ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — This Fourth of July holiday could be the perfect time to hit the road for summer vacation. But you don’t want that trip to start on the wrong foot because an officer pulled you over. It could happen to millions of drivers — and not because you were speeding.

In Florida alone, nearly 700,000 drivers have expired tags. Many people just forget to renew. But outdated registration can lead to serious consequences. You could face a high fine, and in some cases, you could have your car towed or impounded if you are a repeat offender. You could even face jail time. 

According to the latest data from Carfax, Florida is sixth in the country for most expired vehicle registrations. 10 Investigates spoke with Carfax about how to make it easier to renew.

“You want to take a moment, even right now to check your registration or your license plates to make sure that they’re up to date, and then of course in a very easy way to make sure you’re up to date, you can use the Carfax car care app and that can send very helpful reminders and timely reminders when it comes to certain maintenance such as recalls or oil changes, and in this instance, with registration,” Carfax Spokesperson Em Nguyen said.

The Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles will also send you a notice in the mail when you are up for renewal, and that’s something to pay attention to because that’s the only way they will notify you — not by phone or by text. 

One office tells us they’ve seen many people walk into their offices with texts that are pure scams. There are several examples floating around saying you have an unpaid fine or traffic ticket. 

The scammer will threaten to suspend your license and registration. Don’t fall for it — the state will not text you, and there’s no such thing as the “DMV” in Florida.

Here are some other things to keep in mind: 

• You can renew a plate up to three months before it expires in Florida.
• You have the option of a one or two-year renewal.
• But if you haven’t paid all your toll violations, the state will make you take care of those before you’re allowed to renew.