Colorado License plates

[jennytefft]

We are headed up to Sumas for pickup of our 21NE in late May and plan to go to the Rally in the Valley. I understand a lot of you have traveled around without plates until you get home, but I'm worried about going into Canada without plates, so I'd like to at least try to get them before leaving home.

Have any of the Colorado people here gotten your plates before pickup? I have an email to accounting at Escape to get payment made and get the paperwork from them. I've read through old posts, but things change and I'm wondering if it has gotten harder or easier to get plates ahead of time or if still depends on the clerk you get or what county you are in. We are in Larimer County and the website says we shouldn't need a vin verification. I'm hoping that is correct.

Anyone with more recent experience doing this?

Thanks,
Jenny

 

[cpaharley2008]

Your paperwork should answer any law enforcement issues, I'm not aware of any member having issues in US nor Canada with a new unit without plates.

 

[DanandDaphne]

I think what Escape does as far as paperwork has changed since we bought our escape, back in 2018 they wouldn't sent you the paper work even if you were paid in full. I think that they will now so you may be able to get your permanent plates before your trip. Once we had the paperwork our county clerk didn't ask for a vin inspection or anything so we would have been able to get plates ahead if we could have gotten the papers from Escape.

Colorado allows for a 90 day temporary tag though if your local DMV, County Clerk is willing to issue you one. Ouray County (where we live) won't issue temporary plates for any length of time for any reason. Over in San Miguel County they will hand them out with just a vin number.
In the end we had ours delivered because it was late November and we decided not make the trip.
Things may be different there in Larimer County there seems to be a great deal of personal discretion as to what they will or won't do here in Colorado. If they say no try a different day a different person.

Best of luck!

 

[occer]

I read through the motor vehicle department web site for your area. There was not any information for the exact conditions you have.

I think your best bet is to make an in person appointment and explain what you are doing and what paperwork you need to supply. I think you will be able to get a temporary plate.

 

[outwiththedogs]

Getting CO plates.
When we got our Escape in Sumas in 2019 we picked it up and drove back to Chilliwack and then to the rally. No problem. We were unable to get temporary plates from the Denver DMV, and when we returned from our trip had to take the trailer to get the VIN verified before they would give us plates. It may have changed since then, but we carried all the paperwork in case we were stopped. We never were stopped or asked anything. We are no longer in CO but it seemed pretty straightforward. Good luck.
Catherine

 

[J1973s]

I would book a time. Just checked as of a minute ago there were appts for almost all times for Tuesday 4/4. You go to the website for the Larimer Clerk/Recorder which is on Oak Street. I’ve found them to be very helpful in my experience.

 

[ColoradoSwany]

We took about three weeks to get home when we picked up our E19 on Halloween 2017. Didn’t go into Canada but we did head down to Arizona before finally returning to Fort Collins. No plates or temp tags for the entire trip and no issues. I did have to take it over to the courthouse on Oak St for a VIN inspection to ultimately get our plates.

 

[jennytefft]

Getting CO plates.
When we got our Escape in Sumas in 2019 we picked it up and drove back to Chilliwack and then to the rally. No problem. We were unable to get temporary plates from the Denver DMV, and when we returned from our trip had to take the trailer to get the VIN verified before they would give us plates. It may have changed since then, but we carried all the paperwork in case we were stopped. We never were stopped or asked anything. We are no longer in CO but it seemed pretty straightforward. Good luck.
Catherine

So you had nothing but the paperwork when you went in and out of Canada? That would be easy if it works that way for us.

 

[Ron in BC]

So you had nothing but the paperwork when you went in and out of Canada? That would be easy if it works that way for us.

That may come down to the traffic cop that sees a trailer without plates. In BC trailers are required to be insured. The fine for no insurance is substantial.

I'd definitely encourage something displayed on the back of the trailer. BC does have temporary licenses, that might be an option. Also many times I've bought something in WA and just gone to the WA motor vehicle office and gotten a WA state temporary license. It may or may not have been 100% legal but I feel displaying anything is better than nothing.

Ron

 

[Centex]

....It may or may not have been 100% legal but I feel displaying anything is better than nothing.

... perhaps a "Just Married" sign?

Yes, officer, the trailer and I were 'just married' ....

.

 

[SWCO]

So you had nothing but the paperwork when you went in and out of Canada? That would be easy if it works that way for us.

No question that there is no consistency from office-to-office in applying Colorado State trailer registration regulations.

https://www.escapeforum.org/forums/...p-without-plates-is-this-a-problem-14868.html

From Post #8 in above link:
"03-08-2019, 09:52 AM #8 SWCO Senior Member

Join Date: Aug 2017
Location: Dolores, Colorado
Trailer: 2017 5.0 TA, pulled w/ 2003 Dodge 3500 Cummins 4x4 SRW LWB
Posts: 107
Colorado Registration Requires CO VIN Inspection
Quote:
Originally Posted by EdColorado View Post

Since you have a Certificate of Origin, you will not need the VIN inspection prior to registration. Ed


This was not our experience last year at the office in Cortez, Colorado (Montezuma County). We had all of the other documents, but they were insistent that the VIN inspection had to occur in CO before registration. They were (eventually) willing to issue a 30 day (from issuance only) temp tag. We went back into BC, Alberta, etc., but I think we would have been fine with no tag at all on the long return trip. Our temp tag expired in MT and I removed it.

More details at https://www.escapeforum.org/forums/f3...-co-13163.html

 

[cpaharley2008]

See #2 above......

 

[Johnspierce]

That may come down to the traffic cop that sees a trailer without plates. In BC trailers are required to be insured. The fine for no insurance is substantial.

For insurance, as soon as you have the VIN you can activate insurance online immediately and download the policy to your phone with any insurance company I have used. I'm planning on activating my insurance when I pick up the trailer in Sumas "right then".

 

[jennytefft]

We wrote to Larimer County and this is what they said:
Hello,

Thank you for your communication. I am the Vehicle Licensing Supervisor for the Larimer County Clerk and Recorder, Angela Myers. Pam Nielsen, the Vehicle Licensing Manager, has asked me to respond to your inquiry.

In addition to the Manufacturer's Certificate of Origin, you will need the following to title and register the trailer:
DOT Declaration HS-7
A DR2698 Verification of Vehicle Identification Number
An original bill of sale from the dealer (includes seller's signature, year, make, VIN number, signed under penalty of perjury or notarized)
Any one of the following U.S Customers and Border Protection Entry Forms:
CBP 7523 - Entry and Manifest of Merchandise Free of Duty
CBP 3299 - Declaration for Free Entry of Unaccompanied Articles
CBP 3311 - Declaration for Free Entry of Returned American Products
CBP 7501 - Entry Summary (Does not require a Customs Inspector's signature)
CBP 3461 - Entry/Immediate Delivery

If any of the documents are written in a language besides English, a translation is required. All translations must be notarized or signed under penalty of perjury.

However, you can get a temporary permit if you can provide a copy of the bill of sale from the dealer and complete the title and registration process once the trailer is in Colorado.

I hope this helps! Please contact me if you have any questions or concerns.

Thank you,
Marilyn Morse
-------
We then asked to clarify about the VIN verification because the website says if you have the Manufacturers Certificate of Origin, you don't need the VIN verified. She didn't answer that but instead told us this:

Any licensed dealer, law enforcement, or emission testing center in Colorado can complete the DR2698 Verification of Vehicle Identification Number. The form can also be completed by out-of-state law enforcement is also acceptable as long as you provide a completed DR2444 Colorado Statement of Fact stating why the vehicle is not in Colorado for the VIN verification.
---------

So I guess our plan is we pay for the trailer, pay the $50 to get the paperwork shipped to us too, and then go for the temporary. She doesn't say, but someone else in the forum said the temp tag is only good for 30 days from the day you apply, so I guess there is no rush to get it. For now we will be storing at our daughters home in Utah, so I figure we will go to the border of Colorado and have law enforcement do the Vin verification before parking it at her place. Fortunately she is only 30 minutes from the border.

 

[Johnspierce]

I'm not sure if I mentioned this Jenny, but this is my second Escape trailer. Our 2021 21NE was stolen from a storage yard in Denver last July. Long story, painful but resolved. Insurance paid off and we ordered a new one.

At any rate, when I received our trailer in November, 2021, Escape had put all of the required documents in a nice blue folder which was inside the trailer when delivered.

The first time I went to the DMV, they gave me the runaround claiming I needed a Colorado dealership to provide a temp title and documentation before I could get title and tag.

I spoke with Escape and Newcoast (who we got the loan through) and they said no, the DMV is wrong and the documents they gave me were all I needed.

I went back to the DMV, got a different person and they took the blue folder, said everything looks great, gave me a temp tag and submitted my request for title. That was it. Took 10 minutes. No VIN inspection was required.

Anyway, we are picking up our trailer on May 14th and making our way back to Denver -- this time, I won't allow the DMV to get off track and hopefully just go in one time.

Good luck to you!
John

 

[jennytefft]

I'm not sure if I mentioned this Jenny, but this is my second Escape trailer. Our 2021 21NE was stolen from a storage yard in Denver last July. Long story, painful but resolved. Insurance paid off and we ordered a new one.

At any rate, when I received our trailer in November, 2021, Escape had put all of the required documents in a nice blue folder which was inside the trailer when delivered.

The first time I went to the DMV, they gave me the runaround claiming I needed a Colorado dealership to provide a temp title and documentation before I could get title and tag.

I spoke with Escape and Newcoast (who we got the loan through) and they said no, the DMV is wrong and the documents they gave me were all I needed.

I went back to the DMV, got a different person and they took the blue folder, said everything looks great, gave me a temp tag and submitted my request for title. That was it. Took 10 minutes. No VIN inspection was required.

Anyway, we are picking up our trailer on May 14th and making our way back to Denver -- this time, I won't allow the DMV to get off track and hopefully just go in one time.

Good luck to you!
John

Yes. We talked on Facebook about your original trailer. Thanks for your info about your original trailer licensing. I am worried about going into Canada without anything, so I am planning on having Escape ship the paperwork overnight to me. That only happens if you pay them $50 shipping fee. So once we get the paperwork, we will go in and try to get a temp tag. If they won't give it to us, we will ask for the woman who wrote us the email. I have a feeling the VIN verification really isn't needed, but we will get it done just incase we end up with someone who really wants it. We need to do that when we are in Utah by the border, since we aren't bringing the trailer home with us.
But at least we will have the temp tag when we go to Canada, and that's what I was the most worried about.

 

[Johnspierce]

Thanks for the reply Jenny -- I bet the DMV will have no problem giving you the temp tag since Escape will overnight the same information you would receive at delivery of the trailer.

My wife and I considered taking our trailer on the ferry over to Victoria Island but had the same concerns about not having a tag.

Good luck and looking forward to hearing how it went!

John

 

[Ron in BC]

My wife and I considered taking our trailer on the ferry over to Victoria Island but had the same concerns about not having a tag.

John

Do you mean Vancouver Island? I wouldn't worry about the tag situation with the ferry. Their focus on the trailer is only how long it is and how much extra you'll be paying.

Ron

 

[Johnspierce]

Do you mean Vancouver Island? I wouldn't worry about the tag situation with the ferry. Their focus on the trailer is only how long it is and how much extra you'll be paying.

Ron

Yes, pardon me -- I mean Victoria on Vancouver Island

 

[miclip]

Curious how this went for you? I’m in Weld county and might be picking up an escape in Sumas over the next couple of months.