Vehicle Registration Plates of The United States - Showing Current Registration On Plates

Showing Current Registration On Plates

Historically, many U.S. and Canadian plates were replaced every year, although the most common practice in modern times is to send new validation or windshield stickers to vehicle owners every year or two, to indicate that the vehicle registration is still valid.

Tags that are not up to date quickly attract the attention of law enforcement, because registration "renewal" is a source of government revenue. Even with the tags, most states previously required that all license plates be replaced every few years; that practice is being abandoned by many states because of the expense of continually producing large numbers of plates. Maryland, for example, formerly mandated that all license plates be replaced every five years (except for apportioned trailers, which were registered on an eight-year schedule), but has not done so since 1986.

The sticker is usually placed on one corner of the plate, while the month of the year in which the plate would expire is printed in an opposing corner. Some jurisdictions combine the year and month on one sticker. In others, the plate's validation is a decal displayed from the inside of the windshield. The color of plate stickers and windshield decals often change annually, to allow for easier detection by police.

Most validation stickers are either serialized (with the serial number recorded on the registration), or are printed by a special printer at the time of registration or renewal with the vehicle's license plate number on them to discourage fraudulent sticker use, as the sticker will be valid only for the plate for which it was intended. In the District of Columbia, the license plate is validated with a windshield sticker that indicates the expiration date, the license plate number, the year and make of vehicle, and part of the vehicle identification number, thereby allowing easier detection of fraudulent use, as well as serving as a parking permit for neighborhood residents.

New York, Texas, and Washington, D.C. use windshield stickers exclusively, rather than plate stickers, for most vehicle classes. Connecticut switched to this method in September 2008, but subsequently revoked the requirement for windshield stickers effective August 2010. New Jersey required the use of plate decals for a few years, beginning with November 2000 expirations, but has not required them on passenger cars since October 1, 2004. New Jersey passenger vehicles do not display any registration information other than the license plate itself.

Pennsylvania issued validation stickers for Philadelphia residents that were displayed in the lower left corner of cars' rear windows for a few years, ending in late 2003 with the last stickers issued bearing January 2005 expirations, due to problems with theft of stickers attached to the license plate.

In Hawaii, the case of vehicle registration dues are a heated debate between the counties. Vehicles are purchased at a discount on Oʻahu compared to the neighboring islands where there is usually only one dealer per vehicle make. Because the outlying counties issue plates starting with M (Maui County), K (Kauaʻi), or H (Big Island of Hawaiʻi), the source of the vehicle can be identified.