NY DMV Form MV-1441.3, the “Certification of Lost License, Permit or Plates,” is a sworn statement you file when the DMV expects you to hand over a driver license, learner permit, non-driver ID, or license plates and you can’t produce them because they’re lost, stolen, or destroyed. You can pick it up at any DMV office or download the PDF from the DMV website.1New York State Department of Motor Vehicles. Certification of Lost License, Permit or Plates
When You’d Use This Form
Two situations call for MV-1441.3, and they involve different paperwork around the form.
You’ve Been Suspended or Revoked and Can’t Surrender the Items
When the DMV suspends or revokes your driving privileges, you’re required to physically turn in your license card and sometimes your plates. Under Vehicle and Traffic Law Section 510, failing to deliver the license or plates to the suspending or revoking officer is a misdemeanor.2New York State Senate. New York Consolidated Laws, Vehicle and Traffic Law – VAT 510 If the items were already lost, stolen, or destroyed before the order arrived, MV-1441.3 is how you explain that to the DMV so you aren’t treated as refusing to comply.
Police Refuse to Complete an MV-78B for Missing Plates
If both plates are lost, stolen, or destroyed (or the single plate on a motorcycle or other one-plate vehicle), the normal step is to ask a New York police agency to complete Form MV-78B, the “Report of Lost, Stolen or Confiscated Motor Vehicle Items.” That form is only available from law enforcement. If the agency refuses, you use MV-1441.3 in its place, and your statement must include the date you asked for the report and the name of the agency that denied the request.3New York Department of Motor Vehicles. Lost, Stolen, or Destroyed Plates
How to Fill It Out
The form is one page. You’re signing under penalty of perjury, so take the entries seriously. False statements are punishable under Section 210.45 of the New York Penal Code.
- Name and mailing address, printed exactly as they appear on your license, permit, or registration.
- Date of birth in month, day, and year format.
- Client ID number from your license or permit. If you’re filing for a corporation, enter the FEIN instead.
- Checkboxes for the items you can’t surrender: Photo Driver License, Interim/Temporary Driver License or Learner Permit, Learner Permit, or License Plates.
- If you checked License Plates, add the plate number, VIN, year, and make of the vehicle.
- A brief, honest explanation of why you can’t turn the items in. “Plates lost during a move” or “license destroyed in a house fire” is the level of detail expected. If you’re filing because police refused the MV-78B, include the date and the agency name here.
- Signature and date.
One point that trips people up: if only one of your two plates is missing, you still have to surrender the remaining plate to the DMV. You can’t keep one and certify only the lost one.1New York State Department of Motor Vehicles. Certification of Lost License, Permit or Plates
Where to Submit It
Bring the completed form to any DMV office in person.1New York State Department of Motor Vehicles. Certification of Lost License, Permit or Plates For plate matters, bring your vehicle registration too. If both plates are missing and you did obtain a police report or MV-78B, bring that along as well.3New York Department of Motor Vehicles. Lost, Stolen, or Destroyed Plates
What Happens After You File
Filing MV-1441.3 immediately invalidates whichever items you checked off. If the license or plates turn up later, you have to take them to a DMV office right away. You can’t start using a document the DMV already treats as surrendered.1New York State Department of Motor Vehicles. Certification of Lost License, Permit or Plates
Replacement Fees
The form itself has no filing fee. Replacing the items does cost money:
- Duplicate driver license or learner permit: $17.50.4New York Department of Motor Vehicles. Driver License and Learner Permit Fees and Refunds
- Replacement non-driver ID card, standard or REAL ID: $9.50.5New York Department of Motor Vehicles. Non-Driver ID Fees and Refunds
- License plates: $25 for new plates plus a $3.75 registration fee, and another $20 if you want to keep your old plate number.6New York Department of Motor Vehicles. Peeling and Damaged License Plates
If plates were stolen or destroyed because of a crime, a police report or completed MV-78B confirming the theft or criminal destruction lets you replace them without paying the plate fee.3New York Department of Motor Vehicles. Lost, Stolen, or Destroyed Plates The waiver requires the actual police report. An MV-1441.3 filed because police refused the MV-78B is not itself a police report and may not qualify.
What Happens if You Don’t File
Failing to surrender a suspended or revoked license or plates is a misdemeanor under Vehicle and Traffic Law Section 510, and officers may physically take the items from you if you don’t hand them over.2New York State Senate. New York Consolidated Laws, Vehicle and Traffic Law – VAT 510 Filing MV-1441.3 as soon as you realize you can’t locate the physical items satisfies the surrender requirement and keeps a lost card or plate from turning into a criminal charge.