Missouri State Highway Patrol officials issued a “Blue Alert“, Tuesday, after a law enforcement officer was reportedly shot while conducting a traffic stop. As per statements to the media, the car was pulled over for having expired “temp tags”, and the suspect shot and severely injured the officer before fleeing. 

A temp tag is a temporary license plate. Here’s all you need to know about Missouri’s temporary license plates, including how to get them and what the punishment is if drivers are caught with expired temporary tags. 

What are temporary plates and how to get them in Missouri

Missouri issues temporary plates to allow car owners time to complete the vehicle registration or allow unregistered vehicles to be driven to things like safety inspections. 

Temporary licenses in Missouri are usually valid for up to 30 days, though qualified dealers can issue temporary plates valid for 60-90 days. 

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These temp plates can be obtained from the dealer who sells the car or from any Missouri license office. 

Punishment for expired temporary plates in Missouri 

Those who drive around with expired temporary licenses and fail to complete their registration in time can be fined up to $200 and these expenses could increase if the driver is issued a ticket. 

Missouri’s growing problem with expired temporary plates 

In May 2022, KMBC, the ABC affiliate, reported that Missouri State Highway Patrol was seeing an increasing number of drivers with expired temporary plates, and was planning a crackdown to deal with it. 

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“When something is rolling down the road and they haven’t had a title for a year or six months, that’s irresponsible”, said Sgt. Bill Lowe with the Missouri State Highway Patrol. 

He added, “Times are tough for some folks and we want to take that into account, but you have to take care of your responsibilities, and part of that responsibility of owning a vehicle is registering it.”