Please Pay The Renewal Fees On Time ...or you may be punished!!           

  

The registration fee you pay to the DMV is a tax which you pay in advance for the privilege of operating your motor vehicle on the streets and highways. If you fail to pay on time, you will be forced to pay a penalty.

You may think that the state requires you to obtain a smog certificate before you are allowed to pay. You are misinformed and this misinformation costs California consumers just like you MILLIONS of dollars every year.                                                                                            Even if the fees were received one day later than the expiration date on either of the prior 2 renewal notices, your vehicle won't qualify this time for the Vehicle Retirement provision of the Consumer Assistance Program so often cited on this site. You may, however, still be able to receive assistance under the repair provision of the program.

So, if you want to scrap that smog failing vehicle and collect your $1000 check, pay up on time, and, since you won't be driving that vehicle on California roads after the fees are due, you really want those fees refunded to you which won't be refundable if the vehicle is on the street one day after the fees are due.

The moral of the story, pay the fees and get the smog check early in the 90 day cycle between the time the mailman drops off the DMV renewal notice and the expiration day to keep ALL your options open.

And I wonder who just might have a copy of the official state "Application for Refund" form on site for your convience, hmmm.....