Why has the license plate arrived but the vehicle license hasn't?
4 Answers
Because it hasn't been produced yet. Below is relevant information about vehicle licenses: 1. Concept: The full name of a vehicle license is motor vehicle driving license, also known as a 'driver's license'. It is a legal certificate required by law for motor vehicle drivers to apply for. After studying and mastering traffic regulations and driving skills, and passing the examination by the management department, it is issued as a legal credential permitting the driving of certain types of motor vehicles. 2. Document Usage: The vehicle license, abbreviated as driving certificate or driver's license, commonly known as 'car book' in Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macau, Singapore, and Malaysia, referred to as a driving license, and colloquially called 'license plate' in Cantonese, is a document issued by government transportation departments to individuals qualified to drive, usually in the form of a card. According to the 'Regulations on the Application and Use of Motor Vehicle Driving Licenses'.
As a veteran driver with over a decade of experience, this issue is all too common. When I got a new car last year, I also encountered the situation where the license plates arrived first, while the blue registration booklet came a week later. A friend at the DMV told me these two processes are actually handled separately. License plate production is an assembly-line operation—the pressing factory can make and ship them the same day. The vehicle registration certificate, however, is more troublesome. It has to wait until the DMV fully inputs and verifies your inspection materials into the system, and the photo passes review. If the paperwork gets stuck at any stage during this process, you won’t get the registration certificate even if the plates arrive. Remember to use your ID card to sign for the registration certificate—don’t just wait for a text notification.
As a female car owner, I was really anxious last time I bought a car. I excitedly got my license plate installed on Tuesday, but the vehicle registration certificate didn't arrive until Friday. The sales guy later explained that the DMV's license plate production department and document review department operate separately. License plates are like customized keychains that can be produced quickly. The registration certificate is different—it requires entering over a dozen documents into the system for verification, including the car purchase invoice, compulsory insurance slip, and your ID photo. The internal approval process takes time, and it gets even slower during system upgrades. He suggested downloading the Traffic Management 12123 app to check the progress. As long as all your documents are complete, there's no need to worry too much.
Questions about the workflow at the Vehicle Management Office. License plates are uniformly produced by the plate manufacturing center through a mechanical die-casting process, which is highly efficient. For the vehicle license, it requires manual review by the archives department to check details such as whether the vehicle photo is clear, if the chassis number imprint is complete, and if the purchase tax certificate is valid. After the review is completed, it must wait for the certificate printing department to uniformly print the documents. The two systems operate independently, so a time difference is normal. My cousin, who works in the system maintenance department, mentioned that there is typically a delay of 3-5 working days on average. If it exceeds ten days, you should inquire at the service window.
