For most drivers, a vehicle registration is background paperwork, something renewed once a year and rarely thought about again. For someone earning a living behind the wheel, it works differently. Rideshare and delivery platforms suspend driver accounts over expired tags, and California’s roughly 36 million registered vehicle owners rely on a DMV system built to serve the entire state. NeedTags, a North Hollywood-based registration service and authorized California DMV partner, was built to give time-pressed drivers a faster lane alongside that system.
A Service Built Around Driver Schedules
NeedTags processes new vehicle registrations, registered and legal owner transfers, and registrations for vehicles carrying a Manufacturer Statement of Origin or an out-of-state title. It also handles additions to Permanent Fleet Registration, the category that covers small operators running more than one vehicle under a single registration umbrella, from courier outfits to landscaping crews to small delivery fleets.
Founder Eddy Asmerian points to the size of California’s driver population as the reason a service like his has room to exist alongside the DMV’s own network. The state has roughly 180 DMV offices serving around 16 million registered vehicle owners, he has said, a ratio that reflects just how much demand there is for additional registration options statewide.
“That’s not nearly enough,” he said.
Asmerian built NeedTags to meet that demand directly, positioning the company as a faster, more personal option for drivers who need one, without standing in for the DMV’s broader role. Since launching, the company says it has supported roughly 2 million customer interactions and processed its millionth vehicle registration last November. It holds a 4.8-star rating on Shopper Approved, a customer-review platform where motorists submit feedback once a transaction closes.
A Faster Lane, Not a Replacement
As an authorized DMV partner, NeedTags operates alongside the department rather than in competition with it, handling a defined set of transactions on the DMV’s behalf so drivers have another door to walk through when their schedule demands it. For a driver who needs to be back on the road the same day, that extra door matters. NeedTags condenses the pitch into a line the company puts front and center for every customer: Renew Online and Avoid The Fine.
Asmerian describes the value in direct terms.
“We are exponentially faster, provide a personalized experience, and afford no wait times,” he has said, comparing the company’s process to a traditional DMV counter visit.
That framing is less about the DMV and more about who NeedTags was built for. A rideshare driver who cannot afford a day off the road, or a courier business adding a second van to its fleet registration, needs a process that moves at the pace their income does. NeedTags built its turnaround time around that reality, treating speed as a service feature rather than a workaround.
Where the Gig Economy Is Headed
California’s gig and delivery workforce has grown to the point where a registration delay can ripple through a household’s income in a way it simply did not a decade ago, when driving for hire was more often a side job than a primary income source. NeedTags is built on a straightforward premise: as more Californians earn their living behind the wheel, the driver economy benefits from having a registration partner built around its schedule, working alongside the state’s own system rather than apart from it.
Asmerian is positioning NeedTags less as a workaround and more as a complement to the DMV’s network, one built specifically for drivers whose time on the road is also their income. As California’s driver population keeps growing, he sees room for both systems to serve different parts of the same need: the DMV handling the full scope of the state’s registration work, and NeedTags handling the slice of it that depends on speed.
More information is available at needtags.com.
