Lost or stolen Mississippi license plate or decal: how replacement works

The short version

The Department of Revenue's motor vehicle FAQ has a section on lost or stolen license plates, tags and decals. It says to get the Lost or Stolen Tag Form, Form 76-903, from your county tax collector and have local law enforcement complete it. In the Department's words: “The Tax collector will then issue a substitute tag and decal.” The fees listed are $10.00 for a tag and decal and $2.50 for just the decal.

That is nearly everything the state's page says on the subject, and it is worth being clear about how short it is. The sections below walk through the steps in order, then cover the questions the page leaves open.

Step by step

1. Get Form 76-903 from your county tax collector. The Department tells you to obtain it there. The collector is the county office that handles your registration, so this is also the office you will be dealing with for the replacement itself.
2. Take it to local law enforcement to complete. The Department says law enforcement must complete the form. Its page does not mention a separate police report or report number, so do not assume you need one, and do not assume you do not: ask the collector when you pick up the form.
3. Return the completed form to the tax collector. The collector issues the substitute tag and decal.
4. Pay the fee. $10.00 if you need both the tag (plate) and the decal; $2.50 if only the decal is gone. Ask the county how it takes payment and whether anything else, such as your ID or current registration, needs to come with you.

Which fee applies to you

• The whole plate was taken (or plate and decal are both gone): the $10.00 tag-and-decal fee.
• Only the renewal decal was taken or lost, and the plate is still on the car: the $2.50 decal fee is the one the Department lists for “just the decal.”

These are the figures on the Department's page as of the date above. Fees change, and county offices sometimes add their own processing charges, so confirm the total before you go. Our renewal bill walkthrough shows how the pieces of a normal renewal add up; a replacement is separate from that.

What the Department’s page does not cover

The Department's section is about stolen plates. We read the page for guidance on the following and did not find any, so treat these as open questions for your county tax collector rather than facts:

• A damaged or unreadable plate or decal. There is no separate instruction for a plate that is bent, faded or peeling. Whether the county will replace one on the same form, and at what fee, is not stated.
• A plate that is simply lost (fell off, left behind after a repair) rather than stolen. The form is described in terms of theft. Ask whether the same process and fee apply.
• A lost registration receipt. The FAQ refers to a valid registration receipt when titling or registering a vehicle, but it does not say where to get a duplicate. For that it points you to the county tax collector and to Motor Vehicle Services at (601) 923-7200.
• How long it takes. The page gives no turnaround time and does not say whether you leave with the new plate the same day.

An unofficial summary of the form online also mentions an affidavit certifying the date of loss and a rule that a recovered plate must be returned to the tax collector rather than put back on a car. We could not open the Department's copy of the form this session, so we are not stating either as fact. If you find your old plate after getting a replacement, ask the collector what to do with it before you mount it again.

While you wait for the new plate

The Department's page does not say whether you may drive without a plate while the replacement is pending, and we are not going to guess. Two practical points follow from what the state does say:

• Do the law-enforcement step promptly. A completed form with a date on it is the clearest record that you reported the problem.
• Keep a copy of the form and your receipt. Our glovebox checklist covers what to carry in the vehicle.

If you are stopped before the replacement is issued, being able to show the report and the form is better than having nothing to show, but whether that is enough is up to the officer and the county, not this site.

Why a stolen plate can become someone else’s toll bill

The same Department page deals with a related problem. If a plate was not left on the vehicle when it was sold, traded or towed, the Department says to email the toll bill to mvl@dor.ms.gov, and that it will research it and may write to the toll company on your behalf. That section is written for sold vehicles, not stolen plates, so it may not fit your case. But it shows why it pays to report a theft quickly and keep the paperwork: the plate number is what links a bill to you.

When you sell the car: the plate is not a loose end

This is the opposite situation, a plate you meant to hand in. The FAQ says to remove the plate when you hand the vehicle to the buyer and surrender it to the county tax collector, and that the tag cannot be moved to a new vehicle. The Department also says refunds are not allowed, but the unused portion of the registration can be transferred to a new Mississippi registration if you turn the tag in. Credit starts on the first day of the month after surrender and is figured from the turn-in date, not the sale date, and you receive a credit certificate if you do not buy a new tag that same month. If your plate was stolen after you sold the car, tell the collector; the surrender step is the one that updates your record. Our purchase and move guide covers the buyer's side of the same clocks.

Our full guide to selling a car in Mississippi covers the title assignment and how the registration credit is counted.

Do not let a missing decal become a late renewal

A stolen decal is a good moment to check your renewal date. The Department's registration page says a renewal notice is a courtesy from your county tax collector and that you are still responsible for renewing on time if you do not receive one. A mailing sent to an old address, or a decal that never arrived, does not pause the clock. Penalties begin after the grace period; the late renewal penalties page sets out the steps, and the renewal steps page covers the process itself.

If your replacement visit falls in or near your renewal month, ask the collector whether you can handle both in one trip. We have not found a state rule that says you can or cannot, so it is a fair question for the counter. Once you have your decal, our post on decal placement and plate frames explains where it goes.

A quick checklist

• Report the theft to local law enforcement and note the date.
• Pick up Form 76-903 from the county tax collector and have law enforcement complete it.
• Bring the completed form and the fee ($10.00 plate and decal; $2.50 decal only, per the Department).
• Ask about damaged or merely lost plates, a duplicate registration receipt, and how long it will take.
• Keep copies, and watch your renewal date.

This is general information based on published Department of Revenue material, not advice for your situation. Your county tax collector is the authority on what your office requires and charges today.