Vehicle registrations rebound after pandemic slowdown

KEENE — Motor vehicle registrations in the state appear to be on the rebound after falling behind 2019 levels for the first three months of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Meanwhile, revenue from motor vehicle registrations collected during the state’s 2020 fiscal year, which ended June 30, was slightly higher than what was collected in fiscal year 2019.

Motor vehicle registration fees are the second largest revenue source supporting New Hampshire’s highway fund, which pays for construction, reconstruction and maintenance of state highways. The leading source of revenue is the state’s gasoline tax.

According to data from the N.H. Department of Safety, which includes the Division of Motor Vehicles, a total of 771,942 vehicles were registered from March 1 to July 31. Those include registrations for new and leased vehicles, and renewals.

While that is 21,818 fewer vehicles than were registered during the same time period in 2019, the gap could have been even bigger had registrations not picked up in June and July.

In March, the state recorded 134,851 motor vehicle registrations, which was 11,184 less than in March 2019. There were 136,450 in April, down 28,046 from a year earlier, and 152,753 in May, down 17,759.

However, June and July registrations out-performed what was recorded for the same months in 2019, tallying 184,066 and 163,822, respectively, up 27,824 and 7,347 from last year.

As for revenue from motor vehicle registrations, the state collected $500,000 more in fiscal year 2020 than it did the prior year. By the end of June, the state had received $73.2 million from registrations compared to $72.7 in the year ending June 2019.

During the first month of the 2021 fiscal year, July, the state collected $9 million in motor vehicle registration fees, which is $3 million more than it had planned for, according to data from the N.H. Department of Administrative Services.

In Keene, both the number of motor vehicle registrations and revenue from March 1 to July 31 came in lower than for the same time frame in 2019, but not by much.

Data from the city’s revenue collection office shows that from March through July, city staff members processed 9,411 registrations, a decrease of 184.

Revenue Collector Mary E. Alther said the registrations include not only passenger cars, but other vehicles including motorcycles, campers and trailers.

As for revenue, the city collected $1.536 million from motor vehicle registrations from March to the end of July, $9,000 less than the $1.545 million collected over the same time frame in 2019.

“We’re pretty much steady,” Alther said last week. “I’m not showing a big flux or difference.”

In Peterborough, Town Clerk Linda Guyette said she has noticed a delay in some people registering vehicles that were due for renewal in the spring.

“In April and May, people still needed to register their cars, and most did,” she said. “Still, there was a number of people who never registered their vehicles because they weren’t going anywhere.”

As the restrictions to help limit the spread of COVID-19 have lifted, and those residents start using their cars again, they have been coming in, she said.

Hinsdale Town Clerk Julie Seymour said she noticed an influx of new vehicle registrations within a month of the pandemic starting.

Further, the timing of the pandemic has been a perfect storm, in a sense, for her office, as the beginning of summer is also when residents seek to register their campers, boats and motorcycles, she said. There are also dog registrations to process and a presidential primary and general election to prepare for, she said.

“It’s been busy because of all that is happening,” she said.

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