Important deadline coming

[oldguy668]

Those of us who are just finishing up our FFR projects no doubt know that there is a deadline coming April 30 to get new cars titled and registered. If you meet the deadline, the car will be emissions exempt forever, and the exemption will pass to the buyer if you ever sell your car.

However, the Registry is on the lookout for cars that were registered incorrectly in the past. If your title says "Replica Vehicle" on the Brand box and your registration says "Replica Vehicle" in the Special Message box, you are okay. If those two magic words do not show up on your title and registration, then you have until April 30 to get it corrected. There is no charge for a new title and registration, and no requirement for a new State Police inspection. If your car is presently exempt but not correctly described as a Replica Vehicle, then you'll keep the exemption but you won't be able to pass it along to another Massachusetts buyer. If the car is grossly mis-described, like as a 1965 ****** Cobra, and you get caught (because they are looking), then you'll lose the exemption and you'll have to comply with the post-May 1 guidelines (unknown at this time).

[Jon A]

Joe,

I put a post on the other site about this so that others would see it. I went through the re-registration process last May and really thought I was all set. At the time, no one that I spoke with (and I spoke to a lot of people at the RMV in Boston, the MAC and other FFR owners that had gone ahead of me) mentioned anything about "Replica Vehicle" being in the Special Message box or in the brand area of the Title. I had no idea I had a problem until a forum member mentioned it to me off the forum.

Everyone should check their registrations and titles to make sure they were processed correctly, even if they re-registered under the new law already.

-Jon A.