When purchasing a new or used car, you may find yourself in a situation in which you need to drive a car with temporary tags. If you're more accustomed to driving with a permanent license plate, then you may not know much about what temporary tags are or what you can expect from them. It's important to know to avoid doing the following things when you're driving a vehicle that you have just purchased or that you might otherwise not have permanent tags for.

Drive the Vehicle Without Temporary Tags

First of all, if you think you can skip the process of getting temporary tags, you should know this is not a good idea. If you drive your vehicle without any tags -- including temporary ones -- then you could be pulled over. There's even a chance that your car could be towed and impounded, and you could get a ticket. You might not be able to secure your permanent tags until you have gotten your temporary tags and had them for a certain amount of time, too, depending on how things are handled by the Department of Motor Vehicles in your state. Therefore, you should not get behind the wheel of your car until you have put temporary tags on it.

Try to Get The Tags Without Help From the Dealer

If you purchased a car from a dealer, then you should consider asking for their help with getting your temporary tags in place. They should know how to handle the process and should be able to get temporary tags for you quickly and easily. They might even foot the bill or include the cost in your financing, preventing you from having to have the cash on hand. If your dealer does not help you with getting temporary tags for the car you have just purchased, they should be able to give you the paperwork that you need to prove ownership and get these temporary tags on your own.

Not Properly Protecting the Tags

Temporary tags are often made simply of paper or cardboard, rather than the metal that is used to make permanent license plates. Because of this, you should be mindful of protecting the tags so they don't get messed up before you receive your permanent plates. You can put them in a plastic sleeve before attaching them to your vehicle, for example.

For more information about temp tags, contact a local supplier.