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They are in North Carolina. You just have to have your registered antique plate with you somewhere if you're asked for it. the requirement is that they be metal and embossed with the year of the manufacture of the car and your antique plates are registered each year.
For clarification: In NC, you don't register those plates, you just put them on and carry your regular plates in the car to show if asked. The YOM plates must meet the requirements I listed above, and you still have to renew your regular antique plates every year.
That's what I do with my novelty rear plates but I haven't looked into the legalities. apparently NC provides a lot of latitude with antique cars. For instance, this plate (an authentic, vintage 1963 Florida-issued, license plate) cannot be registered:
Last edited by Frankie the Fink; 10-11-2018 at 09:52 AM.
If you want original number/letter sequence plates CA will let you register old original take-off plates that you bring in, but the plate sequence must pass a use check. If someone else is using the sequence, on any color or style of CA plate, they will deny the request. Maybe someone can relate an experience of the CA DMV allowing new-looking original upper right corner tag area 63' stamped take-off plates. I have not heard of any new plates that have the 63' stamp, or success with registration (but it's the DMV and on the right day with the right person anything with any lookalike plate is possible).
If you want a custom plate, the CA DMV will make and issue the plate sequence in the new version of the Black & Yellow format, if it is not already taken and is not on the reject list (and no, they will not make a custom traditional letter/number sequence plate).
The new 'reproduction' black CA plates are everywhere and look different than the originals. Very easy to spot. The new plates have a larger CALIFORNIA font, no '63, and have MUCH more yellow in the numbers and letters. A much brighter plate, and reflective at night, too. (The originals were not). The plate Dan Hampton posted 'Surfin 57' is a new plate, with the large font and more yellow. The plate Dr. L88 posted is either an original state issue from back in the day, or an excellent re-pop, not state issued. Note the small, correct font and the narrower, less fat letters and numbers. That's how the original '63-'69 black plates looked. CA DMV will let you run original Year of Manufacture plates on your car, provided they have been cleared and are not in the system. I run original 1915 plates on my Model T Ford.
The new 'reproduction' black CA plates are everywhere and look different than the originals. Very easy to spot. The new plates have a larger CALIFORNIA font, no '63, and have MUCH more yellow in the numbers and letters. A much brighter plate, and reflective at night, too. (The originals were not). The plate Dan Hampton posted 'Surfin 57' is a new plate, with the large font and more yellow. The plate Dr. L88 posted is either an original state issue from back in the day, or an excellent re-pop, not state issued. Note the small, correct font and the narrower, less fat letters and numbers. That's how the original '63-'69 black plates looked. CA DMV will let you run original Year of Manufacture plates on your car, provided they have been cleared and are not in the system. I run original 1915 plates on my Model T Ford.
Look again, for clarity.
The plate Dan Hampton posted, "Surfin 57," is a reproduction plate, with the more narrow "CALIFORNIA" is smaller letters like the original 63-69' letter/number plates. The more compact "CALIFORNIA" leaves gaps between the word and the stickers. It also consumes more letter spaces than state issued plates allow. There are no original black and yellow vanity plates (the program started long after 69'), so any vanity plate with the narrow "CALIFORNIA" between the stickers is a reproduction.
The plate Dr. L88 posted is either a current state issue with the hyphen added or a reproduction of the current vanity plates, with the larger letter "CALIFORNIA" that is wider to almost fill the space between the stickers.
My plate is a current State issued vanity plate (no reproduction) with the wide "CALIFORNIA" filling the space between the stickers.
I have owned this vanity plate for thirty years, in the white sunburst design, the white/blue letter California script design, and the current black/yellow option design. At one point in the late 1980's someone stole my front plate with the sunburst design. A Sheriff's Office in Northern California acquired the plate and called me to verify it was my plate and that the car was still registered in my name. With that confirmed, I asked if he could send me my front plate. He said no, as using a plate not assigned to the attached car was a crime in California (a caution to consider), and my plate was evidence in an investigation. When I went to the DMV to report the stolen plate and get replacement plates, they said I could not keep the same vanity plate sequence due to the plate being stolen (not the answer I wanted to hear, and I kept my plate, and walked out). I talked to a knowledgeable Auto Club employee and ended up returning to the DMV later to declare the sunburst plates damaged and surrendered my one old plate to acquire two new plates (the, current white/blue plate at the time), and revisited the process to switch to the black/yellow plates when they became available. I have never attached a front plate to the car since the first sunburst plate was stolen, with no LEO interference.
Dan's plate looks an awful lot like a new issue plate, but very well could be a repop plate. Can't tell without handling it. Thank you for pointing that out. As for Dr.L88's plate, his plate is most definitely NOT a current state issue black plate. It has the correct 1936-69 style font and the correct size/location of California that the '63-'69 originals had. As I said, it's a great fake (repop) if is not a real, vintage plate (personalized real black plates 50 years later are unicorns. I haven't seen a real one since the mid 1970's). I maintain that it is NOT a current state issue plate.
10-11-2018, 09:39 AM
