I’m in California and I bought (of course, by stupid mistake) a car without license plates, pink slip and with “THIS IS NOT AN OPERATING PERMIT” label in registration paper. The car was salvaged according to the same registration paper. But I successfully started process of its registration for my name in DMV. Also DMV told me I should visit CHP to get Vehicle Moving Permit. Does it mean that I’m not supposed to drive this car right now? 10 days haven’t passed yet since the moment of byuing.
If a car has no plates you are not allowed to drive it legally without a temporary report of sale or a vehicle moving permit. If you take all your papers to DMV and pay the fees they will give you a red sticker to place in the back window. You can drive on that for 30 days. You risk a ticket if you drive it without anything.