If I bought a car from a dealer and have a paper temporary buyer's tag, do I still have to register the vehicle with the state, or does the temp tag let me skip registration?

Subject

Whether vehicles bearing temporary preprinted paper buyer's tags (the cardboard "60-day" tags issued by licensed dealers at point of sale) are exempt from the general registration requirement under A.C.A. §§ 27-14-701 to -727, or whether registration is still required during or after the temporary-tag period.

Plain-English summary

State Senator Scott Flippo asked the AG a clean enforcement question: when an Arkansas vehicle is driving around with a temporary preprinted paper tag from the dealer, does that paper tag mean the buyer doesn't have to register the vehicle?

The answer is no. They're still on the hook for registration.

Arkansas law has two separate requirements for vehicles on public roads:

1. Registration. Under A.C.A. § 27-14-701(a), all vehicles must be "registered within the time period prescribed by law" unless they're on the § 27-14-703 exemption list. For most vehicles transferred to a new owner, the registration deadline is 60 days from the transfer (§ 27-14-903(a)(1)).

2. License-plate display. A registered vehicle must display "a valid license plate" (§ 27-14-304(a)). When a buyer purchases from a licensed dealer, § 27-14-1705(a)(1)(A) lets them get a "temporary preprinted paper buyer's tag" from the dealer that satisfies the license-plate display requirement temporarily. The temp tag is good until either (a) the vehicle is registered, or (b) 60 days from purchase, whichever happens first (§ 27-14-1705(b)).

The temp tag does not exempt the vehicle from registration. It only buys the buyer up to 60 days to complete the registration process. If the buyer doesn't register within 60 days, both requirements are violated: the vehicle is unregistered AND its temp tag has expired (so the license-plate display requirement is also violated).

The exemptions from registration are listed exhaustively in A.C.A. § 27-14-703. None of them is for "vehicles with temporary preprinted buyer's tags."

The AG's bottom line, in one sentence: "Registering a vehicle and displaying a temporary preprinted buyer's tag are two separate requirements."

What this means for you

Arkansas car buyers

If you bought a car from a dealer and they handed you a paper temp tag, your registration clock has started. Practical steps:

1. Register within 60 days from the purchase date. This is not a soft deadline. Drive on a temp tag past day 60 and you're risking citations and possibly a stop and impound.
2. Use the time to assemble what you need. Title, bill of sale, proof of insurance, lien information (if applicable), proof of identity, and any taxes due. The DFA Office of Motor Vehicle can tell you exactly what they need; many counties accept registrations online.
3. Don't conflate the temp tag with registration. The paper tag is just a placeholder license plate. Registration is a separate step that produces a permanent metal plate, your title in the state's records, and tax compliance.
4. If your purchase is private (not from a dealer), § 27-14-1705 doesn't give you a temp tag at all. § 27-14-902(a)(3)(B) and § 27-14-1705(j) let you transfer your old plate from a previous vehicle if you have one. Otherwise, you'll need to register before driving on public roads.

Used-car and new-car dealers

The opinion doesn't change your obligations, but it clarifies what the temp tag does and doesn't do:

• Issue temp tags only to buyers, only at the point of sale, and only on the prescribed forms. § 27-14-1705 governs the form, content, and issuance of these tags. They're not a tool for letting someone drive a non-customer's car.
• Don't represent the temp tag as a substitute for registration. Buyers sometimes get the impression that the temp tag means they're "good for 60 days" without doing anything else. They're not. They have 60 days to register. Make this clear at delivery.
• Provide the registration paperwork the buyer needs. Many DFA-related delays trace back to dealers not handing over title work, lien-release paperwork, or odometer disclosures promptly. The buyer can't register without your paperwork.

DFA Office of Motor Vehicle

The opinion is in line with DFA's existing administrative position. It also provides a one-paragraph plain-English explanation that DFA can use in customer-facing communications when buyers question the relationship between temp tags and registration.

Law enforcement

A vehicle with an expired temp tag (more than 60 days from purchase) and no metal license plate is in violation of both A.C.A. § 27-14-304(a) (no valid plate) and A.C.A. § 27-14-701(a) (unregistered). The AG opinion supports both citations as independent grounds. A vehicle with a valid temp tag (within 60 days from purchase) but otherwise unregistered is a different scenario: the temp tag covers the plate-display requirement, but the registration clock is running.

Traffic court judges

For unregistered-vehicle prosecutions where the defendant points to a temp tag, the AG's analysis controls. Display a temp tag for too long without registration and the temp tag becomes a separate violation; the registration violation has its own elements.

Citizens following motor-vehicle policy

This is a clarifying opinion on existing law. It tells you something most experienced drivers already know: paper tags are temporary, registration is required. The AG opinion makes the legal text explicit so DFA, law enforcement, and judges have a clear citation when a buyer claims their temp tag is enough.

Common questions

Q: How long do I have to register a vehicle I just bought?

Generally 60 days from the transfer of ownership (§ 27-14-903(a)(1) and § 27-14-1705(b)). The temp tag from a dealer covers the license-plate part during that window, but registration still has to happen by day 60.

Q: What happens if I miss the 60-day deadline?

You'll be driving an unregistered vehicle. That's a citable offense, and your temp tag has also expired by then. DFA may also assess late fees or penalties when you eventually register. The longer you wait, the worse it gets.

Q: Does this apply to private-party sales too?

The temp tag rule (§ 27-14-1705(a)(1)(A)) only applies to purchases from a "licensed dealer." Private-party sales don't get a temp tag from this provision. If you have an old vehicle's plate, you can transfer it to the new vehicle (§§ 27-14-902(a)(3)(B), -1705(j)). Otherwise, register before driving.

Q: I'm transferring my old plate from my trade-in. Do I still need to register?

Yes. Plate transfer covers the license-plate-display requirement. Registration is a separate process and is still required under § 27-14-701(a). § 27-14-715(a) and § 27-14-1007 require DFA to issue the permanent license plate when the vehicle is registered.

Q: What if I bought a car from out of state?

Out-of-state purchases still require Arkansas registration if the vehicle will be operated in Arkansas. Out-of-state dealers may issue their own temp tags, which are valid in Arkansas only as long as the issuing state's law allows. Arkansas's 60-day clock generally still applies.

Q: Is the temp tag a "license plate" for purposes of insurance, parking, or toll collection?

§ 27-14-1705 calls it a "temporary preprinted paper buyer's tag." It's the legal stand-in for a license plate during the brief window between purchase and registration. Whether private actors (insurers, parking enforcement, toll roads) accept the temp tag is governed by their own rules and contracts; this opinion doesn't address that.

Q: What are the exemptions from registration in § 27-14-703?

The opinion lists § 27-14-703 as the exhaustive list of registration exemptions. Common categories include vehicles owned by the state, public-school district vehicles, certain manufacturers' or dealers' demonstration vehicles, and similar categories. "Vehicle with a temp tag" is not on the list.

Q: Does this apply to motorcycles, trailers, and RVs?

Yes, generally. The Title 27, Chapter 14 framework applies to motor vehicles broadly, with certain trailers, motorcycles, and recreational vehicles having specific subchapter rules. Always check the specific subchapter for your vehicle type, but the registration-vs-display distinction holds across categories.

Background and statutory framework

Vehicle registration generally. A.C.A. § 27-14-701(a) requires all vehicles to be "registered within the time period prescribed by law," subject to the exemptions in § 27-14-703. § 27-14-903(a)(1) sets a 60-day registration window for vehicles transferred to a new owner where there's no lien, and similar timelines apply when liens are involved. Registration produces a permanent license plate (§§ 27-14-715(a), 27-14-1007).

License-plate display. § 27-14-304(a) requires every vehicle that must be registered to also display "a valid license plate."

Temporary preprinted paper buyer's tags. § 27-14-1705(a)(1)(A) provides that when a person buys a motor vehicle from a licensed dealer, they "shall be furnished" a "temporary preprinted paper buyer's tag for the vehicle and any correlating sticker that is to be placed on the tag." § 27-14-1705(b) limits the temp tag's usefulness: it satisfies the plate-display requirement only "until the earlier of" registration or 60 days after purchase. § 27-14-1705(j) and § 27-14-902(a)(3)(B) provide an alternative where the buyer transfers a license plate from an old vehicle to a replacement vehicle (in which case no temp tag is needed).

Registration exemptions. § 27-14-703 lists categories exempt from registration. The opinion observes that this list does not include vehicles with temp tags, and the legislature's silence on this point is telling: temp tags are designed as a registration-bridge tool, not a registration-substitute tool.

The AG's clean conclusion. The two-requirements framework (registration AND plate display) is the analytical key. Temp tags address the second; they don't speak to the first. Anyone driving a vehicle on Arkansas public roads must satisfy both, and the temp tag's 60-day window is the legislature's grace period for the registration step.

Citations

• A.C.A. § 27-14-304(a) (vehicles must display valid license plate)
• A.C.A. § 27-14-701(a) (all vehicles must be registered, with limited exemptions)
• A.C.A. §§ 27-14-701 to -727 (registration framework)
• A.C.A. § 27-14-703 (exemptions from registration; does not include temp-tag vehicles)
• A.C.A. § 27-14-715(a) (issuance of permanent license plate upon registration)
• A.C.A. § 27-14-902(a)(3)(B) (transfer of plate from old vehicle to replacement)
• A.C.A. § 27-14-903(a)(1) (60-day registration window for transferred vehicles)
• A.C.A. § 27-14-1007 (permanent license plate issuance, alternative provision)
• A.C.A. § 27-14-1705(a)(1)(A) (dealer issuance of temp preprinted buyer's tag)
• A.C.A. § 27-14-1705(b) (60-day limit on temp tag's plate-display function)
• A.C.A. § 27-14-1705(j) (alternative to temp tag via plate transfer)

Source

• Landing page: https://arkansasag.gov/divisions/opinions-foia/attorney-general-opinions-search/

Original opinion text

Opinion No. 2024-086
November 1, 2024
The Honorable Scott Flippo
State Senator
Post Office Box 705
Bull Shoals, Arkansas 72619
Dear Senator Flippo:
I am writing in response to your request for my opinion about temporary preprinted buyer's tags.
You ask:
Are vehicles with temporary preprinted buyer's tags also required to be registered
under A.C.A. §§ 27-14-701 to -727?
RESPONSE
Yes. Vehicles with temporary preprinted buyer's tags must still be registered within 60 days of
being transferred to a new owner. Attaching a temporary preprinted buyer's tag only temporarily
satisfies certain buyers' duties to display a valid license plate on a vehicle. Regardless of the license
plate, all vehicles—except those specifically exempted—must be registered within the 60 days,
even if they have a temporary preprinted buyer's tag.
DISCUSSION
All vehicles must be "registered within the time period prescribed by law," except for those exempt
from the requirement. In general, vehicles transferred to a new owner must be registered within
60 days.
Vehicles that must be registered must also have "a valid license plate." To temporarily satisfy the
license-plate requirement, "[a] person who buys a motor vehicle from a licensed dealer" must get
a "temporary preprinted paper buyer's tag for the vehicle and any correlating sticker that is to be
placed on the tag." A temporary preprinted buyer's tag may only be used until either the vehicle
is registered or 60 days after purchase—whichever happens first.
In short, registering a vehicle and displaying a temporary preprinted buyer's tag are two separate
requirements. A temporary preprinted buyer's tag only satisfies a new owner's duty to obtain a
permanent license plate until the vehicle is registered or the time to register has ended. It does not
exempt a vehicle from being registered at all.
A person does not need a temporary preprinted buyer's tag if they intend to transfer a license plate from an old
vehicle to a replacement vehicle; instead, they may display the license plate from the old vehicle on the new vehicle.
Deputy Attorney General Noah P. Watson prepared this opinion, which I hereby approve.
Sincerely,
TIM GRIFFIN
Attorney General