# Vanity Plates



## FullHouse (Jan 28, 2014)

Can I bring my vehicle with the vanity plate on it? My state issues a regular plate that I have to carry in the car at all times (not entirely sure why other than $$) so either can be on the car while we're there, I just need to know which one will be better. 
Also, does Mexico issue vanity plates? At some point we'll register the car in Mexico but I like my personalized plate


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## tijuanahopeful (Apr 2, 2013)

I've never seen personalized plates, but they may be issued, though, but I'm sure that someone else would have more information on them.


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## chicois8 (Aug 8, 2009)

I am from California and I am down here with vanity plates without any problem...do not know about Mexican vanity placas.....


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## RVGRINGO (May 16, 2007)

You cannot simply register your car in Mexico. You will need to have it permanently imported by a broker. Note that only NAFTA produced vehicles of a certain age (changes every year) are eligible, and that the process is very expensive; usually not worth it. So, if you are getting a residence visa and will stay in Mexico, sell you car north of the border and replace it with one purchased in Mexico. You will also save the expense, deposits and need for renewals at every visa renewal to keep your car legal. Worse yet, after four years, your foreign plated car must leave Mexico anyway, as you will be required to drive only a Mexican plated vehicle as a permanent resident.


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## TundraGreen (Jul 15, 2010)

FullHouse said:


> Can I bring my vehicle with the vanity plate on it? My state issues a regular plate that I have to carry in the car at all times (not entirely sure why other than $$) so either can be on the car while we're there, I just need to know which one will be better.
> Also, does Mexico issue vanity plates? At some point we'll register the car in Mexico but I like my personalized plate


I have never seen personalized plates either. 

As far as registering the car in Mexico at some point, you may want to rethink that. To do that you need to import the car into Mexico. It is possible depending on year and manufacturer but it can be expensive and a bureaucratic hassle.

Bringing it in on a temporary basis is no problem but you need to remember that it will have to leave Mexico at some point. There are also rules about who can drive what depending on the type of visa, but I don't keep track of them.

Added: I see that while I was typing RVGringo responded in more detail.


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## terrybahena (Oct 3, 2011)

FullHouse said:


> Can I bring my vehicle with the vanity plate on it? My state issues a regular plate that I have to carry in the car at all times (not entirely sure why other than $$) so either can be on the car while we're there, I just need to know which one will be better.
> Also, does Mexico issue vanity plates? At some point we'll register the car in Mexico but I like my personalized plate


We paid about $1200 USD to import our truck into Mexico. Every year you pay to register it and they take your plates and give you new ones. I don't think vanity plates are an option. To keep Calif lic plates I would have had to carry Calif car insurance even if the car was in Mexico. Mexican car insurance for Mexican plated cars is very cheap. Oh and if you import your car you must also get a Mexican driver's license.

Have fun!


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## Hound Dog (Jan 18, 2009)

Oklahoma vanity plates? An oxymoron if there ever was one. 

Reminds me of the old joke about living in Boise and buying a new Ferrari upon which one must affix Idaho license plates that proclaim, "FAMOUS POTATOES".


By the way; calling attention to oneself with vanity license plates is not as fine an idea in rural Mexico as it may be in Tulsa. The idea here is to blend in and I advise that as a standard by which to live while resident here.

In the 1960s, George Wallace did away with the front license plate in my home state of Alabama so the ole ******* boys could attach a confederate flag plate to the front bumper to freak out the obstinate African American Alabama citizens who were, in those days, demanding the right to vote. That intimidation technique failed to work as nobody cared about that confederate flag front plate any more than anyone cares about those ubiquitous maple leaf stickers on vehicles roaming around Lake Chapala proclaiming that the vehicle owner is from Canada. After all, we do not care where the driver is from but, upon observing those maple leaf stickers, may wonder if the car´s undercarraige has any salt damage,


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## Hound Dog (Jan 18, 2009)

terrybahena said:


> We paid about $1200 USD to import our truck into Mexico. Every year you pay to register it and they take your plates and give you new ones. I don't think vanity plates are an option. To keep Calif lic plates I would have had to carry Calif car insurance even if the car was in Mexico. Mexican car insurance for Mexican plated cars is very cheap. Oh and if you import your car you must also get a Mexican driver's license.
> 
> Have fun!


Terry; I´m not sure what you mean by the above comment. We imported our two U.S. California plated vehicles from the San Francisco Bay Area to Mexico, crossing at Nogales in 2001, These were a Chrysler sedan and a Ford Ranger pickup truck. That was a while back but I remember no substantial fees for importing those vehicled on a temporary basis and we always drove around in them all over Mexico with Caliifornia plates for a good three years until we exported these two vehicles and sold them in the U.S. years later. We also drove with California driver´s licenses for years in Mexico until they expired and then we applied for and received Mexican driver´s licenses issued by both Jalisco and Chiapas states with zero problems and no written or driver´s tests required in either state. In fact, the Chiapas license is permanent. Amazing.

We stayed in your house at Playa Ventura last year for one night and appreciate your hospitality while we were thinking of buying on the beach there but Playa Ventura was a bit too isolated from either Chiapas or Lake Chapala so it did not suit our needs-. You have an astounding location there on that mezmerizing seacoast. We lived on the open Pacific for years just south of Devil´s Slide near San Francisco so we know what attracted you to this environment but also understand your need to escape it.


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## terrybahena (Oct 3, 2011)

Hound Dog said:


> Terry; I´m not sure what you mean by the above comment. We imported our two U.S. California plated vehicles from the San Francisco Bay Area to Mexico, crossing at Nogales in 2001, These were a Chrysler sedan and a Ford Ranger pickup truck. That was a while back but I remember no substantial fees for importing those vehicled on a temporary basis and we always drove around in them all over Mexico with Caliifornia plates for a good three years until we exported these two vehicles and sold them in the U.S. years later. We also drove with California driver´s licenses for years in Mexico until they expired and then we applied for and received Mexican driver´s licenses issued by both Jalisco and Chiapas states with zero problems and no written or driver´s tests required in either state. In fact, the Chiapas license is permanent. Amazing.
> 
> We stayed in your house at Playa Ventura last year for one night and appreciate your hospitality while we were thinking of buying on the beach there but Playa Ventura was a bit too isolated from either Chiapas or Lake Chapala so it did not suit our needs-. You have an astounding location there on that mezmerizing seacoast. We lived on the open Pacific for years just south of Devil´s Slide near San Francisco so we know what attracted you to this environment but also understand your need to escape it.


Hi Hound Dog,
When we crossed the border we imported the truck to become a Mexican vehicle. It cost about $1200. They gave us a paper license to put in the window until we got to the state we were going to live in (Guerrero) and then we got license plates there. To drive a Mexican plated car you must have a Mexican driver license. 
When we got to Sonora we changed to Sonoran plates, and that was also a couple of hundred bucks, so when we got here we just renewed as Sonora (hubby drove back to Sonora to do it). Anyway every year when you pay registration they take the plates and give you new ones. This is at least in Guerrero, Sonora and Baja. 

Glad you enjoyed your stay at our place in Playa Ventura; we're planning a trip down there in a couple of months...still trying to sell unfortunately but a beautiful place to visit. Now we're about 30 miles south of Ensenada, and the climate attracts me- much like coastal Sonoma county..foggy mornings, warm afternoon and cool nites...hotter in summer but not humid like Guerrero. So a nice home base to explore from. (if you know anyone who might be interested....the price is a droppin' ..


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## makaloco (Mar 26, 2009)

terrybahena said:


> Anyway every year when you pay registration they take the plates and give you new ones. This is at least in Guerrero, Sonora and Baja.


That's interesting. I've had the same Baja California Sur plates since I bought my car in 2007. We get a new windshield sticker and tarjeta de circulación each year when we renew our registration. But each state has its own rules. I also had to get a BCS driver's license to drive the car. No big deal, though, and ours are good for three years.

I don't recall ever seeing vanity plates here.


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