Verified Cal. Veh. Code 4000(a)(1) (fine range set by Veh. Code 42001.8) · Checked July 2026 · 6 sources

What an expired-registration ticket costs in California

Citation data · First offense Cal. Veh. Code 4000(a)(1) (fine range set by Veh. Code 42001.8)

$281 total bail, or $25 if cited correctable and you fix it

California charges expired registration as an infraction under Veh. Code 4000(a)(1), and the box the officer checks on the citation decides which of two very different outcomes you get. If it is cited as correctable (Veh. Code 40610 and 40522), you show proof of registration and the clerk collects a $25 transaction fee under Veh. Code 40611 with no bail at all, but Veh. Code 40152 requires you to produce proof of registration, proof the fees were paid, or proof the vehicle was junked before the court can adjudicate it as a dismissal. If it is written as noncorrectable, the 2026 Judicial Council statewide Uniform Bail and Penalty Schedule lists a $50 base fine that becomes $281 total bail once the penalty assessments, the 20 percent surcharge, the $40 court operations assessment and the $35 conviction assessment are added, and Veh. Code 42001.8 fixes the fine itself at not less than $50 and not more than $250. Separately, Veh. Code 4000(a)(1) now says an expired registration cannot be the sole basis for any enforcement action before the second month after the month your registration expired (operative July 1, 2024 through January 1, 2030).

Verified July 2026

By Mario Bailey

What to do now

1

Renew with the DMV before you deal with the court

Pay the renewal plus whatever late penalty tier you have landed in. You need proof of current registration in hand because Veh. Code 40152 blocks the court from adjudicating a 4000(a) charge as a dismissal without proof of registration, proof of paid fees, or proof the vehicle was junked.
2

Look for the correctable (fix-it) box on the citation

If the officer cited it under Veh. Code 40610 and 40522 as eligible for correction, submit the signed proof of correction and the clerk collects the $25 transaction fee under Veh. Code 40611. No bail is collected, and the 2026 schedule lists that row at a flat $25.
3

If it was written as noncorrectable, still ask the court

The Judicial Council schedule's own notes say a court may find an offense correctable even when the officer did not mark it, where the Veh. Code 40610(b) disqualifiers (immediate safety hazard, fraud or persistent neglect, refusal to correct) are absent. Otherwise the row A total bail is $281 on a $50 base fine, with the fine capped at $250 by Veh. Code 42001.8.
4

Do not let it sit past six months

Veh. Code 22651(o) allows police to remove a vehicle whose registration expired more than six months before it is found or operated on a highway or offstreet parking facility, unless a current registration is on file with the DMV. The DMV penalty also jumps to 60 percent of the vehicle license fee plus $30 and $30 in late fees once you are 31 days delinquent.

Insurance impact: Because the statewide schedule assigns 0 DMV points, an expired registration infraction is not a moving violation and does not put points on the record that insurers price from. Insurers set their own underwriting rules, so this is not a guarantee of no rate effect, but nothing in the Vehicle Code schedule creates a points surcharge here.

Same $50 to $250 fine range, but the fix-it option can be denied Repeat offense

Tow allowed once 6 months expired License / registration

Note: amounts vary You are dealing with two separate bills. The court side is statewide through the Judicial Council schedule, though counties may add locally authorized assessments and Pen. Code 1463.28 permits 30 counties to exceed the listed total bail. The DMV side is its own charge at renewal: 10 percent of the vehicle license fee and weight fee plus a $10 registration late fee and $10 CHP late fee at 1 to 10 days delinquent, 20 percent plus $15 and $15 at 11 to 30 days, 60 percent plus $30 and $30 from 31 days to one year, 80 percent plus $50 and $50 at one to two years, and 160 percent plus $100 and $100 beyond two years. The DMV states plainly that it offers no grace period on annual registration fees, so the DMV penalty clock and the enforcement grace period in Veh. Code 4000(a)(1) are not the same thing., the figures above are the statutory frame, not a quote.

Repeat offenses

Veh. Code 42001.8 sets a single range ($50 to $250) for every infraction violation of Section 4000, with no statutory escalation for a second offense, and the schedule's $281 total bail is stated as the first-offense amount. The real repeat-offender exposure is discretionary rather than statutory: Veh. Code 40610(b) lets an officer refuse to write a correctable citation where there is evidence of fraud or persistent neglect, which converts a $25 fix-it into the full noncorrectable bail. Letting it run also triggers Veh. Code 22651(o), which allows removal of a vehicle whose registration expired more than six months before it is found or operated on a highway, public land, or an offstreet parking facility (no removal if a current registration is on file with the DMV).

Is driving on expired tags a crime in California?

A violation of Veh. Code 4000(a)(1) is an infraction, not a misdemeanor, and the 2026 Uniform Bail and Penalty Schedule lists it at 0 DMV points. The schedule carries two rows for the same section: row A (cited as not eligible for correction) at a $50 base fine and $281 total bail, and row B (cited as eligible for correction) at a flat $25, which is the Veh. Code 40611 transaction fee rather than a fine. There is no jail exposure and no license suspension attached to the section itself.

Can it be dismissed?

Yes, in the ordinary case. If the officer marked the citation correctable under Veh. Code 40610 and 40522, renewing the registration and submitting proof of correction gets the charge dismissed for a $25 transaction fee (Veh. Code 40611), and no bail is collected. Veh. Code 40152 makes that proof mandatory: the court cannot adjudicate the offense as a dismissal without proof of registration, proof the appropriate fees were paid, or proof the vehicle was reduced to junk. If the officer wrote it as noncorrectable, dismissal is not automatic, but the schedule's own notes say a court retains discretion to find the offense correctable where none of the Veh. Code 40610(b) disqualifiers (immediate safety hazard, evidence of fraud or persistent neglect, refusal or inability to promptly correct) are present, citing California Highway Patrol v. Superior Court (2008) 158 Cal.App.4th 726.

What happens beyond the fine

None from the citation itself. The 2026 Uniform Bail and Penalty Schedule lists 0 DMV points for Veh. Code 4000(a)(1), so a conviction does not add points to your driving record and does not trigger a negligent operator suspension on its own.

Frequently asked questions

Can I be pulled over the day my tags expire?

Not for that alone. Veh. Code 4000(a)(1) provides that a violation of that subdivision shall not be the sole basis for any enforcement action before the second month after the month of expiration of the vehicle's registration, a provision operative from July 1, 2024 through January 1, 2030. The exception is spelled out in the same statute: if you are stopped for any other Vehicle Code violation, the officer can cite the expired registration immediately.

How much is the ticket actually?

The 2026 statewide Uniform Bail and Penalty Schedule lists Veh. Code 4000(a)(1) twice. Cited as not eligible for correction, it is a $50 base fine that reaches $281 total bail after assessments, the 20 percent surcharge, the $40 court operations assessment and the $35 conviction assessment. Cited as eligible for correction, the schedule lists $25, which is the Veh. Code 40611 transaction fee collected on proof of correction, with no bail.

Does paying the DMV late fee make the ticket go away?

No, they are two different charges. The DMV penalty (a percentage of the vehicle license fee and weight fee plus a registration late fee and a CHP late fee) is what you owe the DMV to renew. The court fine, or the $25 transaction fee if the citation is correctable, is what you owe the court on the citation. Renewing is what makes dismissal possible under Veh. Code 40152, but it does not close the citation by itself.

Sources

This summary was checked against the following sources on the date shown above. Fines and fees change, verify before relying on specifics.

Expired Registration: other states

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General legal information, not legal advice. Statutes and penalty schedules summarized from the sources above as of July 2026.