A Tale of a Lamar County Tag Office Clerk (some free, unsolicited and perhaps unwanted information about tags and titles in Lamar County, AL)
I began working full time in 1976 right after I graduated high school, as a fast food store cashier and clerk. 16 months later I began my first career job in the dairy manufacturing industry. I also worked for 2 different banks totaling about 11 years. I won't bore you with all of the details of my working career, but feel free to ask if you're really interested. In Dec. 2020 after my wife and I prayerfully considered and discussed it, I retired from manufacturing and 2nd/3rd shift work and we moved back to Alabama.
In April 2021 I was hired by our county, and in November 2021 I began working as a county tag office clerk. I think I was the only guy to work in there. As of Dec. 6, 2023, I'm fully retired from full time employment and no longer a tag office clerk.
As an adult, I lived in 2 counties in Maryland, 2 counties in Florida, 1 county in Idaho, 1 county in New York, 1 county in Louisiana, and 2 counties in Alabama including the one I worked for. I don't remember all of the details about renewing tags in all of these counties, but since I also worked for the current one I live in, it helps with the comparisons. Maybe this will be boring to you, but it also may shed some light on some things you never thought of.
By the way, I oppose multiple taxation (state income tax, state sales tax, additional state gasoline tax, ad valorum vehicle tax, home property tax, etc.), yet I ended up working in a tag office for 2 years ;-). Once they do state income tax OR sales tax, that should be it. Nevertheless, it's a reality that we as citizens never should have allowed back in the day. But I digress. This is unsolicited information. No one working for Lamar County asked me to do this. So, here ya go for what it's worth.
1. Sales tax on new purchases will always be paid on the purchase price of the vehicle. If you buy from an Alabama dealership, they will collect it and send it. If you buy from outside of Alabama or an individual, you will pay it at the Tag office when you register the new vehicle. Some dealerships outside of Alabama will estimate your sales tax and put it on your Bill of Sale and send the check to the Tag Office. If you trade in a vehicle at a dealership, the price they give you is deducted from the purchase price first to determine the sales tax.
2. In addition to the Bill of Sale you always need the Title or Title Application. When you buy from an individual, the seller has to sign in the appropriate place and it has to the way he/she has it titled or more, but not less. For example, if they used the middle initial, they have to use that or the middle name when they sign it. Marking or whiting out anything, or signing in the wrong place will require a correction/affidavit form.
3. While you never know how busy each day can be, the busiest days of the month are usually the last business day of the month, the last few business days of the month, and the first business day of the month. There is a late fee currently of $15 per vehicle if you're one day or more late. One exception is if the last day of the month falls on the weekend, there will be no late fee if you're there on the first business day of the following month.
4. The Tag Office hours currently are 8:00AM-4:30PM. If it involves a title, you have to be there by 4:00PM for it to be processed at that time. They do not close for lunch but there is one less clerk for about two hours around lunch time.
5. Calling the tag office to get a price is a courtesy started years ago. They usually cannot help you those busy days I mentioned, but whenever all 3 tag clerks are using the computer to help a customer at any time, they cannot get you a price at that time. This is for renewals only. They cannot give you a price for new purchases.
6. New vehicle purchases with an out of state title requires a VIN inspection, so the vehicle has to be present for the tag office Clerk to check it.
7. NEVER let your auto insurance lapse. The State of Alabama requires continuous coverage, and you could be fined $200 for the first notice and $400 if there's a second notice.
8. It's best to bring your insurance card with you even when you renew your tags. Sometimes they don't need it. But if it does not confirm automatically in the computer system, they are required to scan the insurance card.
9. The lowest price for an automobile tag renewal that I saw in my 2 years there was $26.77 for a whole year. That was for around a 2008 and older automobile.
10. Replacement metal tags and/or decals are $2.00. Replacement titles are $18.00.
11. They do not have antique tags anymore. You can get a vintage tag for vehicles over 35 years old but that's only for going back and forth to car shows.
12. You have 20 days from the date of purchase to register your new vehicle purchase. The tag office has no control of how long it takes to get the required documentation from the dealership.
Well, I reckon that's all for now. Why did I do this? Well, for one, because I'm retired from full time employment :-) and I like to do articles and blog posts. Another reason is to just try to be helpful. While I was there, "they" allowed me to have a Facebook page just for the tag office, but they changed their mind after a few weeks or so. I appreciate the opportunity to work for the county and serve the public. I left because they got a new title system I didn't want to learn, I want to devote more time to my Concerned Constitutional Patriots of America outreach, and I do have several health issues that made it a little difficult to keep working there.
One more thing ;-). The Probate Judge is over the tag office. Keep that in mind when voting this March. Feel free to contact me by emailing me at pesterbratdotcom@aol.com or sending me a private message on Facebook.
Thanks for reading,
~ Pester Brat
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