{"id":22444,"date":"2023-03-09T13:56:24","date_gmt":"2023-03-09T13:56:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.etags.com\/blog\/?p=22444"},"modified":"2026-01-20T07:49:20","modified_gmt":"2026-01-20T07:49:20","slug":"renew-your-california-license-plates-and-registration-online","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.etags.com\/blog\/renew-your-california-license-plates-and-registration-online\/","title":{"rendered":"Renew Your California License Plates And Registration Online"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>In 1905, the Golden State asked its residents to register their vehicles and get license plates. The front tag was only added in 1911. Drivers provided their own plates until 1914 when the CA DMV issued the tags. Today most vehicles, but not motorcycles, require two license plates and registration validation sticker for the back plate.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>Personalized license plates appeared in California in 1972<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<h2><strong>One number, three letters, three numbers<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Since 1980, California license plates have used a \u201cNumeral Alpha Alpha Alpha Numeral Numeral Numeral\u201d pattern or 1AAA000. It works sequentially: 1AAA000 to 1AAA001, and so on. In other words, a CA tag has one number, then three letters, then three numbers. In 2027, the Golden State\u2019s current sequence will end at 9ZZZ999, as currently in 2023, CA is at 9EWZ000-9EWZ999 series.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Skip the DMV, renew online for downloadable registration<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>You can renew your California car registration online in just a few minutes. No DMV line or visit to an auto tag agency. With eTags, just enter your license plate number and VIN so your renewal can process. Make sure to have current California auto insurance and are up to date on your smog certificate, as the Golden State requires a smog check every other year.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>In 1987, a new reflective coating was used to make tags easier to see at night or in poor weather conditions<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Renewing online with eTags gives you access to an instantly downloadable registration for temporary use. Just in case you\u2019re asked to show proof of license plates renewal, while you wait for your paperwork by mail. You can use any device you prefer to get online for pre-filled forms.<br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.etags.com\/blog\/titling-used-vehicle-in-california-when-buying-from-private-individual\/\">SEE ALSO: TITLING USED VEHICLE IN CALIFORNIA WHEN BUYING FROM PRIVATE INDIVIDUAL<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Expired tags can cost you up to $200<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Currently, California has about 27 million licensed drivers. Those with registered vehicles must renew their license plates every year. The CA DMV typically sends out notices so that you know the renewal is coming up. But you\u2019re allowed to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.etags.com\/app\/us?utm_source=blog_article\">renew your vehicle registration<\/a> 60 days before the license plate expires. Not renewing your tags can lead to fines between $100 and $200 including surcharges.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>California license plates are issued to vehicles, not individuals so they\u2019re usually transferred to the new owner when a vehicle is sold<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<h2><strong>Payment options car registration online<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>For eTags services online, you have a few different ways to pay including PayPal Credit which is interest-free for six months on purchases of $99 and more. There\u2019s also Pay Pal\u2019s Buy Now, Pay Later, allowing you to split payments equally for a few months. You can also try to get an interest-free loan with Affirm or pay by credit card.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In 1905, the Golden State asked its residents to register their vehicles and get license plates. The front tag was only added in 1911. Drivers provided their own plates until&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,2],"tags":[1605],"class_list":{"0":"post-22444","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-california","7":"category-vehicle-registration","8":"tag-california-registration"},"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.5 (Yoast SEO v27.5) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Renew Your California License Plates And Registration Online | eTags<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.etags.com\/blog\/renew-your-california-license-plates-and-registration-online\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Renew Your California License Plates And Registration Online\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"In 1905, the Golden State asked its residents to register their vehicles and get license plates. The front tag was only added in 1911. Drivers provided their own plates until&hellip;\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.etags.com\/blog\/renew-your-california-license-plates-and-registration-online\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"eTags - Vehicle Registration &amp; Title Services\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/eTagsTimeline\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:author\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/etagstimeline\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-03-09T13:56:24+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-01-20T07:49:20+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.etags.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/email.gif\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"361\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"146\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/gif\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"eTags\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@https:\/\/www.twitter.com\/etagstweets\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@eTagsTweets\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"eTags\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.etags.com\\\/blog\\\/renew-your-california-license-plates-and-registration-online\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.etags.com\\\/blog\\\/renew-your-california-license-plates-and-registration-online\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"eTags\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.etags.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/49fd63ec6797c062fb10b8872dce8be6\"},\"headline\":\"Renew Your California License Plates And Registration Online\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-03-09T13:56:24+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-01-20T07:49:20+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.etags.com\\\/blog\\\/renew-your-california-license-plates-and-registration-online\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":452,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.etags.com\\\/blog\\\/#organization\"},\"keywords\":[\"california registration\"],\"articleSection\":[\"California\",\"Vehicle Registration\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.etags.com\\\/blog\\\/renew-your-california-license-plates-and-registration-online\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.etags.com\\\/blog\\\/renew-your-california-license-plates-and-registration-online\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.etags.com\\\/blog\\\/renew-your-california-license-plates-and-registration-online\\\/\",\"name\":\"Renew Your California License Plates And Registration Online | eTags\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.etags.com\\\/blog\\\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2023-03-09T13:56:24+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-01-20T07:49:20+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.etags.com\\\/blog\\\/renew-your-california-license-plates-and-registration-online\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.etags.com\\\/blog\\\/renew-your-california-license-plates-and-registration-online\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.etags.com\\\/blog\\\/renew-your-california-license-plates-and-registration-online\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.etags.com\\\/blog\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Renew Your California License Plates And Registration Online\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.etags.com\\\/blog\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.etags.com\\\/blog\\\/\",\"name\":\"eTags - Vehicle Registration & Title Services Driven By Technology\",\"description\":\"\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.etags.com\\\/blog\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.etags.com\\\/blog\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.etags.com\\\/blog\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"eTags - Vehicle Registration & Title Services Driven By Technology\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.etags.com\\\/blog\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.etags.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.etags.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/05\\\/email.gif\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.etags.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/05\\\/email.gif\",\"width\":361,\"height\":146,\"caption\":\"eTags - Vehicle Registration & Title Services Driven By Technology\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.etags.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.facebook.com\\\/eTagsTimeline\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/x.com\\\/eTagsTweets\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.etags.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/49fd63ec6797c062fb10b8872dce8be6\",\"name\":\"eTags\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9b7db7056f653add9bff5595b34c90a3f7e8cbd022d60b614fcca28cec72734a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9b7db7056f653add9bff5595b34c90a3f7e8cbd022d60b614fcca28cec72734a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9b7db7056f653add9bff5595b34c90a3f7e8cbd022d60b614fcca28cec72734a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"eTags\"},\"description\":\"Driven by technology, eTags is revolutionizing online vehicle-related transactions while providing an unparalleled customer experience. Online vehicle registration and car tag renewal, title transfers, and more.\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.etags.com\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.facebook.com\\\/etagstimeline\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.instagram.com\\\/etags\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.pinterest.com\\\/etagsdotcom\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/x.com\\\/https:\\\/\\\/www.twitter.com\\\/etagstweets\"]}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Renew Your California License Plates And Registration Online | eTags","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.etags.com\/blog\/renew-your-california-license-plates-and-registration-online\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Renew Your California License Plates And Registration Online","og_description":"In 1905, the Golden State asked its residents to register their vehicles and get license plates. The front tag was only added in 1911. Drivers provided their own plates until&hellip;","og_url":"https:\/\/www.etags.com\/blog\/renew-your-california-license-plates-and-registration-online\/","og_site_name":"eTags - Vehicle Registration &amp; Title Services","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/eTagsTimeline\/","article_author":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/etagstimeline","article_published_time":"2023-03-09T13:56:24+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-01-20T07:49:20+00:00","og_image":[{"width":361,"height":146,"url":"https:\/\/www.etags.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/email.gif","type":"image\/gif"}],"author":"eTags","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@https:\/\/www.twitter.com\/etagstweets","twitter_site":"@eTagsTweets","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"eTags","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.etags.com\/blog\/renew-your-california-license-plates-and-registration-online\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.etags.com\/blog\/renew-your-california-license-plates-and-registration-online\/"},"author":{"name":"eTags","@id":"https:\/\/www.etags.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/49fd63ec6797c062fb10b8872dce8be6"},"headline":"Renew Your California License Plates And Registration Online","datePublished":"2023-03-09T13:56:24+00:00","dateModified":"2026-01-20T07:49:20+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.etags.com\/blog\/renew-your-california-license-plates-and-registration-online\/"},"wordCount":452,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.etags.com\/blog\/#organization"},"keywords":["california registration"],"articleSection":["California","Vehicle Registration"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.etags.com\/blog\/renew-your-california-license-plates-and-registration-online\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.etags.com\/blog\/renew-your-california-license-plates-and-registration-online\/","url":"https:\/\/www.etags.com\/blog\/renew-your-california-license-plates-and-registration-online\/","name":"Renew Your California License Plates And Registration Online | eTags","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.etags.com\/blog\/#website"},"datePublished":"2023-03-09T13:56:24+00:00","dateModified":"2026-01-20T07:49:20+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.etags.com\/blog\/renew-your-california-license-plates-and-registration-online\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.etags.com\/blog\/renew-your-california-license-plates-and-registration-online\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.etags.com\/blog\/renew-your-california-license-plates-and-registration-online\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.etags.com\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Renew Your California License Plates And Registration Online"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.etags.com\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.etags.com\/blog\/","name":"eTags - Vehicle Registration & Title Services Driven By Technology","description":"","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.etags.com\/blog\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.etags.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.etags.com\/blog\/#organization","name":"eTags - Vehicle Registration & Title Services Driven By Technology","url":"https:\/\/www.etags.com\/blog\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.etags.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.etags.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/email.gif","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.etags.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/email.gif","width":361,"height":146,"caption":"eTags - Vehicle Registration & Title Services Driven By Technology"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.etags.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/eTagsTimeline\/","https:\/\/x.com\/eTagsTweets"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.etags.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/49fd63ec6797c062fb10b8872dce8be6","name":"eTags","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9b7db7056f653add9bff5595b34c90a3f7e8cbd022d60b614fcca28cec72734a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9b7db7056f653add9bff5595b34c90a3f7e8cbd022d60b614fcca28cec72734a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9b7db7056f653add9bff5595b34c90a3f7e8cbd022d60b614fcca28cec72734a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"eTags"},"description":"Driven by technology, eTags is revolutionizing online vehicle-related transactions while providing an unparalleled customer experience. Online vehicle registration and car tag renewal, title transfers, and more.","sameAs":["https:\/\/www.etags.com","https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/etagstimeline","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/etags","https:\/\/www.pinterest.com\/etagsdotcom\/","https:\/\/x.com\/https:\/\/www.twitter.com\/etagstweets"]}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.etags.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22444","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.etags.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.etags.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.etags.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.etags.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=22444"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/www.etags.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22444\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":28363,"href":"https:\/\/www.etags.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22444\/revisions\/28363"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.etags.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22444"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.etags.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22444"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.etags.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22444"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}