Plate Surrender in Oklahoma

You don’t have to return your license plates to the Oklahoma Motor Vehicle Division (MVD) if you move to another state, but you do in other situations.

For example, if you sell your vehicle and don’t transfer the plates to another one, or you cancel your liability insurance, the state wants your plate back.

Moving to Oklahoma

Don’t worry about surrendering your out-of-state plates to the OK MVD when you move to Oklahoma. You’ll get a new license plate when you register your vehicle here.

Your former state might want your old plates back, though. You can find out when you scroll to the top of this page and choose your old state from the drop down menu.

Moving from OK

You don’t have to return your plate to the MVD when you move to another state, either.

Surrendering it, or defacing and trashing or recycling it, is still a good idea. If the plate becomes lost and stolen, you could be held responsible for it.

After you move, remember to cancel your insurance and registration associated with that plate, too.

Selling a Used Car

Once you sell your used car (or give it to a person or charity), don’t let your buyer drive away with your license plate. He’ll transfer his own plates to the vehicle, or apply for new ones when he transfers the title and registers the car in his name.

You can:

• Transfer the plate to another car you own. (This includes most special and personalized license plates.)
• Surrender the plate to the OK MVD. You must do this if you cancel your liability insurance and choose not to transfer the plate.

Buying a Used Car

When you buy a used car, you can transfer your valid plate to that car or you can apply for a new one when you take care of the title transfer and car registration processes.

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