Notwithstanding any provision of subdivision (a) of Section 5204 to the contrary, when an application for the registration of a vehicle has been made as required in Sections 4152.5 and 4602, the vehicle may be operated on the highways until the new indicia of current registration have been received from the department, upon condition that there be displayed on the vehicle the license plates and validating devices, if any, issued to the vehicle for the previous registration year.