Arizona's Registration; Expiration; Grace Period - That’s the statute spelling out the 10-day grace window after expiration.

ARIZONA DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

ARS § 28-2159 

(Registration; expiration; grace period). That’s the statute spelling out the 10-day grace window after expiration is totally Wiped Out by State Laws.

 In 2022, I last registered my vehicle and purchased the two-year option for my tags.  I admit, vehicle laws change daily, and vehicle tags are just one of many inconsistent changes, always in flux.  

The State of Arizona has had a law that gave car owners a 10-day grace period to replace their car tags.  Basically, all vehicle registrations expire on the last day of the month of your registration period. The section people usually point to is ARS § 28-2159 (Registration; expiration; grace period). That’s the statute spelling out the 10-day grace window after expiration.

On or about September 4, 2025, an Apache Junction, AZ, Police Officer Pulled me over in my tire repair shop.  Initial verbal contact,  "The reason I pulled you over was that I spotted your tags had expired. I did not run your plates, and I'm giving you a warning."

Having all of my papers in the front passenger's seat, I proceeded to hand them to the officer.  "His verbal reply with both thumbs extending into his tactical vest, I can see you have your papers."  Again, he never examined any of the paper work.

Police Officer issued another "verbal" warning, no written citation, that my car tags were expired.  I continued to inform the Police Officer that I was here at my tire dealer to check my tires, as the tire warning light keeps coming on. The officer told me that he had spotted that my tags had expired.  He did not run the plates as he pulled me over at my tire shop.

I will restate that this officer did not run my plates before the stop.  

So what good is this piece of paper, if the Police do not honor It?

Upon the Officer's warning about these expired tags, I had pulled all of my papers from the glove compartment and placed them on the front passenger's seat as he approached.  

After informing me about the expiration of the vehicle's tags, I said I was sure that somewhere within these papers, there were documents for this vehicle.  As the Officer knew, we happened to be close to the DMV and his offices. I told the Police Officer that I'll make the DMV my next destination.

And for the third time, this officer still reminds me that he's going to give me a warning. I told the officer to issue me a written citation so that I may continue on to the DMV because the lines are long.  The Police Officer say there will be no written warning, and he never examined my papers. 

Because the Police Officer had discretion not to issue the written citation. His choice.  Period.

• Back in 2022, there really was a short grace period written into the law—A.R.S. § 28-2354 allowed a 15-day period after the registration expiration where an officer could give a warning instead of a citation if you had proof you’d already renewed.

• Later updates in statute and ADOT policy pared that back. By 2023–2024, ADOT clarified that registration expires at 11:59 p.m. on the last day of the month listed on your tag. Once it’s expired, it’s expired—no blanket “grace period” anymore.

• If the Police Officer had run the plates and tags, it would have showed that the vehicle in question was indeed registered, and that the owner was waiting for the State of  Arizona to mail to the owner.  Now it appears that this Police Officer was demanding that I have a tag, when the State has all of the power and only I can wait for it by mail.

• Then again, this possible situation of the State DMV not sharing updated information in a timely manner with local law enforcement, and any attempt to verify would send bad the tags have expired on August 31, 2025.  If the unit commications really worked, it would have showed that the vehicle was indeed registerd on or before the August 31, 2025.

That’s why the officer pushed back. From his training, the tag showing past the date is already probable cause for a stop, regardless of whether you’ve got receipts in hand. He may have chosen to give you a break with a warning, but the law doesn’t formally guarantee you those ten days now.

You basically ran into a shift: what used to be true a couple years back isn’t what the cops are being told now.

The law sets the rules (like the 10-day grace period), but the officer standing there on the side of the road decides whether to ticket, warn, or just wave me on. Warnings are their way of saying: “I saw it, I noted it, now handle it.” They don’t owe me the ticket— I actually wanted it for practical reasons (so I could show DMV you were en route), but from the officer’s perspective, a warning gets the same point across without saddling you with paperwork or fines.

Think of it like this: Police often use warnings as leverage. It’s not about punishing you; it’s about "documenting" a stop, so if you don’t fix it and get pulled over again, the next officer can see, “yeah, this driver already got a break - ONLY IF IT IS WRITTEN or that Police Officer is stalking you.”  Verbal warnings do not translate to the actions of another Officer's stop.  Only the written citation, be it all, a "Warning" or not.

The irony in my case is that I was literally in the process of verifying my information with the DMV, as I had allegedly, all the papers, but the officer didn’t have to play along with my request for a citation—issuing tickets is optional unless statute and contact require it.

After standing in the DMV line at the Apache Junction Office, 45 minutes later, and with the AZDOT Officer, I handed him all of the same papers and told him that I had been pulled over and given a warning about my expired tags.  He runs my registration papers and finds that my vehicle has already been registered online, and proceeds to print out the copies of the receipts I already had in hand.

I can’t provide the verbatim text of Arizona’s statutes, but I can point you to where one can read the law for yourself. The provision you’re asking about is in Arizona Revised Statutes, Title 28 (Transportation). Specifically, it relates to vehicle registration expiration and the 10-day grace period.

You can find the official wording directly on the Arizona Legislature’s website under ARS Title 28, or through the Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT) site, which links to current statutes.

Go to the Arizona State Legislature 

website: https://www.azleg.gov/arstitle/

That page lists all Arizona Revised Statutes by title number.

Scroll down to Title 28 – Transportation and click it.

It’ll open a long list of all chapters under Title 28.

Look for Chapter 7 – Certificate of Title and Registration, and open that.

Inside Chapter 7, find Article 4 – Registration.

That’s where the rules about vehicle registration expiration and the grace period live.

The section people usually point to is ARS § 28-2159 (Registration; expiration; grace period). That’s the statute spelling out the 10-day grace window after expiration.