In California if you no longer want to pay for registration on a vehicle, because you no longer own it, you need to notify the CA Department of Insurance. When you left the car in Honduras it would have been helpful to your situation if you would have brought home the plates and turned them in and thus canceled your registration on the vehicle.

Since the DMV was not notified that the car was no longer in your possession they assumed that you were late in paying your registration fees. The DMV site states to stop receiving renewal notices for a car you no longer own you must submit a Notice of Release of Liability.

This Release form must be submitted not only if a car is sold, but also if it is given away or donated. It sounds as if you gave it away in a foreign country so you might be able to fill out the form that way if it is not too late.

If you cannot prove when you left the car in Honduras, the California DMV might require you to pay the back fees and then cancel your registration on the vehicle. To find out for certain what steps to take contact the agency listed on your collection notice or the CA Department of Motor Vehicles.

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