Hey MVD, where’s my license plate sticker?

By D'Val Westphal / Journal Editorial Page Editor Sunday, June 4th, 2023 at 9:13PM

I had this question recently after renewing my vehicle registration online.

I realized I had not received the license-plate sticker over the Memorial Day weekend, and I remembered the New Mexico Motor Vehicle Division had emailed me a temporary registration, complete with the instruction if "you have not received your registration in the mail within 15 business days, please click the contact us link at mvd.newmexico.gov or call at (888) 683-4636."

So I did both, plus cvontacted the agency's spokesman.

And I got similar but different answers — and a solution.

1. Clicking the link and contacting MVD online got me this response: "Regarding your email registration was mailed out to address we have on file, you might want to check with your postal service since it hasn't been returned. A duplicate can be purchased at your local office or online for $5."

Your email is safe with us, we don't spam

2. Contacting the public information officer, Charlie Moore, who handles information for MVD's parent agency Taxation and Revenue, got me this: "It looks like it was mailed out just a couple of days after we received it, so it must be a postal thing. You can get a new one through the call center, 1 (888) 683-4636. If it's within 60 days of the renewal, it will be free. Otherwise it will be $5.

"Or, if you haven't been in for a while and really miss us, you can make an appointment for one of the offices. But the phone obviously is a bit quicker and easier. Our wait times there have been really good lately, so you should be able to get through pretty quickly."

3. And calling MVD, which has a handy "press 7 to have us call you when an agent is available" feature, got me this: The clerk asked for my plate, my name and my mailing address, checked something in the computer system and then said a replacement sticker was on its way. She then verified my email and said an updated temporary registration had been sent there as well.

Given that Moore says MVD handles "about 150,000 registrations each month," it's little wonder not everything gets to its intended destination. And my clerk had this to say after handling my call "I believe everything should be easy."

And it was.