FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 27, 2012
Classic Car Owners Get A Chance At Vintage California Plates
California Legacy License Plates Available for Pre-Order January 1, 2013
Sacramento –The California Department of Motor Vehicles announced today it will be taking pre-orders for a new License Plate Program offering vehicle owners the opportunity to purchase replicas of California license plate designs issued in the 1950’s, 1960’s, and 1970’s.
The new program will bring a retro look to modern license plates by offering three classic license plate designs. Legacy License plates can be ordered for any year model automobile, commercial vehicle, motorcycle, or trailer. The styles include black lettering over a yellow background seen in the 1950’s, yellow lettering over a black background seen in the 1960’s and yellow lettering over a blue background that was available originally in the 1970’s. The plates cost $50 for non-personalized or personalized plates.
A pre-order form California Legacy License Plate Pre-Order Form (REG 17L)is available at https://www.dmv.ca.gov/legacyplates/index.htm. The completed form and a $50 payment must be mailed to the address provided on the form. Payment can only be made by check, money order, or cashier’s check. Pre-orders cannot be processed at DMV Field offices or Auto Club offices.
The law specifies that 7,500 applications must be reached by January 1, 2015. If 7,500 applications are not received by that date, any fees paid for the California Legacy plates will be refunded to the applicant.
Governor Brown signed Assembly Bill (AB) 1658, by Assemblyman Mike Gatto (D–Los Angeles) on September 28, 2012.
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The California Department of Motor Vehicles will start taking orders Jan. 1 for license plates that mirror ones issued from the 1950s to the 1970s.
The state needs 7,500 orders by Jan. 1, 2015, to print the “legacy license plates,” which have either blue, black or yellow backgrounds. Drivers must fill out a form, which is available on the DMV website, and pay $50. If the state does not meet the order threshold, it will refund the application fees.
The start-up cost for the program, should it move forward, will be $385,000, which will be covered by application fees, according to a legislative analysis.
The program is intended, in part, to give classic car collectors a way to get plates that match the era of their vehicles, the analysis said.
[For the Record, Dec. 28, 2012, 11:16 a.m.: A previous version of this post and its headline stated incorrectly that the DMV was taking orders for the retro license plates. The state agency will begin taking orders Jan. 1.]