Mo G
Last verified: September 25, 2026
The car wash took it. Or the sun did, or a thief with a razor blade, or it never made it out of the envelope in the first place. However it happened, the little year decal on your rear plate is gone, and suddenly every patrol car in your mirror feels personal.
A replacement California registration sticker costs $28 and can be ordered through the DMV’s online replacement service, which mails it within 14 days. The month sticker is replaced at no charge. If your registration is due within 30 days, the online path is closed and you renew instead. Sticker Quicker, a licensed California DMV Business Partner, handles either path with no DMV trip.
Two stickers, two completely different rules
Most drivers think of the thing on their plate as one sticker. The DMV does not. There are two of them, they sit in different corners of your rear plate, and the rules for replacing them are not remotely the same.
What is the year sticker?
The year sticker shows the calendar year your registration expires. It is the one enforcement looks for, and it is the one that costs money to replace. Under California Vehicle Code sections 4457 and 4853, the registered owner must apply for a substitute year sticker when it is lost, stolen, mutilated, or illegible.
What is the month sticker?
The month sticker shows the month your registration expires, and it does not change from year to year. The DMV replaces it for no fee, and the department’s own procedures manual states that a REG 156 is not even required for it. You can get one at a DMV field office or request it by phone at 1-800-777-0133.
That asymmetry is worth real money: $28 against nothing. It is also close to impossible to discover on your own, because the $28 sits on the Registration Fees page, the free month sticker is a single sentence on the license plate page, and the “no REG 156 required” detail lives in the Vehicle Industry Registration Procedures Manual, a handbook written for registration agents rather than drivers. No single DMV page tells you both halves.
What a replacement costs in California
Every replacement fee below comes from the DMV’s Registration Fees page, last modified June 30, 2026. Confirm the amount at the time you file, because DMV fee schedules change by memo.
| Item replaced | DMV fee |
|---|---|
| Registration year sticker | $28 |
| Registration card | $28 |
| License plates | $28 |
| Title | $28 |
| Month sticker | No fee |
| Off-highway vehicle plate and/or sticker | $28 |
| Vessel title or registration | $15 |
| Permanent Trailer Identification plate | $7 |
| Permanent Trailer Identification ID card | $7 |
One detail that saves a second transaction: ordering a replacement sticker online automatically includes a new registration card. There is no sticker-only order. So if the glovebox copy went missing along with the decal, the single $28 already covers both. Boat owners get the better deal here, at $15 for a vessel replacement, and you can hand that filing to Sticker Quicker’s California vessel registration service as well.
The 30-day rule that quietly closes the online door
Here is the trap. The DMV’s online replacement service excludes any vehicle whose registration is due within 30 days. Now think about when people actually notice a missing sticker: when the renewal notice lands, when they walk the car before a road trip, or when an officer points at the plate. Those moments cluster inside the exact window where the online option stops working.
The same service also excludes:
- expired or suspended registrations
- vehicles on planned non-operation
- vessels, off-highway vehicles, farm equipment, and special equipment vehicles
- junked or salvage vehicles, and vehicles whose title has been surrendered
- vehicles with an active hold, an open collections action, or a filed notice of release of liability
- permanent fleet registration vehicles
- commercial vehicles under the International Registration Plan or Partial Year Registration
- trailers under Permanent Trailer Identification
If you fall inside that 30-day window, the fix is not a replacement at all. You renew, and the renewal issues a fresh sticker as a matter of course. That is faster and it is cheaper, and it is the answer the replacement page never gives you. If a renewal will not go through, the cause is usually one of five holds: see what blocks a California registration renewal. And if no renewal notice ever arrived, there is a separate procedure for that, because the DMV does not offer a grace period.
How to replace a lost California registration sticker
- Check your renewal date first. If registration is due within 30 days, stop and renew instead. A renewal produces a new sticker and avoids the $28 entirely.
- Decide which sticker is missing. Month sticker only? That is free, and no form is required. Year sticker, or both? Continue.
- Confirm your registration is current. The DMV lists current registration among the requirements for a replacement. Expired tags have to be brought current first.
- Pick a filing path. Order online with your plate number, the last five digits of your VIN, and payment; mail a completed REG 156; visit a field office; or hand the whole thing to a licensed DMV Business Partner.
- Watch the mail. The DMV mails the replacement within 14 days to the registered owner’s address of record. Update your address before you order, not after, because the replacement application will not change it for you.
The faster path. A 14-day mailing window is fine when nothing is urgent. It is not fine when you are selling the car on Saturday or your fleet vehicle is sitting in a yard. Sticker Quicker is a licensed California DMV Business Partner with full online access, DMV Occupational License #90656, DMV-connected real-time processing, and next-day FedEx delivery of registration documents and stickers. No office visit, no 14-day wait, no line. More than 500,000 customers have gone this way.
Your options, side by side
| Path | What it takes | How long |
|---|---|---|
| DMV online replacement | Plate number, last 5 digits of VIN, payment. Blocked by the 30-day rule and the exclusion list above. | Mailed within 14 days |
| DMV by mail (REG 156) | Completed REG 156 plus fee, mailed to the DMV | Mail time plus DMV processing |
| DMV field office | An appointment or a wait, in person | Month sticker same visit; year sticker varies |
| Sticker Quicker | No DMV trip. DMV-connected real-time processing, License #90656, and the widest range of service options among California Business Partners. | Next-day FedEx delivery available |
Fleet operators should read that table one more time. Multiply a 14-day mailing window by twenty vehicles with staggered renewal months and you have a permanent low-grade compliance problem. That is the gap the Virtual Garage fleet dashboard exists to close, with renewal tracking and document storage for the whole yard in one place.
What the REG 156 actually covers
REG 156, Application for Replacement Plates, Stickers, Documents, is the DMV’s single form for replacing lost, stolen, mutilated, or illegible license plates, stickers, registration cards, disabled person parking placards and ID cards, CVRA weight decals and year stickers, and vessel certificates of number and stickers. It is authorized under California Vehicle Code sections 4457, 4458, and 4466, and it must be completed by the registered owner.
Two things follow from that. First, one form handles nearly every replacement scenario, so you do not need to hunt for a sticker-specific document. Second, because the registered owner signs it, a replacement is not something a friend or a mechanic can file on your behalf without your signature on the form.
Plates are a different story
If the plates themselves are gone rather than the decal, the rules tighten. Lost or stolen plates are replaced as substitute plates with a new configuration, so you get different numbers, and the DMV requires a police report when plates were stolen. Any remaining plate has to be surrendered. Damaged or illegible plates can sometimes keep the same configuration, which matters if they are special interest plates filed on a REG 17 or special recognition plates on a REG 17A.
Missing a front plate specifically is its own enforcement question in California, and we covered the fix-it path and what it costs in does California require a front license plate.
Frequently asked questions
How much is a replacement registration sticker in California?
A replacement registration year sticker costs $28, the same fee the DMV charges to replace a registration card, license plates, or a title. The month sticker is replaced at no fee. Vessel replacements are $15, and Permanent Trailer Identification plates and ID cards are $7. Confirm the current amount on the DMV Registration Fees page when you file.
Can I replace my registration sticker online in California?
Yes, if the item was lost, stolen, destroyed, or mutilated and your vehicle is eligible. You need your plate number, the last five digits of your VIN, and payment. The DMV mails the replacement within 14 days. The service is closed to you if registration is due within 30 days, or if the vehicle is expired, suspended, on planned non-operation, or in a fleet, IRP, PYR, or PTI program.
Is the month sticker really free?
Yes. The DMV states you may obtain a replacement month sticker at no cost from a field office or by calling 1-800-777-0133, and the department’s registration procedures manual confirms that month stickers are replaced for no fee and that a REG 156 is not required. Only the year sticker carries the $28 charge.
What do I do if my registration sticker was stolen?
For a stolen year sticker, apply for a substitute using the DMV’s online replacement service or a REG 156. A police report is what the DMV specifically requires when license plates are stolen, not the decal alone. If the plates went with the sticker, file the report and expect substitute plates with a new number configuration.
Can I drive while I wait for the replacement to arrive?
Your registration is valid based on the DMV record, not the decal, and your registration card is your proof of that. A missing sticker can still draw a citation, which in California is often written as a correctable violation. Keep the current registration card in the vehicle, order the replacement promptly, and do not let the 14-day window overlap your renewal date.
Primary sources
- California DMV, Replacement License Plates and Stickers (page last modified August 7, 2026)
- California DMV, Replace Your Registration Card or Sticker Online (page last modified August 7, 2026)
- California DMV, Registration Fees (page last modified June 30, 2026)
- California DMV, VIRPM 20.005, Application for Replacement Plates, Stickers, Documents (REG 156), citing CVC 4457, 4458, and 4466
- California DMV, VIRPM 20.085, Stickers Only, citing CVC 4457 and 4853
Skip the wait
Twenty-eight dollars is not the expensive part of a missing sticker. The expensive part is the 14-day mailing window landing on the wrong side of your renewal date, or a field office trip that eats a working morning. Sticker Quicker is one of only a handful of licensed California DMV Business Partners with full online access, which means real-time processing and next-day FedEx delivery instead of a queue. Handle your California registration renewal or replacement with Sticker Quicker and get it done correctly the first time.
About the author
Mo G is the founder of Sticker Quicker, with decades of experience handling California vehicle registrations, titles, and fleet services. Sticker Quicker is a licensed California DMV Business Partner with full online access, DMV Occupational License #90656, headquartered at 38003 Mission Blvd STE B, Fremont, CA 94536, and serving all of California online.
