On Sunday, June 23, 2025, the New Hampshire Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) introduced a new hard-stop in the vehicle registration process for Commercial (COMM) plates. This change was implemented because the State is trying to clean up thousands of COMM plates that have been issued incorrectly to vehicles with a GVW of under 26,000 lbs., which does not meet legal requirements for issuance.
When attempting to process a registration (new, renewal, or transfer) of COMM plates, if the vehicle’s GVW is under 26,000 lbs., a version of the following message from MAAP will appear:
At this point, you have two options:
- Process only the Town portion of the transaction and direct your customer to the State to complete the registration.
- Switch the plate to a Passenger (PASS) plate (at the customer’s expense) to complete both the Town and State portions.
As outlined in the MA Manual (page 44), in accordance with RSA 259:12-e:
If you have any additional questions about the issuance of commercial plates, please contact the MA HelpDesk.
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