CT DMV Plate Cancellation Receipt: Tax Credit and Fee Refund

The CT DMV plate cancellation receipt, formally called a plate disposition receipt, is the document the Connecticut Department of Motor Vehicles issues when you cancel a vehicle registration.¹ It’s the proof your registration has been terminated, and you need it to claim a property tax credit from your town assessor, close out your insurance cleanly, and show other agencies that the Connecticut plates are no longer active. Without it, you can keep getting billed for a car you no longer own.

How to Get the Receipt Online

The fastest way is through the DMV’s online cancellation portal. Have this ready before you start:

Your name as it appears on your Connecticut driver’s license or non-driver ID
Your license or ID number
Your date of birth
Your Connecticut license plate number
Your Social Security number
The street address shown on your license or ID
A credit or debit card

Once you confirm the cancellation, the system generates the plate disposition receipt electronically.¹ Print it, save a digital copy, or pull it up later through the DMV’s online receipt lookup tool using the receipt number from your confirmation email or text.²

One limit: if your registration is currently suspended or revoked, you can’t cancel it online.¹ You have to clear the compliance issue first.

How to Get the Receipt by Mail

If you’d rather cancel by mail, use Form E-159, the Marker Plate Notice.³ It asks for your plate number, the year, make, and model of the vehicle, the reason for cancellation, and your signature. You’ll check whether you’re returning both plates, one plate, or none (the “none” box is for plates that were lost or stolen). Fill it out in ink and mail it with your physical plates to:

DMV Registry Record Section
60 State Street
Wethersfield, CT 06161-5057³

The DMV processes the form and mails the plate disposition receipt to the address on file. No source gives a firm turnaround time, so send the plates by a trackable method and keep the shipping record until the receipt arrives.

What the Receipt Lets You Do

The receipt isn’t just a confirmation. Several other parties rely on it:

Your town assessor requires it before granting a property tax credit for a vehicle you sold, totaled, junked, or moved out of state.
Your insurance company may want it as confirmation you no longer need coverage on the vehicle.
If you’re re-registering in another state, that state’s DMV may ask for proof that the Connecticut registration was properly closed.

Check the details on the receipt the moment you get it. The cancellation date drives the size of your tax credit, so if anything is wrong, raise it with the DMV right away rather than waiting until tax time.

Using the Receipt for a Property Tax Credit

Connecticut taxes motor vehicles as personal property, with an assessment date of October 1 each year. If you dispose of a vehicle during the assessment year, Connecticut General Statutes Section 12-71c entitles you to a pro rata credit based on the full months between the disposal date and the next October 1, divided by twelve.⁴ A sale on March 15, for example, leaves six full months (April through September), so the credit is 6/12 of that year’s motor vehicle tax. Partial months don’t count.

The plate disposition receipt by itself isn’t enough. You file it with your assessor alongside one of these:

Vehicle sold: a signed bill of sale or copy of the title transfer
Vehicle totaled: a letter from your insurer confirming the total loss and date
Vehicle junked: a junkyard receipt identifying the vehicle and date
Vehicle registered out of state: a copy of the new state’s registration
Vehicle stolen and not recovered: a statement from your insurer confirming the theft

People often arrive at the assessor’s office with the DMV receipt and nothing else, and the credit can’t be processed. Bring both.

How Long You Have to File

For assessment years starting on or after October 1, 2024, you have up to three years from the date the tax was due to file the receipt and supporting documents with your assessor.⁴ That’s a longer window than the old deadline, but filing while the transaction is recent is still the easier path.

If You Bought a Replacement Vehicle

If you replaced the vehicle in the same assessment year, tax already paid on the old one may be applied as an offset against tax on the new one under Section 12-71b. You can’t claim both the pro rata credit under 12-71c and the replacement offset. The statute prevents stacking the two.⁴ Ask your assessor which path saves more.

Getting a Registration Fee Refund

Separate from the tax credit, you may be owed a refund of the registration fee itself. Connecticut refunds the fee if you have at least one full year left on a two-year registration, or one to two years left on a three-year registration. The refund covers the registration fee only, not taxes or other charges, and the application must be submitted before your registration period ends. If you haven’t already canceled, the DMV will cancel as part of processing the refund. The check goes to the address on file, so update it first if you’ve moved.⁵

Cancel the Plates Before You Cancel the Insurance

Order matters. If you cancel your car insurance before canceling your registration, your insurer reports the lapse to the DMV. A lapse longer than 14 days brings a $200 civil penalty and a registration suspension that blocks you from registering any vehicle or renewing until the issue is cleared.⁶

Cancel your plates first and get the receipt, or do both on the same day. Once the registration is terminated, there’s no active registration for the DMV to flag. If a lapse was already triggered, you resolve it by paying the $200 penalty and showing proof of current insurance, or by requesting a hearing if you believe the lapse was reported in error.⁶

Reprinting a Lost Receipt

If you canceled online on or after October 31, 2022, you can pull up and reprint your plate disposition receipt through the DMV’s online receipt system using the receipt number from your confirmation email or text.¹² If you canceled before that date, or canceled by mail, you can verify your cancellation status online and print the confirmation page. Save a digital copy somewhere durable. An assessor’s office can need it years after the fact if a tax question comes up.

1
Connecticut Department of Motor Vehicles. Cancel Your Registration and Plates
2
Connecticut Department of Motor Vehicles. Access Online Transaction Receipt
3
State of Connecticut Department of Motor Vehicles. Marker Plate Notice
4
Justia Law. Connecticut Code Title 12 – Section 12-71c
5
Connecticut Department of Motor Vehicles. Application for One Year or Two Year Refund on Registration
6
Connecticut Department of Motor Vehicles. Comply With Insurance, Tax, and Registration Laws