The Scale of the Problem
Temporary license plate fraud became a serious national problem in the early 2020s, with Texas, California, and Georgia bearing the brunt. In Texas alone, law enforcement estimated hundreds of thousands of counterfeit or fraudulently altered paper temp tags were in circulation annually by 2024. This is a primary reason Texas mandated metal temporary plates in July 2025.
The fraud affects regular car buyers in two main ways: (1) criminals use fake temp tags to conceal stolen vehicles or avoid identification, which increases law enforcement scrutiny of all temp tags; and (2) unsuspecting buyers get sold vehicles with fraudulent or problematic titles, leaving them unable to register the car and stuck driving on a seller-provided fake tag.
Common Temp Tag Scams to Know
1. The Fake or Altered Paper Tag
The simplest fraud: a criminal prints a counterfeit paper temp tag using a template downloaded from the internet, or alters the expiration date on a legitimate expired tag. In states that still use paper tags, law enforcement can sometimes only visually verify the tag, making this fraud harder to catch immediately.
How to protect yourself: You as a buyer should receive a dealer-issued temp tag from a licensed dealership, not a homemade document. If you're buying from a private seller, get your temp permit directly from the DMV — don't accept any "temp tag" the seller claims to have created or obtained on your behalf.
2. The Title Washing Scam
A vehicle with a salvage, rebuilt, or branded title is sold without proper disclosure. The seller may not provide a clear title at all, instead offering verbal assurances while you drive on their plates. You may not discover the title problem until you try to register the vehicle and discover it has an undisclosed history.
How to protect yourself: Always run a VIN check before purchasing. Services like Carfax, AutoCheck, and the National Motor Vehicle Title Information System (NMVTIS) can reveal title brands. Insist on seeing the physical title before completing any purchase.
3. The Lien Concealment Scam
A seller owes money on the vehicle but doesn't disclose this. They transfer what appears to be a clean title, but the lender's lien is still active. When you try to register, the title office discovers the lien and cannot complete the transfer.
How to protect yourself: Verify through your state's DMV title search, a VIN service, or by asking the seller to obtain a payoff statement from their lender before the sale. Never complete a purchase when there's an unresolved lien.
4. The "Drive It Home on My Plates" Scheme
A private seller insists you can drive the vehicle home using their license plates, "just until you register it." In most states, this is illegal — the plates belong to the seller's registration, not the vehicle. If you're stopped, you're the one driving a vehicle without valid registration.
How to protect yourself: Always get a proper temp permit from your state's DMV before driving a private-sale vehicle. Never agree to the "use my plates" arrangement regardless of how trustworthy the seller seems.
5. The Dealership Front Scam
An unlicensed or illegitimate "dealership" — sometimes operating from a parking lot or residential property — sells vehicles and provides fake or unauthorized temp tags. The "dealer" is not licensed by the state and cannot legally issue temp tags, but provides official-looking documents.
How to protect yourself: Verify the dealership's license status before purchasing. In most states, you can check a dealer's license status through the state's DMV website. A licensed dealer will have a dealer number on all documents. Ask to see their dealer license if anything seems off.
Red Flags When Buying a Car
- Seller refuses to let you run a VIN check
- Title is in a different name than the seller
- Title is labeled "salvage," "rebuilt," or "flood"
- Seller cannot produce a physical title ("it's being mailed," "I lost it," etc.)
- Purchase price is significantly below market value with no clear explanation
- Dealer cannot produce a license number when asked
- Temp tag is handwritten, photocopied, or clearly printed from a home printer
- Seller asks you to complete the sale with cash only and no written bill of sale