License Plate News

[thenetwork]

^^^ Glad to hear Texas is willing to move out of the no-frills design of the last many years.

Every time I see a newer Texas plate, I think of the 70's and 80's when Generic blck and white Beer labels were a rage.

[Dustin DeWinn]

What is the utility of having registration counties stamped or labeled on the plates? Clout, law enforcement, an obsolete relic, something else?

[GaryV]

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

[mgk920]

Wisconsin has munis that collect plate fees ('wheel taxes'), but those are collected by WisDOT at plate renewal time and are then remitted by them to the relevant agencies, No special notations to that effect on the plates themselves.  IMHO, in most states that do have 'county' notations of some  sort on the plates, either certain ranges of plate numbers or by having the county's name printed in the plates, it is mainly a 'that's the way that we've always done it' sort of thing.  Residents of thinly populated counties in some states (ie, Nebraska) often use their 'rare' plate number ranges as sorts of 'badges of honor'.

Mike

[Big John]

In Georgia, all plate registrations are done by the county tag office. The state distributes the plates to the county, then the county does the rest, including affirming the county name sticker to the bottom.

[Dustin DeWinn]

In Georgia, all plate registrations are done by the county tag office. The state distributes the plates to the county, then the county does the rest, including affirming the county name sticker to the bottom.

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

Wisconsin has munis that collect plate fees ('wheel taxes'), but those are collected by WisDOT at plate renewal time and are then remitted by them to the relevant agencies, No special notations to that effect on the plates themselves.  IMHO, in most states that do have 'county' notations of some  sort on the plates, either certain ranges of plate numbers or by having the county's name printed in the plates, it is mainly a 'that's the way that we've always done it' sort of thing.  Residents of thinly populated counties in some states (ie, Nebraska) often use their 'rare' plate number ranges as sorts of 'badges of honor'.

Mike

All of this seems to be administrative though. Why does it need to be displayed on the plate and rather than not something that comes up via searches by police?

[GaryV]

I think despite today's technology there's still a lot of "because that's the way it always was done".

But you have to remember, it's an old process. Everything was pen and paper, later typewriter and paper. Having the county name on the plate could very well have clarified things 50 or 80 years ago.

[SEWIGuy]

I have my county name on my plate. There really is no need for it.

[TheCatalyst31]

Putting the county name on the license plate is neat if you collect license plates, since you can try to hunt down plates from the tiny counties or get every county from a state, but I admit I'm not sure it has much of a practical purpose these days. That and it can be a problem in states where county boundaries line up with Native American reservation boundaries, since police in neighboring counties can use the license plate to racially profile the driver. I've heard the Pine Ridge reservation in South Dakota has had issues with that.

[oscar]

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.

[jakeroot]

I think despite today's technology there's still a lot of "because that's the way it always was done".

But you have to remember, it's an old process. Everything was pen and paper, later typewriter and paper. Having the county name on the plate could very well have clarified things 50 or 80 years ago.

This is almost certainly the answer.

Unless numbers can repeat from county to county (no way that's the case...that would be insane), there is no advantage in identification via county code.

That leaves it to administrative reasons, and modern automated number-plate recognition systems pretty much negate any need for police to know the county. So if it's not for police or POV recognition, it has be a carry-over from years-past with very little modern reason for existing.

Here in Japan, the only identification is prefecture. All plates are the same (white (or yellow for kei cars) with dark-green text). The most important characteristic is the hiragana character, which has exclusive uses for some vehicles (such as rental cars or taxis), but there is still no "county" equivalent. Many argue that Japan lives in the year 2000 (and has for 40 years...), and even we don't have that. Though we do have registration stickers on our windscreens for the shaken.

[epzik8]

Putting the county name on the license plate is neat if you collect license plates, since you can try to hunt down plates from the tiny counties or get every county from a state, but I admit I'm not sure it has much of a practical purpose these days.

Or a cost-effective purpose haha.

[Dustin DeWinn]

Putting the county name on the license plate is neat if you collect license plates, since you can try to hunt down plates from the tiny counties or get every county from a state, but I admit I'm not sure it has much of a practical purpose these days.

Or a cost-effective purpose haha.

right. most of states that switch to one sticker get it for cost purposes. This seems like an unnecessary expense that could save a ton of money for the states If they eliminated those counties stickers.

Plus in my opinion it looks stupid

I also wonder about states that stamp the month into the plate like California. That also seems wasteful rather than just one sticker that has the month and date

[thenetwork]

Putting the county name on the license plate is neat if you collect license plates, since you can try to hunt down plates from the tiny counties or get every county from a state, but I admit I'm not sure it has much of a practical purpose these days.

Or a cost-effective purpose haha.

I also wonder about states that stamp the month into the plate like California. That also seems wasteful rather than just one sticker that has the month and date

With some of those states, the plates stay with the car and their owner.  So if the permanent license  plate was first purchased in August, 2024, then the plate can be stamped AUG and remain on the car until it is sold/purchased.  Then the next owner buys a new plate and the process repeats.

BTW, In Ohio, the county is printed on the annual renewal sticker.  But they occasionally go with an actual county name sticker placed on the lower center of the metal plate.

[mgk920]

In Wisconsin, the plates stay with the owner and are transferred to the new vehicle when one is purchased.  Stickers are used for month of expiration.  Also, NO county identification.

Mike

[SEWIGuy]

In Wisconsin, the plates stay with the owner and are transferred to the new vehicle when one is purchased.  Stickers are used for month of expiration.  Also, NO county identification.

Mike

But you CAN get new plates, and get rid of the old ones, if you want.

[mgk920]

In Wisconsin, the plates stay with the owner and are transferred to the new vehicle when one is purchased.  Stickers are used for month of expiration.  Also, NO county identification.

Mike

But you CAN get new plates, and get rid of the old ones, if you want.

True, at a small additional cost. 

Mike

[Dustin DeWinn]

Putting the county name on the license plate is neat if you collect license plates, since you can try to hunt down plates from the tiny counties or get every county from a state, but I admit I'm not sure it has much of a practical purpose these days.

Or a cost-effective purpose haha.

I also wonder about states that stamp the month into the plate like California. That also seems wasteful rather than just one sticker that has the month and date

With some of those states, the plates stay with the car and their owner.  So if the permanent license  plate was first purchased in August, 2024, then the plate can be stamped AUG and remain on the car until it is sold/purchased.  Then the next owner buys a new plate and the process repeats.

BTW, In Ohio, the county is printed on the annual renewal sticker.  But they occasionally go with an actual county name sticker placed on the lower center of the metal plate.

simple question maybe stupid: What do States do with the leftover stamped plates with that month? Do they just hold on to them until the next year or do they get recycled? If it's the latter It seems really wasteful

[hotdogPi]

Why would the stamped month have to be the month of issue? In Massachusetts, it's determined by the last digit of the plate.

[SP Cook]

The waste in placing expiration dates somehow in the code of the plate number, is that if forces the DMV to keep 12 of everything on hand.  My state, foolishly, does just that, which means 12 different plates, just for cars, that must be kept on hand and in storage.

[SEWIGuy]

Which is why a sticker indicating the month just makes the most sense.

[mgk920]

Putting the county name on the license plate is neat if you collect license plates, since you can try to hunt down plates from the tiny counties or get every county from a state, but I admit I'm not sure it has much of a practical purpose these days.

Or a cost-effective purpose haha.

I also wonder about states that stamp the month into the plate like California. That also seems wasteful rather than just one sticker that has the month and date

With some of those states, the plates stay with the car and their owner.  So if the permanent license  plate was first purchased in August, 2024, then the plate can be stamped AUG and remain on the car until it is sold/purchased.  Then the next owner buys a new plate and the process repeats.

BTW, In Ohio, the county is printed on the annual renewal sticker.  But they occasionally go with an actual county name sticker placed on the lower center of the metal plate.

simple question maybe stupid: What do States do with the leftover stamped plates with that month? Do they just hold on to them until the next year or do they get recycled? If it's the latter It seems really wasteful

In Wisconsin, since the 'month' is a customer applied sticker, they're just held until they run out and are supplemented by the next batch.  Expiration is simply determined by when the individual plate is issued.

Mike

[Big John]

^^ In Georgia, the month is the month of your birthday (alphabet for business accounts), and since they impose an ad-valorem tax based on the vehicle's estimated value, it is called the "birthday tax" there.

[Rothman]

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

[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.