Temporary Registration Permit in Virginia

The trip permit: standard track

The Virginia DMV trip permit page states the standard track in full: three consecutive days, a $5 fee, the origin, destination, and dates stated on the permit, an insurance certification or payment of one-twelfth of the $500 uninsured-motor-vehicle fee (motorized vehicles only), valid only in Virginia, and a property-carrying vehicle that must be unladen. Apply online or at any customer service center. The governing statute is Code of Virginia section 46.2-651, in Article 4 alongside section 46.2-650 (temporary permits on a title or registration application), sections 46.2-652 and 652.1 (oversize and overweight per-mile permits), and section 46.2-653 (a $1 single-trip manufactured-home permit). The trip permit is the consumer instrument in that article; the oversize, overweight, and manufactured-home permits are separate products for separate loads.

The prospective-purchaser track

A second track serves the buyer who has not yet bought: a three-day permit running from the bill-of-sale date, with the original bill of sale attached and displayed in the window. If the vehicle is not bought within 15 days of printing, the permit may be repurchased. The track exists so a prospective buyer can move the vehicle for inspection or purchase without committing to the sale first — and the 15-day repurchase rule is the detail that separates it from the standard track, where no repurchase window applies.

What it is not

Three traps, all recorded on the research for this page. First, the dealer print-on-demand (PoD) tag: dealer-only since 2009, with 30-day tags and 5-day temporary transport tags, dealer cost $3 per set for the 30-day tag (a single tag for motorcycles) and $1.50 for the 5-day transport tag, reprints free, and the temporary registration card printing on the same sheet. A consumer cannot obtain a PoD tag directly. Second, the commercial trip permits: IRP at $15, IFTA at $20, and a combination at $35, sold through Motor Carrier Services under form MCTS-271 — commercial products, different page, different counter. Third, the one-month registration extension for emissions inspections: a renewal mechanism, not a trip permit, covered on the extension page. None of the three is the trip permit, and none of their figures travels into it.

Source

Trip-permit terms, tracks, and fee from the VA DMV Trip Permit page, opened 2026-10-29. Statute structure from the Code of Virginia Article 4 (sections 46.2-650 to 46.2-653), opened 2026-10-29. Dealer PoD terms from the VA DMV PoD page, opened 2026-10-29. Commercial IRP/IFTA figures recorded as a separate product, not carried into the consumer permit. This page explains how the process works and what the official rules say. It is general information, not legal advice. For a dispute about your specific situation, talk to your state motor vehicle agency or court.