How to Fill Out and Submit California REG 156: Fees, Options, and Timing

California’s REG 156 form, formally the Application for Replacement Plates, Stickers, Documents, is what you file with the DMV to replace a lost, stolen, damaged, or illegible license plate, registration sticker, or registration card. You can download it from dmv.ca.gov, pick it up at a field office, or skip the paper entirely and use the DMV’s online portal for certain items. The fee is $28 per item, whether you’re replacing plates, stickers, or a card.¹

What REG 156 Replaces

The single form covers more than plates. You can use it to replace:

License plates, including standard, environmental, commemorative, disabled person, exempt, foreign organization, and off-highway vehicle plates.
Registration stickers, meaning the month and year tabs on your plates.
Registration cards, the paper card kept in the vehicle.
Vessel certificates of number and vessel stickers for boats.
CVRA weight decals and year stickers for commercial vehicles subject to weight fees.

Disabled person parking placards are also listed as replaceable through REG 156, but the DMV’s virtual office now has a dedicated online tool for placard replacements that most people will find easier.²

California Vehicle Code Section 4457 requires vehicle owners to apply for a replacement immediately when any registration card or plate is lost, stolen, mutilated, or illegible.³ There is no grace period built into the statute.

How to Fill Out the Form

REG 156 is one page. Before you sit down with it, gather your current plate number (or CF number for a vessel), the vehicle identification number, your California driver license or ID, and your most recent registration renewal notice if you have one. Cross-checking the renewal notice against what you enter catches typos that slow processing.

You’ll list the vehicle’s identifying information — plate number, VIN, year, and make — then check which items need replacing and give the reason. The DMV’s procedures manual requires the registered owner’s name, address, and signature on the form, along with a driver license or ID number and the state that issued it.⁴ If the vehicle has multiple registered owners, only one signature is needed.

If your plates were destroyed or mutilated, you surrender the remnants to the DMV. If one plate is missing and the other is still on the vehicle, you have to hand in the remaining plate too. The DMV issues a fresh pair rather than a single replacement.⁵

How to Submit It

There are four ways to get the request in, and which one fits depends on what you need replaced.

Online

The fastest route for registration stickers and registration cards is the DMV’s online replacement portal. You’ll need your plate number, registration details, and the last five digits of your VIN.⁶ Standard license plates can be ordered online as well.⁵ Specialty plates, disabled person plates, and certain other plate types still require the paper REG 156.

DMV Now Kiosks

For a replacement registration card or sticker only, a DMV Now kiosk can print one on the spot. Bring your plate number and the last five digits of the VIN.⁷ Kiosks do not produce license plates.

In Person

Going to a field office is the right call when plates were stolen, when you need to surrender damaged plates, or when you want a registration card printed the same day. Bring a valid California driver license or ID card. If your ID was issued by another state or country, bring a secondary document such as a passport, military ID, or an ID card from a government agency or California employer.⁵ If your current address doesn’t match DMV records, bring proof of vehicle ownership such as your registration card or a copy of the title.

By Mail

Send the completed form, the fee, and any plates you’re surrendering to:

Department of Motor Vehicles
PO Box 942869
Sacramento, CA 94269-0001⁵

Include a check or money order payable to the Department of Motor Vehicles. To mail in a request, you have to be the registered owner and your address has to match DMV records.

What It Costs

The fee is $28 per replacement item, whether that’s a registration card, a sticker, or a set of plates.⁸ Two items means two $28 charges. At a field office you can pay with cash, debit, or a major credit card. Online and kiosk transactions take debit and credit. Mail-in requests must include a check or money order.

If Your Plates Were Stolen

When plates are stolen, California law requires you to notify law enforcement immediately, before you even apply for replacements. File a report with your local police department, sheriff’s office, or the California Highway Patrol. That report separates you from anything done with the stolen plates afterward, whether it’s toll evasion, a hit-and-run, or parking violations.

Bring the police report number to the DMV or include it on your mailed REG 156. The DMV will issue plates with a completely different number rather than reissuing the old one.⁵ If the original plates turn up later, they’re no longer valid.

One wrinkle catches people off guard: if replacement plates were already issued within the past 90 days and you’re asking for another set, the DMV requires a Verification of Vehicle (REG 31) form completed by the California Highway Patrol before it will process the new request.⁵ Build extra time into the process if that applies to you.

Your Registration Has to Be Current

The DMV will not process a REG 156 for a vehicle whose registration has lapsed. Renew first, then request the replacement.⁵ A smog check is not triggered by a REG 156 on its own; smog inspections attach to registration renewals and title transfers, not to replacing physical items.⁹

Driving While You Wait

If your application went to DMV headquarters and you’re waiting on plates or stickers, you can request a Temporary Operating Permit so you can legally drive in the meantime. A 90-day TOP is available for registration applications sent to headquarters while you wait for plates and stickers. A 60-day TOP covers mail-processed applications for sequential plate types like specialty plates.¹⁰ Keep your payment receipt and any interim documentation in the vehicle. If you’re pulled over, the receipt and TOP together show you’ve applied and are waiting on the DMV.

How Long It Takes

A registration card obtained at a kiosk or field office is printed on the spot. Anything mailed from headquarters takes longer. The DMV’s published processing times run around three weeks for sequential license plates by mail and around four months for personalized plates.¹¹

If nothing has arrived within eight weeks of submitting the application, call the DMV at 1-800-777-0133, Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., to confirm the items were issued.⁵

1
California DMV. Registration Fees
2
California DMV. Disabled Person Parking Placard Replacement
3
California Legislative Information. California Vehicle Code 4457
4
California DMV. Vehicle Industry Registration Procedures Manual – Application for Replacement Plates, Stickers, Documents (REG 156) Form
5
California DMV. Replacement License Plates and Stickers
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California DMV. Online Replacement Sticker or Registration Card
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California DMV. DMV Kiosks FAQs
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California DMV. Registration Fees – Section: Miscellaneous Registration and Service Fees
9
California DMV. Smog Inspections
10
California DMV. Temporary Operating Permits
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California DMV. Processing Times