ACAB

So go to court and take your new tags with you. They’ll throw out the ticket.

How long ago were they expired?

Shouldn't you get new ones before the old ones expire?

Yes, yes you should.

YDI. You're supposed to do that before they expire.

You should have had it done before the tabs expired.

YDI. Next time, don't drive on expired tags. Even just to the DMV. Go online and renew and get temp tags if you haven't renewed in time.

Excuses and excuses. Get them before they expire. You deserved that ticket.

Only thing I can think of is you were out of town for an ENTIRE 1.5 months prior to receiving the notice in the mail to re-new. Your tabs are always the month of your birthday. YDI, but if you go to court to fight it (especially looking at the police report and the road you were on) it'll get thrown out. They're willing to waste your time if you waste theirs.

They're not always renewed in the month of your birthday. It varies by state.

In Utah at least tabs are renewed annually in the month in which you purchased the vehicle.

How expired were the tabs? Like today expired or months?

YDI because you don't have to wait for your tags to expire to get new ones. Honestly you feel like the kind of person that pays their bill after the due date and then is all "Why did I get a late fee I paid the bill?"