The Vehicle Registration Convenience Act.

GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA
SESSION 2025
H 2
HOUSE BILL 613
Committee Substitute Favorable 4/30/25

Short Title: The Vehicle Registration Convenience Act. (Public)
Sponsors:
Referred to:
April 1, 2025
*H613-v-2*
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED 1
AN ACT ENACTING THE VEHICLE REGISTRATION CONVENIENCE ACT 2
AUTHORIZING VEHICLE OWNERS TO ELECT THE MONTH OF REGISTRATIO N 3
RENEWAL. 4
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts: 5
6
PART I. AUTHORIZE VEHICLE OWNERS TO ELECT MONTH OF REGISTRATION 7
RENEWAL 8
SECTION 1.(a) This act shall be known as "The Vehicle Registration Convenience 9
Act." 10
SECTION 1.(b) G.S. 20-66 reads as rewritten: 11
"§ 20-66. Renewal of vehicle registration. 12
(a) Annual Renewal. – When a vehicle registration is initially issued with a plate that is 13
not a calendar-year plate, the owner shall elect a month within 12 months of issuance upon which 14
the vehicle's registration expires. The initial period of registration expires at midnight on the last 15
day of the month elected by the owner. The registration of a vehicle must otherwise be renewed 16
annually. 17
(a1) Initial Registration Fee. – The fee for an initial period of registration elected by the 18
owner pursuant to subsection (a) of this section that is less than a year in duration is one-twelfth 19
of the annual fee provided in Part 7 of this Article multiplied by the number of full months in the 20
period beginning with the first full month following the month of issuance until the date the 21
registration expires, rounded to the nearest dollar. 22
(a2) Notice. – In accordance with G.S. 105-330.5(b), upon receiving written consent from 23
the owner of the vehicle, the Division may send to an email address provided by the owner of the 24
vehicle any required notice of renewal electronically to an e-mail address provided by the owner 25
of the vehicle.renewal. 26
(a3) Renewal Application. – To renew the registration of a vehicle, the owner of the 27
vehicle must file an application with the Division and pay the required registration fee. The owner 28
of a vehicle registered in North Carolina may renew that vehicle registration by mail. The 29
Division may receive and grant an application for renewal of registration at any time before the 30
registration expires. 31
…." 32
SECTION 1.(c) G.S. 20-52 reads as rewritten: 33
"§ 20-52. Application for registration and certificate of title. 34
(a) An owner of a vehicle subject to registration must apply to the Division for a 35
certificate of title, a registration plate, and a registration card for the vehicle. To apply, an owner 36
General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025
Page 2 House Bill 613-Second Edition
must complete an application provided by the Division. The application shall contain a preprinted 1
option that co-owners may use to title the vehicle as a joint tenancy with rig ht of survivorship. 2
The co-owners' designation of a joint tenancy with right of survivorship on the application shall 3
be valid notwithstanding whether this designation appears on the assignment of title. The 4
application must request all of the following information and may request other information the 5
Division considers necessary: 6
… 7
(8) A statement indicating th e month of registration renewal the owner elects 8
under G.S. 20-66(a). 9
…." 10
SECTION 1.(d) G.S. 105-330.5(a1) reads as rewritten: 11
"(a1) Proration. – When a new registration is obtained for a registered classified motor 12
vehicle that is registered under the annual system, the taxes are prorated for the remainder of the 13
calendar year. The amount of prorated taxes due is the product of the proration fracti on and the 14
taxes computed according to subsection (a) of this section. The numerator of the proration 15
fraction is the number of full months remaining in the calendar year following the registration 16
application date and the denominator of the fraction is 12 . When a new registration is obtained 17
for a registered classified motor vehicle, and the owner elects an initial period of registration that 18
is less than a year in duration under G.S. 20-66(a), the taxes are prorated for the initial period of 19
registration. The amount of prorated taxes due is the product of the proration fraction and the 20
taxes computed according to subsection (a) of this sec tion. The numerator of the proration 21
fraction is the number of full months in the initial period of registration and the denominator of 22
the fraction is 12." 23
24
PART II. EFFECTIVE DATE 25
SECTION 2. This act becomes effective January 1, 2026, and applies to applications 26
for vehicle registrations on or after that date. 27