Temporary Tags
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Feds Charge Fraud Temp Tag Dealers ID’d in Streetsblog’s ‘Ghost Plate’ Series
Eleven fraudulent car dealers — including several who were identified in Streetsblog's award-winning 2023 investigation — sold more than 100,000 fake temporary tags, robbing taxpayers of about $15 million and turning those vehicles into "ghost cars" that were involved in at least six homicides, federal prosecutors said this week.
May 22, 2026
PLEA RELEASE ME: Instagram Ghost Tag Seller Avoids Jail In Deal With AG James
An Instagram ghost plate seller who made streets much less safe got released in a plea bargain.
May 8, 2026
DOT Re-Ups With Speed Camera Operator But Temp Tags Are Still Unticketable
The city has lost tens of millions in unpaid fines because the company that runs our speed- and red-light cameras can't catch cars with temp tags. But that company just inked a new $1-billion five-year deal.
March 2, 2026
New Jersey Rolls Out New Temporary License Plates to Fight Black Market Exposed by Streetsblog
The state released few details about the new temporary tags, but noted they'll be reformatted and printed on different paper to "prevent and reduce fraud."
July 2, 2024
Legislation Introduced in Georgia to Fight Temporary License Plate Fraud
The bill is the most significant effort yet to stop the flow of fraudulent paper tags from Georgia car dealerships to New York City streets.
February 23, 2024
Top NJ Lawmaker Proposes Major Reforms to Fight Temporary License Plate Fraud
The new legislation follows a seven-month Streetsblog investigation that found widespread fraud involving temp tags, with car dealers abusing weak state regulations and selling paper plates illegally to drivers using them to evade accountability on the road.
November 28, 2023
New Jersey Proposes Sweeping Reforms That Would Deal a Blow to Illegal Temp Tag Industry
The proposal, which follows a Streetsblog investigation, would be the most significant revision of the state's dealer regulations in more than a decade.
July 28, 2023
N.J. Legislator Proposes New Charges for Selling, Driving With Illegal Temporary License Plates
"For those that want to misuse and abuse our laws, the penalties should be much higher, and the potential for criminal penalties should be a disincentive as well," a Jersey Assembly member said.
May 10, 2023
N.J. Lawmaker Proposes Eliminating Paper Temporary License Plates to Fight Fraud
The proposal was floated at a legislative hearing Wednesday in Trenton, where Streetsblog's recent three-part investigation into temporary license plate fraud was widely cited.
May 4, 2023
Georgia: Our Temp Tags ‘Wreaking Havoc’ in NYC Because of Lax Rules, Few Investigators
Officials in Georgia admitted that its main agency in charge of regulating the retail car industry has only four investigators for 7,500 dealers in the state, making it difficult to crack down on illegal temp tag dealers who are "wreaking havoc" in New York City.
April 19, 2023
