Are license plates issued by the Registry of Motor Vehicles automatically considered the driver's property?

License plates issued by the Registry of Motor Vehicles are not automatically considered the driver's property. Instead, they are considered a form of government property that is issued for use on a specific vehicle for identification and regulatory purposes. While a driver may have the right to use the plate as long as they own the vehicle and maintain proper registration, the state retains ownership of the physical license plate itself.

This is crucial for understanding the regulatory framework governing vehicle registration: the government issues license plates as a means to establish a link between the driver and the vehicle for law enforcement and taxation purposes. If a vehicle is sold or the registration is not renewed, ownership of the plate does not transfer to the new owner of the vehicle. Thus, the concept of ownership here is tied to the regulatory system, where the government regulates the issuance and control of plates, and only active registrants may utilize them.