PA temporary plates are the paper tags that a dealer or an authorized agent issues so a vehicle can be on the road while its permanent Pennsylvania registration is being processed. The tag is a short-term credential tied to one vehicle, and it is not the registration itself. The state fee schedule prices temporary registration plates to the dealer or agent rather than to the retail buyer, which is why the amount on a buyer’s invoice rarely matches the figure in the schedule. This page covers who issues the tag, what it costs, what it is not, and what to check before driving away.
Most confusion around temporary tags comes from treating them as a lighter version of a registration. They are not. A registration is a record held by the bureau, with a plate number, a class, and an expiration date attached to a vehicle and an owner. A temporary tag is a document issued during the interval before that record produces a metal plate. Once the distinction is clear, the rest of the process, from the fee to the paperwork, follows in a plain order.
What a temporary plate is
A temporary plate is a paper document issued for one vehicle while its permanent registration is in process. It identifies the vehicle and the transaction that produced it, and it has a working life measured in the period printed on it rather than in years. The document is not built to last, and it is not meant to be the plate a driver keeps.
A paper credential, not a metal plate
The permanent plate is a piece of stamped metal with a registration number that stays with the vehicle record. The temporary tag is printed on paper or card stock, which is why it is treated differently at every stage. It can be damaged by rain, heat, or a dashboard, and it can be lost in a way a metal plate cannot. Those physical limits are part of why the tag is described as an interval document. The vehicle registration stages follow the same order for most vehicle classes.
What the tag carries
The tag identifies the vehicle and the party that issued it, and it carries the dates that apply to the transaction. It also carries a number that stands in for the plate number during the interval. A driver should be able to read the vehicle identification number, the make and model, and the issuing business on the document without straining, because those are the details that connect the paper to the car.
Why the tag exists
A vehicle cannot sit idle while title and registration work moves through the system, and a dealer cannot hand over a car with no credential at all. The temporary tag fills that interval. It lets the buyer drive, park, and fuel the vehicle while the permanent record is completed, and it gives the dealer or agent a way to tie the car to a transaction that is already underway.
Who issues it
Temporary plates come from the businesses that process registration work, not from a state counter. The fee schedule names dealers and agents as the parties that obtain them, and that is where a driver meets the document in practice.
Dealers
A licensed dealer that sells a vehicle handles the title and registration paperwork for the sale, and the temporary tag is part of that work. The dealer prepares the tag from the buyer’s details and the vehicle’s details, collects the amounts that apply to the transaction, and sends the registration application on. A buyer who drives off the lot with a tag in hand is holding a document the dealer produced, not one the bureau mailed. The PennDOT fee schedule lists each amount by vehicle class.
Authorized agents
An agent is a business under contract with PennDOT that processes registration and title work for the public. Agents handle transactions that do not involve a sale, such as a transfer from another state or a registration renewal that needs a new plate. An agent that issues a temporary tag follows the same pattern as a dealer: it prepares the document from the vehicle record and forwards the application.
What the bureau does
The bureau holds the registration record and issues the permanent plate once the application is complete. It does not hand a temporary tag to a walk-in customer, because the tag belongs to the transaction the dealer or agent is processing. The split matters when something goes wrong: the dealer or agent is the party that can look up the status of the packet, while the bureau is the party that holds the record.
Cost and who pays it
The schedule lists one amount for a temporary registration plate, and it lists that amount as a cost to the dealer or agent. The table below collects that line together with the registration amounts that usually surround it.
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Temporary registration plate, cost to dealer or agent | $20 |
| Passenger registration, one year, standard plate included | $48 |
| Passenger registration, two years | $96 |
| Local use fee, per registration year, participating counties | $5 |
| Transfer of a registration plate | $11 |
| Replacement standard plate | $14 |
The amount in the schedule
The schedule is written for the businesses that obtain the tags, so its figure is a cost to the dealer or agent rather than a retail price. A buyer sees that cost folded into a transaction that also includes registration, title, and sometimes a service charge. The state schedule does not set what a buyer pays for the tag on its own, and it should not be read as a price list at the counter. A tag and title agent may add a service fee to the state charge. A dealer or a tag and title agent issues the paper tag and may add a service fee.
Service fees on top
An agent under contract with the bureau may charge a market-driven service or delivery fee in addition to the statutory amounts. That fee is set by the business rather than by the state, so two agents can quote different totals for the same work. A dealer may also build its paperwork costs into the sale, which is why the line items on two invoices for similar cars rarely match.
What the cost does not cover
The tag does not carry the registration fee, the title fee, or the county local-use fee. Each of those sits on its own line in the transaction. A buyer comparing quotes should look at the registration amount, the title work, the tag cost, and any service charge as separate items, because a single total hides which part is state fee and which part is the business’s own charge.
What a temporary plate is not
Four distinctions cover most of the misgrasp, and each one shows up in a different part of the process.
Not a registration
A temporary tag is not a registration record. The registration is the bureau’s entry for the vehicle, with a class, a plate number, and an expiration date. The tag points to a pending transaction, and it stops being useful once that transaction produces a plate.
Not a title
Title and registration are separate parts of the same transaction, and the tag belongs to neither. A title establishes ownership, and a registration establishes the right to operate the vehicle on the road. The temporary tag is issued so the vehicle can be used while the registration side of the work is finished, and it says nothing about who owns the car.
Not personalizable
Personalized characters are issued on a metal plate against a registration that already exists. PennDOT requires the applicant to hold a valid registration plate and to keep it until the personalized plate arrives, which means the base has to exist before the request can be filed. A temporary tag is issued before that metal plate exists, so it has no base for a combination to sit on. A driver who wants personalized characters orders them after the registration is in place.
Not a permanent plate
The tag is not a substitute for the metal plate that follows it, and it is not a spare in case the plate is damaged. A damaged or lost permanent plate goes through the bureau’s replacement process, with its own form and its own amount. Keeping an old temporary tag as a backup does not create a plate, and displaying an expired tag in place of a plate is not the same as having one.
How it fits the registration process
The tag sits between the sale and the plate. Everything before it is paperwork, and everything after it is the bureau’s production and mailing.
Before the tag is issued
The dealer or agent gathers the buyer’s identification, the vehicle’s title or manufacturer’s document, the insurance details that the transaction requires, and the amounts that apply. The tag is prepared from those details, so an error in the paperwork shows up on the tag.
While the record is processed
The registration application travels to the bureau, which reviews it and builds the permanent record. During that time the vehicle is covered by the tag. The buyer’s job is to keep the tag readable, keep the paperwork together, and answer any question the dealer or agent raises about a detail that does not match. A mismatch at this stage delays the plate rather than the tag.
When the registration is complete
Once the application is processed, the bureau issues the metal plate and the registration card. For a passenger vehicle, the registration fee includes a standard plate at first issuance, so the plate is part of the registration transaction rather than a separate purchase. The card and the plate then become the record the driver carries, and the tag drops out of the picture.
Dealer and agent
The two paths reach the same result, but they start from different transactions. Knowing which one applies makes the paperwork easier to follow.
What a dealer handles
A dealer handles the sale, the title application, the registration application, and the tag that covers the interval. The buyer usually signs the paperwork at the desk and leaves with the tag already prepared. The dealer then forwards the packet and answers questions about its status, which is why the dealership is the first call when a plate is slow to arrive.
What an agent handles
An agent handles registration and title work for drivers who are not buying from a dealership, including transfers, out-of-state moves, and renewals that require a new plate. The agent prepares the tag in the same way and forwards the application. Because an agent serves many customers rather than one sale, the service fee and the turnaround on paperwork can differ from a dealer’s.
Choosing where to process the work
The choice usually follows the transaction. A purchase goes through the dealer because the dealer holds the title documents. A registration change on a car already owned goes through an agent or the bureau’s own channels. A driver should ask two questions at either counter: whether a temporary tag is being issued, and what the itemized charges are. The answers settle most of the confusion before it starts.
What to check on the tag
A minute with the document before driving away prevents most later problems. The checks below are the ones that matter.
- The vehicle identification number on the tag matches the number on the vehicle and on the paperwork.
- The make, model, and year printed on the tag match the car.
- The name of the issuing dealer or agent is readable and matches the business handling the transaction.
- The dates printed on the tag are legible and consistent with the date of the sale or the paperwork.
- The tag number is recorded on the buyer’s copy of the documents.
- The tag is clean, unaltered, and free of folds across the printed details.
Details to compare
The vehicle identification number is the detail worth the most attention, because it ties the paper to one specific car. A single transposed digit can leave the tag describing a different vehicle, and that error surfaces later when the registration record is reviewed. The plate or tag number is the second detail to compare, since it is the number a driver will be asked for if the paperwork is questioned.
Condition and legibility
Paper does not survive a wet dashboard or a hot windshield well. The tag should be kept flat until it is in place, and it should not be trimmed, laminated in a way that obscures print, or written on. A tag that has become unreadable is a problem for the driver holding it, even though the dealer produced it, so a replacement copy should be requested from the issuer rather than improvised.
A copy for your records
A photograph of the tag and a copy of the paperwork take a few seconds and answer questions later. The copy shows what the vehicle displayed on the day it left the lot, and it preserves the dates and the tag number if the original is lost. It also gives the dealer or agent something concrete to work from when the buyer calls about the plate.
Frequent mistakes
Most temporary tag problems trace back to a habit rather than to a rule. The five below cover the ones that recur.
Treating the tag as the registration
The tag is not the registration record and does not replace the card that follows it. A driver who files the tag away as if it were the registration loses the document that connects the car to the pending transaction. The registration card is the document to keep long term, and the tag is the interval document that precedes it.
Expecting a personalized combination
Personalization requires a valid registration plate to build on, and the tag is issued before that plate exists. A buyer who wants a particular combination should order it after the registration is in place, with the character rules and the personalization charge that apply to the base. Expecting the combination on the tag leads to disappointment at the counter.
Losing track of the dates
The tag carries its own dates, and those printed dates are the ones that apply to the vehicle. A driver should read them at the counter rather than assume a period from an earlier purchase or from another state’s practice. If the plate has not arrived as the tag’s dates approach, the dealer or agent should be called rather than waited out.
Losing the tag itself
A paper tag left on a seat can blow out of an open door, and one left on a dashboard can curl in the sun. The issuer can provide a replacement, but the request takes time and the driver is left describing a missing document. Keeping the tag in the vehicle’s paperwork folder until it is mounted avoids the problem.
Ignoring a mismatch
A wrong digit in the vehicle identification number or a misspelled name is easy to fix at the counter and awkward to fix later. The error does not stop the car from leaving the lot, which is exactly why it goes unnoticed. Comparing the tag with the paperwork before the sale is closed is the cheap moment to correct it.
When the permanent plate arrives
The arrival of the metal plate closes the interval, and a few stages finish the file properly.
Compare the plate with the card
The plate number on the metal plate should match the number on the registration card, and the card should match the vehicle. A discrepancy is a record problem rather than a printing quirk, and the bureau should be contacted before the plate is mounted. The design should also match what was ordered, since a wrong design is easier to correct before the plate is used.
Mounting and the sticker question
PennDOT stopped issuing registration stickers at the end of 2016, so there is no sticker to apply when a new plate arrives. The card is the record of a current registration. A driver who expects a sticker may think the packet is incomplete, when in fact the plate and the card are the whole delivery.
Retiring the tag
Once the metal plate is on the vehicle, the temporary tag has done its work. There is no further use for it, and leaving it in the glove box next to the registration card invites confusion later. Keeping a copy with the transaction records is enough, and the original can be discarded once the plate and card agree.
If the plate does not arrive
The dealer or agent that issued the tag is the first call, because that business forwarded the application and can check its status. The vehicle record and the payment are the details to have ready. A driver should not let the tag’s dates pass while waiting, and should not assume that a delay means the registration was refused.
Official sources
PennDOT publishes the fee schedule and the plate material used on this page.
Every figure and rule on this page was checked on 23 October against official PennDOT documents, including:
- Form MV-70S, Bureau of Motor Vehicles Schedule of Fees, April revisionhttps://www.pa.gov/content/dam/copapwp-pagov/en/penndot/documents/public/dvspubsforms/bmv/bmv-forms/mv-70s.pdf
- PennDOT, Standard Issue License Platehttps://www.pa.gov/agencies/dmv/vehicle-services/registration-plates/standard-issue-registration-plate
- PennDOT fact sheet, Personalized Registration Plates, February 2025https://www.pa.gov/content/dam/copapwp-pagov/en/penndot/documents/public/dvspubsforms/bmv/bmv-fact-sheets/fs-personalized_plate.pdf
Frequently Asked Questions
These are the questions readers send most often about temporary plates in Pennsylvania, answered from the fee schedule and the bureau’s plate material.
What is a PA temporary plate?
It is a paper credential issued for one vehicle while its permanent Pennsylvania registration is being processed. It carries the vehicle details, the issuing business, and the dates that apply to that transaction. It is not the registration record and it is not a metal plate.
Who issues temporary plates in Pennsylvania?
Dealers and authorized agents under contract with PennDOT obtain and prepare them as part of the registration work they handle. The state fee schedule prices the temporary plate to the dealer or agent, and the bureau issues the permanent plate once the application is processed.
How much does a temporary plate cost?
The schedule sets an amount that applies to the dealer or agent, and the fee table on this page shows it. A buyer may also see registration, title, and local-use lines on the same invoice, and an agent may add a service fee that the state does not set. Those lines should be read separately.
Can a temporary plate be personalized?
No. Personalization is issued on a metal plate against a registration that already exists, and PennDOT requires the applicant to hold a valid registration plate until the personalized one arrives. A temporary tag is issued before that plate exists, so there is no base for a combination to attach to.
What should I do when the permanent plate arrives?
Compare the plate number and design with the registration card, then mount the plate. No registration sticker is issued, since PennDOT stopped issuing them at the end of 2016. The temporary tag has no further use once the plate and card agree, and a copy of it can stay with the transaction records.