What an expired-registration ticket costs in Vermont

Vermont has no grace period. Asked whether there is a grace period for renewing a registration, the DMV answers “No,” and 23 V.S.A. §301(e) bars operating a motor vehicle on any highway unless it is registered. What Vermont has instead is a reduced penalty for the first two weeks, on one of the two possible charges. There is no charge named expired registration, and the ticket (a civil violation complaint) can be written under either of two sections; no official source says which one officers usually write. The first, and the only one the Legislature tied to a lapsed registration, is §307(a), operating without carrying all required registration certificates: under §307(d)(2), a rule Act 60 of 2019 created, a driver of a passenger car (a “pleasure car” in the statute), motorcycle, or truck that could be registered for less than 26,001 pounds who is cited under §307(a) within the 14 days following the registration’s expiration owes a civil penalty of not more than $5, exempt from the state surcharges. After those 14 days, the Judicial Bureau’s Waiver Penalty Schedule (dated August 5, 2026) lists $70 for failure to carry a registration certificate. The second is §301, which the schedule calls persons required to register and Title 23 calls operating an unregistered vehicle; the schedule lists it at $162 from the first day, with no 14-day reduction. These amounts are set statewide, not by county: three hearing officers appointed by the Court Administrator set the waiver penalties under 4 V.S.A. §1102(d), the Judicial Bureau hears every Vermont traffic violation statewide, and the waiver amount is printed on the front of your ticket. The $70 and $162 already include the surcharges every traffic violation carries under 13 V.S.A. §7282: a flat $47 plus 15% of the fine, rounded up. The schedule prints only the totals and does not say they include the surcharges, but its own figures show it: its minimum of $47 is the flat surcharge on a $0 penalty, and its maximum of $1,197 is the $1,000 cap in 23 V.S.A. §2302(c) plus $150 and $47. Worked back from those surcharges, $70 is a $20 penalty plus $3 and $47, and $162 is a $100 penalty plus $15 and $47. The waiver amount is what you pay if you admit or do not contest the ticket within 21 days, and paying online by credit card adds a 2.39% convenience fee. If you deny it and lose at a hearing, the hearing officer sets the penalty: the schedule’s range for either charge is $47 to $1,197 with surcharges ($0 to $5 on the 14-day line), and the Judiciary says the fine is usually the same as the waiver penalty but can be higher or lower depending on the facts, your driving record and your ability to pay, with a surcharge and a court fee added. Renewing late costs nothing extra at the DMV. We checked its Registration Fees page, which lists $91 for one year on a gas or diesel car and shows no late, penalty or delinquency fee; its renewal page, which says a past-due registration can be renewed up to three years after expiration and mentions no penalty; a search of the DMV website for “late fee” and for “late registration,” which returns no results; and the full registration chapter of Title 23 (chapter 7), which sets none.