Yes.

I bought my vehicle from a private seller (not a dealer). How much time do I have to get my vehicle inspected?

If you buy or get a vehicle from someone other than a dealer registered with the NYS DMV, you will receive an inspection extension that will last 10 days from the date of the registration.

An inspection issued to the previous registrant is not valid.

I will become a resident of New York State and will register my vehicle here. Do I need to get a New York State inspection as soon as I register?

No. Your out-of-state inspection remains valid until it expires, or for one year after the vehicle is registered in New York, whichever comes first. When your out-of-state inspection expires, you must get the vehicle inspected here.

If the previous inspection was performed in a jurisdiction that does not issue an inspection sticker, you must have your vehicle inspected in New York.

What can I do if my New York State inspection expires while my vehicle is in another state?

Determine if an expired out-of-state inspection is a violation of law in that state. Ask the authorities if a NYS inspection extension sticker prevents a ticket for the violation. A NYS inspection extension allows you 10 days from the date the vehicle returns to New York State to get a NYS inspection done.

To receive an inspection extension, send the following information

your name and current out-of-state mailing address
the year and make of your vehicle
your NYS vehicle plate number
your inspection sticker number and expiration date

Mail the information to

NYS DMV Bureau of Consumer and Facility Services
Inspection Extension
P.O. Box 2700-ESP
Albany, NY 12220-0700

When you receive your extension sticker, do not put the extension sticker on your windshield while your vehicle is out of state (keep the sticker and the instructions in your vehicle to show to an out-of-state police officer). The sticker is not a guarantee that a police officer will not issue a traffic ticket.

There will be no record of an inspection on NYS DMV records. You cannot renew the registration if there is no DMV computer record of an inspection within the last 12 months. If you must renew the registration before you get a New York State inspection, call 518-402-2111.

After you return your vehicle to New York State

write the date the vehicle returned to New York on the extension sticker
attach the sticker to your windshield
get a New York State inspection within 10 days

That's more than one question! But that's ok. The answers are yes, no, no, and bad things.

Yes a car can be insured under more than one name. As long as the name(s) on the insurance policy are an exact match for the name(s) on the ownership papers, the policy is valid.

No that won't make it cheaper, at least not by very much. Maybe there will be a few discounts available because your mom is a named insured (that's a legal term), like maybe multi-policy or multi-vehicle or renewal (those are just examples), but it won't be thousands or hundreds less. We're talking like maybe a few bucks a month.

No, the insurance can't just be in Mom's name. If the name on the policy doesn't match the name on the ownership document, it's not a valid insurance policy. Driving without valid insurance (key word, valid) is against the law and really really stupid, so don't do that.

Everyone wants to find that hidden technical loop hole, the one that makes the insurance policy completely valid but doesn't cost an arm and a leg. The problem is that insurance companies do this stuff for a living, and have seen all the tricks a million times already. That's why they put the misrepresentation / non-disclosure clause in all their contracts, and it really is in all the contracts. It says if they're given false or deliberately incomplete information from the insured (the customer), the whole contract is null and void and they don't have to cover anything.

One thing to remember, and never forget, is this: Insurance companies don't ever ask questions they can't verify the answers to. When they ask "is the applicant the registered and actual owner of the vehicle", it's because they can look up the ownership records. When they ask "have any drivers had any convictions in the past three years", it's because they're going to get a copy of everyone's driving record. And if they ask "are there any other persons in the house who are licensed to drive", it's because they can look that up too. Don't take it personally, because they don't trust anyone at all.

If you live in the same house as your mom then you must be listed on her insurance policy as a driver. If you don't live with your mom then you can driver her car occasionally and you do not have to be listed as a driver. If you drive the car a lot then you should probably be listed as a driver.

If you get pulled over by the cops and can show a valid insurance card for that car then they are not going to care whose name is on what. They only want to see an insurance card for that car. But that is not your big worry. The big worry is what happens if you get in a wreck. If you live in the same house as your mom they will deny your claim when your name is not listed on the policy. Insurance claims can be very expensive. If someone gets hurt is could be astronomical. How will you pay if your insurance does not?

Talk to your insurance agent and be sure you have valid coverage in place that covers all drivers.

This is why you're always given the opportunity to explain your side of the story in court. In cases like yours, use it.

All you need to do is show proof that you did have valid insurance on the day that you were charged, and you'll be cleared of the charges. And if you really did have valid insurance on that date, you'll have no problem proving it.

As a rather famous Canadian prime minister is known for saying, da proof is da proof and when you have a good proof, it's because it's proven.

You're in a bad spot. He lied to you of course, but you believed him and didn't check it out. You can buy a vehicle with any state's license, or even no license at all.

But now you have possession of his car, the name on the title is all that matters. Call the police to get the title and instead they will make you give him his car and perhaps arrest you for "stealing" it.

It's a civil matter really, not a police one, and you could talk to an attorney, but it's going to be his word against yours, he has the title. He can deny you paid for it, and how do you prove you did? If you have a cancelled check, he can claim he gave you the money and you wrote the check, or that you bought it for him as a gift. "Why else would be put the title in my name instead of his if it wasn't a gift your honor?"

Try talking to him, but if that gets you nowhere, consider it tuition in the school of hard knocks. And learn from it.