How to Print a Duplicate Registration in Michigan Online

To print a duplicate registration in Michigan online, sign in to the Secretary of State’s online services portal with a MiLogin account, look up your vehicle with your plate number or registration number, and print the copy. It’s free, it takes a few minutes, and you don’t need to visit a branch office or wait for anything in the mail.¹

Steps to Print the Duplicate Yourself

The online portal is the only self-service route. Self-service kiosks at branch offices do not handle this transaction.¹

Go to the Secretary of State’s Online Services from michigan.gov.
Sign in with your MiLogin account, or create one during this step if you don’t already have it.
Have your plate number or registration number ready so the system can pull up your vehicle record.
Print the duplicate registration once your record loads.

There is no fee.¹ A branch visit is also an option if you’d rather handle it in person, but the online route is faster and works outside business hours.

Duplicate Registration Is Not the Same as a Replacement Tab

These two transactions sit next to each other on the portal, and mixing them up costs money. A duplicate registration is the paper document that proves your vehicle is registered, and printing one is free. A replacement tab is the sticker on your license plate, and ordering a new one costs $5, payable by credit card, debit card, or e-check.¹

If your paper copy is lost but the tab on your plate is fine, you only need the free printout. If the tab itself is damaged, stolen, or missing, you’ll order the $5 replacement through the same portal or at a branch. Ordering a replacement tab online requires the last four digits of your Vehicle Identification Number along with your plate number.

You Don’t Have to Carry a Paper Copy

Michigan law treats a printed or electronic copy of a valid registration as proof that your vehicle is registered.² A photo on your phone or a PDF saved from the portal counts. Officers can also verify registration through the Law Enforcement Information Network, so a lookup is possible even if you have nothing on you.

Even so, having a copy on hand shortens any traffic stop. Print the duplicate and keep it in the vehicle, or save the PDF to your phone.

Update Your Address Before You Print

The duplicate reflects whatever is in your record. The registration certificate must include your name, address, and the registration number assigned to your vehicle.³ If any of that is out of date, your printout will be wrong. The online portal also sends documents and account access to the address on file, so an old address can lock you out of the very transaction you’re trying to complete. Handle an address change through the portal first, then print the duplicate.

What Driving Without Valid Registration Costs

Not having the paper on you is different from not being registered. Driving without a valid registration plate displayed is a civil infraction under the Michigan Vehicle Code,² and a standard civil infraction carries a fine of up to $100 plus court costs.⁴ When you first register a vehicle or renew, you have 30 days to attach and display the plate, though that grace period does not apply to a vehicle’s first registration after a transfer of ownership. Printing a free duplicate takes less time than dealing with the citation that follows a stop.

1
Department of State – Secretary of State. Tab or Registration Replacement
2
Michigan Legislature. Michigan Compiled Laws 257.255 – Valid Registration Plate Required; Printed or Electronic Copy
3
Michigan Legislature. Michigan Code 257 – Motor Vehicle Code – Section 257.222
4
Michigan Courts. Civil Infraction Fines, Costs, and Assessments Table