DMV REG 156: Replace Lost Plates, Stickers, or Reg Card

It is usually the same phone call. Somebody is getting a car ready to sell, they go looking for the registration card, and it is just gone. Moved apartments twice, glove box got cleaned out, nobody knows. My name is Sonny Miller, I have been buying cars across Southern California for over 20 years, and the fix for this one is cheaper and easier than most people expect. It is a two page form called the REG 156.

Call me at (714) 900-3723 if the paperwork is the reason the car is still sitting, I pick up personally. Otherwise, here is the whole thing in plain English.

One Form for Everything That Falls Off or Disappears

The REG 156 is the DMV’s replacement form, and the official name says it all: Application for Replacement Plates, Stickers, Documents. One form covers license plates, the year and month stickers, the registration card, a Planned Non-Operation card, disabled person placards and ID cards, CVRA weight decals for commercial rigs, and even vessel paperwork for boats.

One rule before anything else. If you replace a missing plate, sticker, or placard and then find the original under the seat a month later, the original is dead. It must be destroyed or returned to the DMV. Two sets of live plates for one car is a problem you do not want.

What It Costs in 2026

The DMV keeps this one simple, and the numbers below come straight from the official fee page. Ballpark rule: most things are $28.

The New Plate Number Surprise

Here is the part almost nobody expects. If your standard California plates were lost or stolen, the DMV does not print you a fresh copy of the same number. You get substitute plates with a brand new number, because your old number could be riding around on somebody else’s car right now. Personalized and special interest plates are the exception, those can be replaced with the same configuration.

Two housekeeping rules come with it. Whatever plate you still have gets surrendered to the DMV, no keeping one as a souvenir. And if the plates were stolen, bring a copy of the police report. If both plates vanished, or the only plate on a motorcycle or trailer is gone, notify law enforcement right away, that is straight off the form.

Three Ways to File It

Fastest: do it online through the DMV for stickers, registration cards, and standard plates, and skip the form entirely. By mail: print the REG 156, fill it out, and send it with payment to the address on the form, but only if you are the registered owner and your address matches DMV records. In person: any field office, bring your California driver license or ID.

The address wrinkle matters. If your plates went missing and your current address does not match DMV records, the DMV wants you in person with proof of ownership, your ID, and the police report if they were stolen. Update your address first and you save yourself the trip.

Section by Section, In Plain English

The top of the form asks for the vehicle: plate or CF number, the VIN, and the disabled person placard number if that is what you are replacing. Section 1 is the registered owner exactly as the DMV knows you: full name, driver license number, physical address, county, and a mailing address if it is different.

Section 2 is WHAT went missing. Check the box for each item you need: plates, registration card, year sticker, month sticker, placard, PNO card, whichever apply. Section 3 is WHY: lost, stolen, destroyed, never received from the DMV, or never received from the prior owner. That last one is the used car special, and if the plates were destroyed, the DMV wants the remnants surrendered, mangled or not.

Section 4 only wakes up if your address is different from DMV records, that is the in-person situation from above. Section 5 is the certification. It asks you to confirm your mailing address is real and consents to receive legal service there, which sounds scarier than it is. It means official notices about this vehicle can go to that address. Print your name, sign, date, phone number, done.

Selling the Car Without the Registration Card?

If you are selling private party, spend the $28. A buyer looking at a car with no registration card starts wondering what else is missing, and the title conversation gets harder from there. Fourteen days later you look organized instead of suspicious.

Or skip it. When I buy a car, a missing registration card costs you nothing, and back registration does not scare me either. The paperwork gets squared away at your curb. Lost the title too? Different form, and my REG 227 guide covers that whole road.

Quick Answers on the REG 156

Rather Hand the Whole Thing to Me?

Missing registration card, missing plates, expired tags, a title nobody can find. I have bought cars in every one of those conditions, all over Southern California, and the DMV paperwork is my problem once we shake hands. Call me up, I answer personally, and if your situation needs the DMV instead of a buyer, I will tell you that too and point you in the right direction.