The Chattooga County Tax Commissioner’s Office is reminding residents that a Georgia license plate stays with the vehicle owner — not the vehicle — when a car or truck is sold or traded.

Chattooga County Tax Commissioner Joy Hampton says residents should remove the tag before turning over a vehicle. The tag can be kept in a safe place for future use or taken to the Tax Commissioner’s Office for recycling.

Hampton says the office occasionally hears from people who left a tag on a vehicle they sold, only to later discover the plate had ended up in another state and accumulated toll charges or parking tickets. Those tickets can be difficult to dispute unless the tag has been reported lost or stolen to law enforcement.

Residents should also cancel their registration or place the tag on hold before removing insurance from a vehicle, whether the vehicle has been parked, sold, traded or repossessed. A tag placed on hold can be taken off hold when the owner is ready to put the vehicle back on the road.

Remember: When you sell or trade a vehicle, take the tag off and make sure the registration is properly handled before you cancel the insurance.