Driving without registration or with expired registration in New York State is a violation of NY Vehicle and Traffic Code section 401. It is a separate violation of law to display on your vehicle an expired registration sticker.

If you cannot provide valid vehicle registration, the police can issue a ticket for an unregistered vehicle. He or she could also issue a citation for displaying an expired registration sticker if they so choose.

The traffic court or the NYS Traffic Violation Bureau can dismiss the traffic ticket if you can provide proof that your vehicle did have valid registration on it when the ticket was issued.

If you are unable to do so, a violation of this law can be punishable by a fine of not less than $75 nor more than $300 or by imprisonment for not more than 15 days or both. If the violation consists of failure to renew a registration which was valid within 60 days, the fine shall be not less than $40.

Before driving the vehicle with expired registration you might try contacting the New York State DMV to find out if there is a way to get the vehicle registration renewed before the expiration date even with waiting for the salvage inspection so that you do not break the law.