

[McIris]

Second-hand car ownership transfer does not allow direct license plate retention. While the vehicle can be transferred, the license plate cannot. During the ownership transfer process, the vehicle management office will revoke the original license plate and issue a new one to the transferee. If the owner has held the vehicle for at least 3 years, they can apply to retain the old license plate for 6 months during the transfer. Below are key considerations regarding reusing old license plates on new vehicles: 1. Corporate entities cannot inherit plates: If the original owner is a company, the license plate remains registered under the company name after transfer, not under the company's legal representative. The legal representative has no right to inherit it. 2. Individuals cannot inherit plates under certain circumstances: If the vehicle undergoes spousal asset transfer, the license plate must be used under the new owner's name for at least one year before becoming retainable. Even if the original owner passes away, license plates are not considered part of inheritable assets. 3. Archiving period: Old license plates cannot be reused immediately after transfer; there is typically a 3-working-day archiving period.