I gotta back up QD, Speedminded, and Crazy_Asian on this. You should have gone to the DMV regardless, the government does do its job. As for a car being "hot" thats a bunch of bullshit. You're ass didn't do your end of what you were supposed to do to ensure you had a tag, or even any form or sort of registration. I've been pulled over twice with no tag, once was to make sure the car wasn't a stolen vehicle, the other was when I was doing 135mph in a 45 ( ticket was 69 in a 45, I paid my dues, kept my license ), and had gotten inquired about why I did not have a tag - but the car was STILL registered, and I had insurance on the car, so I was still okay with that ( I got a warning on it ). Point is, you're lazy ass fucked up, and now you gotta pay up. Maybe next time you'll be more proactive and not have so many excuses and put the blame on someone who's doing their job right