License Plate News

[SEWIGuy]

I prefer states that don't do either stickers or permanent stamps on their license plates for expiration.

Agreed. I would think that the days of using stickers to indicate expiry of registration are numbered at this point. ALPR cameras are everywhere, and it's pretty common for them to be outfitted on patrol cars, parking enforcement vehicles, etc because they are also able to alert on stolen vehicles and those associated with ongoing investigations. I wouldn't be surprised if more states began to abandon stickers for the cost savings alone.

I get it, but it's one sticker. It's not that expensive.

[Dustin DeWinn]

I prefer states that don't do either stickers or permanent stamps on their license plates for expiration.

Agreed. I would think that the days of using stickers to indicate expiry of registration are numbered at this point. ALPR cameras are everywhere, and it's pretty common for them to be outfitted on patrol cars, parking enforcement vehicles, etc because they are also able to alert on stolen vehicles and those associated with ongoing investigations. I wouldn't be surprised if more states began to abandon stickers for the cost savings alone.

I get it, but it's one sticker. It's not that expensive.

Yeah but overtime it adds up. NC saved like $7m a year or something by switching to 1 sticker. Texas also saved a ton too.

[jdbx]

I prefer states that don't do either stickers or permanent stamps on their license plates for expiration.

Agreed. I would think that the days of using stickers to indicate expiry of registration are numbered at this point. ALPR cameras are everywhere, and it's pretty common for them to be outfitted on patrol cars, parking enforcement vehicles, etc because they are also able to alert on stolen vehicles and those associated with ongoing investigations. I wouldn't be surprised if more states began to abandon stickers for the cost savings alone.

I get it, but it's one sticker. It's not that expensive.

True, one sticker is not that expensive.  But one sticker X 31 million registered vehicles in California AND all the ancillary expenses around getting them to owners, keeping them stocked in all DMV and AAA offices, keeping the DMV kiosks maintained and stocked with supplies to print them....  even if the stickers cost pennies to produce, we are probably talking about an 8-figure savings if they were to be eliminated in my state.

[Scott5114]

Problem is, with no plate sticker, as a cop, you don't know if a tag is expired until you run the plate. You can notice a sticker is the wrong color even if you're on a motorcycle or out of your patrol car doing something on foot. I can imagine that any cost savings would be offset by a reduction in the number of expired-tag citations as a result (not that we should be relying on fines for revenue, of course, just pointing out that it's really not much of a savings if that's taken into consideration).

Las Vegas Metro already has enough excuses they whine about for not pulling over people with no plates at all. We don't need to keep on giving them more reasons to not do their jobs.

[1995hoo]

Some counties have registration fees or other requirements. Having the county on the plate can show if those requirements have been observed.

Virginia counties and independent cities collect personal property taxes on vehicles. They once required motorists to apply windshield stickers, as proof of payment. Virginia's largest county Fairfax dropped the sticker requirement as an unnecessary hassle (it is especially common in northern Virginia for people to move between jurisdictions). Eventually, all of Virginia's other counties and independent cities followed Fairfax County's lead.

Some Fairfax County residents, who really needed to get a life, lamented their inability to snitch on their neighbors for nonpayment of personal property tax, without a sticker requirement.

It took the City of Alexandria several years to drop the sticker after Fairfax County did that. At the time, my now-wife lived just inside the city limits. I kept my no-longer-needed county sticker in place for several years so that I wouldn't get a ticket for no decal when I was over visiting her. That wasn't an idle fear—Charlottesville's sheriff said he had instructed his police force to continue ticketing people without decals because it wasn't their responsibility to figure out the rules in every jurisdiction within Virginia and someone who was from a "no-sticker" jurisdiction could easily defeat the ticket in court by producing the registration. I eventually removed the old stickers because I became concerned that DC would ticket me for having an invalid sticker on the windshield when I parked on the street for Nats games.

The thing I don't understand is the people who don't seem to know how to display the stickers properly. At least in Virginia, the month goes on the left, the year goes on the right. Some people alternate each "year" sticker, left and right, but the problem with that is that the "month" sticker is covered up by the year stickers. Some people will put both "month" stickers on the front plate and both "year" on the rear (or vice versa). None of that makes any sense to me. (If you do that and you park on the street in DC, you're at risk of a ticket for "improper display of a license plate.")

Then you have DC. It eliminated license-plate stickers and instead issues a sticker that goes in the bottom corner on the inside of the driver's side of the windshield; in addition to the registration information, it includes any residential parking district permits that apply. But there was a problem: When they made the switch, DC's ticket writers then started ticketing their own residents for "expired plates" because the license plates had the old stickers (given that there were no replacements). So the DMV quickly printed up, and sent out, a bunch of plate decals that said "SEE WINDOW STICKER." Later they just started printing that on the plates instead:

[Rothman]

Problem is, with no plate sticker, as a cop, you don't know if a tag is expired until you run the plate. You can notice a sticker is the wrong color even if you're on a motorcycle or out of your patrol car doing something on foot. I can imagine that any cost savings would be offset by a reduction in the number of expired-tag citations as a result (not that we should be relying on fines for revenue, of course, just pointing out that it's really not much of a savings if that's taken into consideration).

Las Vegas Metro already has enough excuses they whine about for not pulling over people with no plates at all. We don't need to keep on giving them more reasons to not do their jobs.

How on Earth do stickerless states survive?

[vdeane]

But there was a problem: When they made the switch, DC's ticket writers then started ticketing their own residents for "expired plates" because the license plates had the old stickers (given that there were no replacements). So the DMV quickly printed up, and sent out, a bunch of plate decals that said "SEE WINDOW STICKER." Later they just started printing that on the plates instead:

Wow.  Any police officer who would do that is not worthy of the job.  If I were the judge, I would not only dismiss the tickets, I would hold the officers in contempt of court and let them rot in jail until they had learned their lesson!

[Dustin DeWinn]

Problem is, with no plate sticker, as a cop, you don't know if a tag is expired until you run the plate. You can notice a sticker is the wrong color even if you're on a motorcycle or out of your patrol car doing something on foot. I can imagine that any cost savings would be offset by a reduction in the number of expired-tag citations as a result (not that we should be relying on fines for revenue, of course, just pointing out that it's really not much of a savings if that's taken into consideration).

Las Vegas Metro already has enough excuses they whine about for not pulling over people with no plates at all. We don't need to keep on giving them more reasons to not do their jobs.

North Carolina has one color (light gray that's almost white) for all months and years. No differentiation

But this change was implemented a few years ago from 2 stickers

[route56]

The new 'Standard' Kansas plate design finally rolled out in Mid-August.

Despite what was implied on the design samples, the new plates continue the ####AAA series that the old design had started using. My family had their plates refreshed on the tail end of the old design with plate numbers ending in 'AFF'. The lowest number I've seen so far with the new design ended in 'AFJ'

[MikeTheActuary]

How on Earth do stickerless states survive?

CT did away with stickers (plate or window) years ago.

A critical mass of police patrol vehicles have automated plate readers that (in theory, at least) alert for expired registration, lapse in insurance, etc.

Whether patrol officers are willing to act on those alerts is another matter....but that would have been a factor with stickers too.

[mgk920]

How on Earth do stickerless states survive?

CT did away with stickers (plate or window) years ago.

A critical mass of police patrol vehicles have automated plate readers that (in theory, at least) alert for expired registration, lapse in insurance, etc.

Whether patrol officers are willing to act on those alerts is another matter....but that would have been a factor with stickers too.

To expand on that thought, and I have mentioned this in here before, if you see a police car in your car's rear-view mirrors, assume that the license plate has already been run through official records and checked for being valid, current and for any outstanding warrants.

Mike

[apeman33]

The new 'Standard' Kansas plate design finally rolled out in Mid-August.

Despite what was implied on the design samples, the new plates continue the ####AAA series that the old design had started using. My family had their plates refreshed on the tail end of the old design with plate numbers ending in 'AFF'. The lowest number I've seen so far with the new design ended in 'AFJ'

Speaking of Kansas, when I went to renew my plate, I saw a sample plate for Garden City Community College. I have a Pitt State plate but this is the first I've seen for a Community College anywhere. A few days later, I saw one out in the wild but it's the only one I've seen.

EDIT: Link added. It is, indeed, the only community college plate available.

https://www.gcccks.edu/alumni/drive_with_buster_pride.aspx

It doesn't appear that there are any other specialty plates for any of Kansas' other junior colleges. Does any other state have juco plates?

[74/171FAN]

PennDOT - Statewide News: Shapiro Administration Announces New Military License Plates to Honor Pennsylvania Veterans

[MikeTheActuary]

How on Earth do stickerless states survive?

Plate readers.

[mgk920]

How on Earth do stickerless states survive?

Plate readers.

In New York, the 'official' tag for the car is the sticker that is inside the windshield (this was done to foil plate thieves, especially in NYC).  The metal plates themselves only serve to identify the cars from a distance.

Mike

[vdeane]

In New York, the 'official' tag for the car is the sticker that is inside the windshield (this was done to foil plate thieves, especially in NYC).  The metal plates themselves only serve to identify the cars from a distance.

Government cars don't have registration stickers, though.

[democraticnole]

Florida will likely get a new base plate in 2025-26.

https://cbs12.com/news/local/legislature-could-take-up-first-change-to-basic-license-plate-since-2003-sunshine-state-oranges-license-plate-florida-november-16-2023

Thank you for sharing this. I have loathed the standard Florida plate for years. It is one of the worst (Oklahoma plate that looks like someone is on LSD is worse) plates in the country. The color scheme sucks and the MyFlorida.com on the top makes it look ridiculous. I can't believe they have lasted over 20 years. I have a specialty plate.

In 2012, the state was supposed to update the plates to this:


However, these were not stamped plates and so the company that makes the plates pitched a fit and eventually the plan got scrapped.

The 2012 design was an improvement over the current design, but I think they can do better. And they should stop putting the county names on plates. I never see a Hillsborough or Miami-Dade one anyway.

[democraticnole]

Utah has eliminated the requirement to have front license plates. That makes three states in the last five years (AK, OH, UT) to have dropped the front plate requirement, which is a disturbing trend. I have never understood the resistance to front plates. Pretty much the entire world uses front and back license plates. It is better for safety and other reasons.

On the registration sticker front, Florida used to use different color stickers each year, which made it easy for law enforcement to identify potential violators. Now, everyone uses a very basic yellow registration sticker. These can be easily faked.

Personally, I like the Texas registration sticker on the front windshield.

[Rothman]

I prefer the sticker on the license plate.  NY's inspection and registration stickers are a pain.

[Molandfreak]

Windshields are for state park entrance stickers, a transponder, a dash cam, and maybe even a radar detector if you feel inclined. Glad I don't have to clutter mine up any more than I feel the need to.

[TheCatalyst31]

In Chicago and many of its suburbs, you need to put a sticker on your windshield to show that you paid your local wheel tax. I'm not sure why that's still a thing - in Wisconsin you pay your local wheel tax when you renew your license plates, which is a lot more sensible.

[vdeane]

I have never understood the resistance to front plates. Pretty much the entire world uses front and back license plates. It is better for safety and other reasons.

I know that drivers of certain model cars don't like them because they have to drill into the front bumper in order to mount the plate as the bumper doesn't have a mounting area ready to go.

It is odd that multiple jurisdictions have switched to one plate - I would think it would be the other way for the benefit of automated toll collection and speed/red light cameras.

[MATraveler128]

Plenty of people here in Massachusetts have no front plate and usually it's people with the current spirit plates. I suspect people are used to the old greenie design and don't want to adapt although there are still plenty of greenies still around.

[mgk920]

Windshields are for state park entrance stickers, a transponder, a dash cam, and maybe even a radar detector if you feel inclined. Glad I don't have to clutter mine up any more than I feel the need to.

New York also uses windshield stickers as their 'official' registration, keeping the metal plates solely to help identify the vehicles from a distance.  This was mainly to help foil license plate thieves, particularly in the NYC area.

Mike

[Molandfreak]

Windshields are for state park entrance stickers, a transponder, a dash cam, and maybe even a radar detector if you feel inclined. Glad I don't have to clutter mine up any more than I feel the need to.

New York also uses windshield stickers as their 'official' registration, keeping the metal plates solely to help identify the vehicles from a distance.  This was mainly to help foil license plate thieves, particularly in the NYC area.

Mike

I'm aware of that. It would just be extremely annoying for someone from New York to take an extended trip to state parks in Wisconsin, which requires a sticker pass on the driver's side.