If you have imported your vehicle, so that it now has Baja California plates, you will need to renew the stickers on the plates (or the plates themselves) each year. Previously there was also tenencia to pay but that has now been abolished (except for vehicles with a current tax value above 260,000 pesos).
To get the new sticker, you need to go the Baja California vehicle licensing office.
In San Felipe the office is in the Baja California government building at the far north end of Mar Caribe Norte (Mar Caribe #616, tel. 577 1065), on the left opposite a large empty lot and the view to the baseball stadium. (Another way to get there is to take Mar de Cortez Norte at the north end of the Malecon all the way north until the road ends by the baseball stadium, then turn left and it's shortly on the right). It's open 8am to 5pm Monday-Friday, and 8am to 1pm Saturday.
Take your previous Tarjeta de Circulacion Vehicular (only the left-hand side of this is needed, the side with the year hologram, the other side is a receipt). Also take your current Baja California driver's license.
At the office, go to the desk immediately to the right of the door to get your Tarjeta stamped. Then go to the window marked placas (plates). Hand in your old Tarjeta and your driver's license. You'll be asked for the fee. You'll then receive a new Tarjeta for 2011, plus a couple of stickers for the plates, and a new silver sticker for the car window.
The amount of the fee no longer depends on the value of the vehicle, unless it's over 260,000 pesos (when 3% tenencia is also due). The total was 625 pesos (around US$50) for my vehicle for 2011. This is comprised of 272 pesos for the stickers, 225 pesos for a "municipal contribution", additional health tax of 87 pesos and an optional 60 pesos for the Red Cross. There's a brochure on the Baja California website (pdf, in Spanish) describing the charges in theory but it doesn't match well with what is actually charged.
Before going to the office, you can check the exact amount you will have to pay at the Baja California Placas page. Click on Presupuesto de revalidación (revalidation quote) and enter your BC license plate (without any spaces or hyphens). For Uso del vehículo click on Particular (unless it's a company car) and press Continuar.
The amount shown will include an amount around 78 pesos for envoi (shipping), which is not charged if you go in person to the local office to get the stickers. So deduct that amount from the online quote to get an idea of what you'll need to pay locally.
Like the property tax (predial), there are discounts for paying early in the year, with the biggest discount being in January (12%), smaller discounts in February (8.5%) and March (5%). The payment becomes overdue at the end of March for vehicles in model years 2002 or later, and at the end of June for vehicles 2001 or earlier.
In some years (like 2010) there will be new plates when a new series comes out, but for 2011 it's just a revalidation sticker for the existing plates.
