I bought a new car in Nov 2024, with a temporary tag that was due to expire on January 26, 2025. I was told by the dealership "Wait for your title complete notice to come in the mail" and "If you have any trouble come back and get a new temporary tag from us."

On January 20, I didn't have a title complete notice yet so I did go to the dealership and got a new tag.

Somewhere around this time I found https://mydmv.colorado.gov/_/#2 and found that under "Vehicle Services" there's a link that says "Check a title status". My status was "Active". I have been checking the status weekly and finally last week got impatient and sent a note through their form asking what "Active" means, since they don't define it on the page. I got an email back which said that "Active" on a new car means the title complete letter has been sent and I can go on the myDMV website to order my plates.

So I went back to https://mydmv.colorado.gov/_/#3, under "Vehicle Services" and this time clicked "Submit a First Time Vehicle Registration" -- right link, but it needs two values from the "Title Complete" letter, which I have not received.

The contact form this time results in an email that says my notice was mailed on January 16th and if I haven't received it I can get the information by calling my county DMV office.

So this morning I called. If you are in Denver, just call 311. The internet has other numbers but they just land here. You have to navigate menus, and some questions are asked twice. Phone lines open at 8.

Have your Vin number (they want the last 8 characters), and a pencil and piece of paper. You need your Title Number (which is 9 digits), and your "Letter Code" which is a letter, followed by 10 digits. If you are not rolling over value from the registration on another car (for example a trade in), you can now order plates on the myDMV site.

If you want one of the upgraded plates, but don't care about the code on it, don't pick "personalized plates". You will get the option to pick your plate on the next tab.

And the "Keep Colorado Wild" fee is well worth it in my opinion. It means you get access to the state parks without having pay the day entry fee. The rangers have scanners and they will run your plates in the parking lots of the parks to determine if you've paid or not. State parks include Cherry Creek, Chatfield, Barr Lake, Golden Gate Canyon, and a bunch of reservoirs and parks outside the city. The fee goes to the parks for their budget.

Hope this helps someone else get unstuck on their license plate process. I'm seeing a lot of temp tags that expired in January so I'm pretty sure I'm not the only one who hasn't gotten their letter yet.