WASHINGTON--The District of Columbia's Department of Motor Vehicles declared that, for 120 days, used car dealers can't issue temporary tags. The DMV will no longer supply them with tags and they must stop issuing them starting April 26. All unused tags must be surrendered to the DMV by April 30.

The decision was prompted by the DMV's discovery of widespread abuse of temp tags. Also called special use certificates, they allow car buyers 20 days to transport their new purchases before getting permanent registration in their home jurisdiction. The DMV supplies them to two new car dealers and 242 used car dealers in the District.

After months of investigation, the DMV found that over 79,000 tags were issued in 2003, compared with 36,000 in 2002. "Worse, only 12,000 were reported sold to DC residents," said Anne Witt, Director of the District's DMV. "Of those, less than 3,100 resulted in permanent registrations."

Drivers can abuse temp tags to operate vehicles that are stolen, that don't pass air emission or safety inspections and that aren't covered by insurance. They can also avoid paying tickets with these tags. When purchased properly, they cost $13, but they have a reported value of $150 or more on the street.

Records of used car dealers in particular revealed that they weren't properly using, recording or accounting for temp tags, said the Department. Records show that in over 476 instances, two different used car dealers issued two different tags to the same vehicle identification number on the same day. There were 1,016 times when a used car dealer issued two different tags to the same VIN in the same day. In another 1,157 instances, dealers' own records showed multiple tags issued to the same vehicle and buyer.

Used car dealers are responsible for over 82 percent of all temp tags issued, and 139 of them have been implicated in this matter.

Used car buyers can still purchase tags directly from the DMV. New car dealers can continue issuing tags because new cars don't need inspection and are immediately eligible for permanent registration. However, they must exchange their current supply of tags with newly designed pink tags that apply only to new vehicles.