What Oklahomans should know about the new vehicle pre-registration process

OKLAHOMA CITY ( KFOR ) – The new pre-registration process for buying cars in Oklahoma launched on September 1. Here’s what to know:

According to Service Oklahoma, the new process focuses on making vehicle pre-registration safer in the Sooner State.

“That’s really designed to get rid of the paper temporary tags off of vehicles as soon as possible to get a metal permanent plate on those vehicles to really make our roads as safe as possible,” Jay Doyle, CEO of Service Oklahoma said.

The Mason Treat Act (SB 2035), head-starting the new pre-registration process after Mason Treat, the son of Senate Pro Tem Greg Treat, was pulled over for driving without a license plate, leading to a scary collision.

“While they were stopped and he was proving to the officer that he was driving the vehicle legally, another vehicle driver fell asleep behind the wheel and crashed into them, going about 70 miles an hour, severely injuring both the officer as well as Mason ,” Doyle said.

SB 2035 focuses on improving road safety for both drivers and law enforcement. The bill limits the amount of time temporary paper tags are on vehicles.

Cars purchased at a dealership or through a private seller should be pre-registered with the state within two business days of the purchase. Buyers will then have 10 days to get a metal license plate with their pre-registration decals.

“If you purchase a vehicle at a dealership, the dealership themselves will handle the pre-registration for you,” Doyle said. “So, they have two business days to actually get that pre-registration information to Service Oklahoma. Then, you’ll receive in the mail either temporary decals or a temporary decals plus a license plate.”

If you purchase from an individual, you can either go online into the Service Oklahoma portal and enter your pre-registration information, or head to a licensed operator location, formerly called a tag agency, and have them do it for you.

Now, this only applies to vehicles purchased after September 1st, if you are just renewing registration on your vehicle, this does not impact you.

“If you purchase a vehicle in the state of Oklahoma, but you plan to register it out of state or with a different jurisdiction or tribal entity for example, you can still do that,” Doyle said.

Officials say Oklahomans will still have two months from the date of purchase to receive the title, pay sales and excise tax and completely register the vehicle. The new process does not apply to vehicles bought before Sept. 1, 2024.

Doyle adds that penalties and late fees remain the same, if you do not register your vehicle within those two months.

“We’ve developed the ‘Ready, Set, Tag!’ Checklist as a user-friendly online resource to assist Oklahomans in navigating the process of buying, selling, or transferring a vehicle,” said Diedra O’Neil, Chief Strategy & Operating Officer of Service Oklahoma.

Oklahomans also have access to Service OK’s Ready, Set, Tag! checklist. The list was compiled to help residents understand the steps they need to take when buying, selling or transferring a vehicle starting Sept. 1.

To learn more about the Ready, Set, Tag! Checklist, visit Oklahoma.gov .

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