Hi chazed3d. As stated, the MI SOS qualifiers fit my useage exactly. The law allows for "historical club activities, exhibitions, tours, car shows, swap meets and similar uses." The law excludes "general transportation." I only use my car for the allowed criteria and I carry a copy of the useage restrictions, printed from the MI SOS web site with me. I learned this from a friend who was stopped by a police officer for violation. Once the officer was shown the useage qualifiers in print, he retracted.

My usege and my insurance coverage agree with one another - occasional use only. I only put about 400 miles on my '72 last season. I am lucky enough to have a 2010 Corvette Grand Sport that is tagged and insured for "general transportation."

I don't know if you use your car or not for general transportation, but if you do only drive for the qualified use ages, you can save yourself a bunch of money in registration and you can have the vintage look to your plate too.

 

Well I'm a few years from this even being an issue lol. I'm imagining that my dad's old l88 racer will mostly be used for only the qualified usages anyways but I'd hate to miss out on taking the rare cruise with the wife down the highway that being said I'm eyeing some sets of 68 Michigan plates to toss on her.

 

Goes without saying: it's about definition. In some states a 'Historical Plate' is a restricted registration: vehicle only allowed in events and parades; must be towed aboard another vehicle for everything else. ("Trailer Queen" etc).

'YOM' (Year Of Manufacture) generally means a bona fide, state issued license plate from the exact year of the specified vehicle's 1st year of sale. If 'clear' and 'authentic,' may be used in place of current issue plate, if registration is current and all fees paid.

I suspect those who've had run-ins with law enforcement may've been using 'Historical' restricted plates and were outside the legal use of the vehicle accordingly (Sunday drive to the ice cream parlor; jaunt down to the flea market in the next state, etc).

I base this premise on The Republic Of California's rules; the laws in your state could be - and likely are - different.

YMMV
or: YOM

 

MO's law is the same, looks like most states have adopted the same laws. BUT, most officers don't stop you unless you have been doing something illegal, or want to check what is under the hood.

 

I can chime in here as I've had a few run ins with the law over this. As I was saying earlier in the thread, I've been pulled over in CT while running YOM plates. It seems the issue is with the police not being trained on how to handle YOM plates. In CT the law allows for YOM plates as long as the car is also registered with historic plates. The usage on both of these is unlimited. I've been stopped about ten or so times for the YOM plates and generally the police will approach you and claim that those plates are unregistered and illegal as they were recalled sometime ago for not being reflective. After seeing the accompanying paperwork from the DMV most times they will let you go with a warning to safe face. The last two times I was stopped the officers refused to accept that YOM plates even existed and the most recent time the officer illegally took possession of my YOM plate, had it destroyed, and wrote me a ticket for failure to display plates. I've taken the issue to court and the judge has agreed with me that I was within the law however, at this point I've decided that the hassle is not worth it for me anymore.

 

In CT the law allows for YOM plates as long as the car is also registered with historic plates.

That seems contradictory. How do you display both types? Or - do you?

Too bad you've had bad experiences with this. And it's beyond unfortunate some law enforcement types aren't sufficiently trained to know the laws they're supposed to uphold.

It's understandable why you'd no longer want anything to do with YOM; what's the point in trying to enjoy your classic when you're worried that Barney Fife is lurking behind a tree ready to light you up?

And I mean no offense to the fine police persons of the great state of Connecticut.

 

This is true! Most Police Officers don't know anything about the plates and most don't really give a #$%^. I have YOM on both my vettes and they are great here, its a lifetime registration with no renewals or inspections and can be sold with the car.

 

Reading this thread got me thinking, I would like to used a YOM plate for my 68. I live in MA and sure enough they do allow it as long as it's year of manufacture and not a vanity plate. Now my stupid question is, my car is a October 1967 build date. So do I use a 1967 or 1968?

 

I would suggest that the year of the car would dictate the year of the plate.

 

If there's no documented proof that the car was first sold in '68, go with what the VIN indicates. Lacking that documentation, all the State cares about is if the VIN agrees with the plate.

 

I know this is an old thread, but just found this as I am in the process of placing YOM plates on my 1979. Where in CT did you have all this trouble? I am in Brookfield, and the LEO's are generally pretty laid back and down to Earth here - they do their job without being over zealous like the ones you have dealt with. I found a matching set of 1979 plates on ebay - both issued in 1979, but one has a 1981 renewal sticker on it - will the be a problem? Glad I saw your post, I will definitely take the time to print out DMV policy and state law regarding this to keep in my car along with the existing Early American plates and the application to run YOM's.

 

the black/yellow cali plates look cool

 

I do a lot of driving in the Hartford/West Hartford area so I'm probably more at risk with the way the police are around here. I will say though that I've been hassled in other areas too. Got pulled over in Old Lyme, Norwalk, Bristol, Farmington, etc. Not sure how the DMV will like it. I'd imagine you could always tell them that they are '79 plates. The police may be another question. With the trouble I've had with correctly dated one's I wouldn't risk it.

 

I hear that Calif is going back to black and yellow plates.