What an expired-registration ticket costs in Rhode Island

Rhode Island gives no grace period. Under R.I. Gen. Laws §31-3-32 a registration expires at midnight on its expiration date (the statute names March 31, but tells the Division of Motor Vehicles to stagger expiration dates by rule, so the date on your own registration controls), and neither that section nor DMV’s page on expired registrations allows any time to keep driving afterward. Section 31-3-32 makes a violation subject to the fines in §31-41.1-4, whose violations schedule lists “Driving with expired registration” at a $100 total fine. That amount is set by statute and applies statewide, whichever court hears the ticket. It was $85 until the 2025 budget act (P.L. 2025, ch. 278, art. 11, §10) raised it to $100 for offenses committed on or after July 1, 2025. If the ticket is eligible to be paid without going to court, you can pay it by mail, online or in person, and paying counts as an admission of guilt (Traffic Tribunal Rule 5(a)(4)). What is added to a Traffic Tribunal ticket paid that way is not fully settled, because two statutes point in different directions. Section 31-41.1-4(c) says paying administratively adds no other costs or assessments except the Judiciary’s technology surcharge, which its fee calculator puts at $3.25 per summons; on that reading the total is $103.25. Section 31-27-18 tells the Traffic Tribunal to collect a $1 emergency medical services assessment in addition to the fine on every Title 31 violation, and the Judiciary’s calculator does add that $1 in its breakdown for this charge, which makes it $104.25. The Traffic Tribunal’s online portal also says there is a service fee for processing payments online, with the total shown before you submit. Note that the calculator still showed the old $85 fine (a $89.25 total) when we checked in October 2026; the statute controls, and the officer must note the fine on the summons (Traffic Tribunal Rule 3(c)). A ticket from a municipal court is paid to that court under its own payment policy. If you go to court instead and admit the charge or are found to have committed it, a $35 hearing fee (court costs) is added under §8-18-4(g). DMV charges no late fee to renew: we checked DMV’s Registration & Title Fees table, its answer to “What do I need to do if my registration has expired?”, its registration renewal page, and both versions of the registration fee statute (§31-6-1, including the version in effect since January 1, 2026), and none lists a late, penalty or delinquency fee. If the registration has been expired for more than 90 days, though, DMV says you may have to re-register the car in person.