And it’s only the beginning. Just one month into a 24-month sweep, a firm hired by Bridgeport, Connecticut, officials flagged thousands of out-of-state cars that may actually belong to local residents dodging taxes.

City officials suspect many of these drivers live in Bridgeport but keep their cars registered in lower-tax towns or out-of-state altogether

Connecticut law gives new residents 90 days to register their cars with the DMV. If you’re moving within the state, you have just 48 hours to update your address. That’s stricter than in some other states. In New York, for example, the DMV allows 30 days. In California, it’s also 20 days from establishing residency.

The city hired a firm, Fischer Investigations, to carry out the sweep

The company uses license plate scanners to spot out-of-state cars. Then it cross-checks data like DMV records and home ownership to determine whether the vehicle’s owner really lives in town. 

The process can take months, and investigators make multiple rounds to avoid targeting visitors or commuters.

Once Fischer confirms a vehicle appears permanently housed in Bridgeport, the owner receives a notice

They have 30 days to appeal before getting hit with local taxes and a $50 processing fee. The investigation firm keeps 40 percent of the first year’s new tax revenue as part of its contract, the Connecticut Post shared.

Finance director Ken Flatto expects many of those 5,000 flagged cars will prove tax-eligible, but the city isn’t stopping there. He believes thousands more Connecticut-registered vehicles are linked to other towns and not paying Bridgeport its due.

Flatto is urging residents to come clean about their cars’ registrations before the city catches up. Otherwise, the $50 fee might just be the start.