TheSamba.com :: View topic - Washington State restored vintage license plate registration

Sat Apr 21, 2018 3:03 pm

Hello Fellow Sambaians,

I have a rather unique question concerning Washington State “restored plates”. I have a set of restored plates on my 1987 van that sees very limited use on the roads. I was pulled over today and politely questioned by the officer as to why my paper registration has a Tab/Decal number that does not match the decal on the actual plate. The restored plate I have came with the “87” decal attached, however, as per the WA DOL website, no month/year tabs are required. I was let go without a citation, as the officer and I were not 100% who was right and who was wrong, and he advised me to contact the DOL before driving the vehicle again, which I plan to do.

What I think happened:
Not many vehicles out there have “restored plates”, so when you go to the DOL to register one there are always questions from them such as “I’ve never heard of such a thing”, “I’ve never done this before”, etc. (even though it clearly states on the WA DOL website that this is a thing)…. So I believe the Tab/Decal block on the paper registration was auto populated when it was printed, when it should have been left blank, or filled with the number that is on the “87” decal.

I will say again, as per the WA DOL website, month/year tabs aren’t even required.

I ask that if you have “restored plates” on your van, can you please advise me what is in YOUR “Tab/Decal” block on your registration? AKA….. is it blank, exempt, etc.

From the WA DOL website:
http://www.dol.wa.gov/vehicleregistration/sprestored.html

1. Restored plate requirements
The plate must have been restored to it's original design. It can't be a reproduction. The plate must match the year of the vehicle.
For example: If you have a 1967 Mustang, it must have a 1967 restored WA license plate.
Before you can use restored plates bring them into a vehicle licensing office so we can make sure they've been correctly restored and are the correct plates for the year of your vehicle.
The restored license plates
• Must be displayed on the rear of the vehicle. If you have a set of plates, you may put them on the front and back.
• You don't need to display month/year tabs on the plates.
• Are good for the life of vehicle (Don't need to be renewed yearly).

2. Vehicle requirements
The vehicle must be over 30 years old, see Collector Vehicle plates, or an antique (horseless carriage) over 40 years old, see Horseless Carriage plates, and
• Must have a current registration.
• Owned and operated as a collector vehicle.
• Capable of driving on the highway.

Sat Apr 21, 2018 4:09 pm

Your law is pretty generous, in Arizona Year-of-Manufacture plates still need an annual renewal and current tag.

Like you, I have encountered confusion and resistance because the procedure is not well known. I even had one branch manager refuse to issue one because there 'was no such procedure'. I had the page number in the big manual on the clerk's desk but he wouldn't turn to it because he was sure he was right.

If you do decide to remove those stickers - the glue can be pretty tenacious but heat from a heat gun will help loosen them enough to peel off.

Sat Apr 21, 2018 6:54 pm

I also have a 'restored' plate on my '83 Washington registered vanagon. The decal/tab fields on the registration are blank.

-Derek

Sat Apr 21, 2018 8:35 pm

Derek,

Thanks for the reply. Do you have any decals on the actual plate or is yours just blank month/year boxes?

The red decal on my plate is what I think caught the officers eye, that along with the #'s on tab/decal box on the paper registration, which I could not explain.

I think the tab/decal box on my paper registration was auto populated in serial sequence with the next decal to be added to a normally registered plate. I didn't even catch it until the officer pointed it out.

Cheers!
Benjamin

Sat Apr 21, 2018 10:21 pm

Collector plates, even restored plates, are valid for as long as you own the vehicle in Washington, so tabs are a moot point. The spirit of the law is for the enthusiast collector, to attend car shows, parades, club meetings ect... I have a couple of vehicles with YOM (Year of Manufacture) plates, the newest being a 1969 model. Most people probably don't consider a '87 Vanagon a collector vehicle, even though it qualifies under the law. I have several other vehicles that qualify for collector plates but I enjoy using them on a regular basis so I register them yearly.

Sat Apr 21, 2018 11:27 pm

I love that white and green plate design! While I really like the idea of displaying one of the better looking vintage plate designs like yours, the WA state requirement that the car be treated as a casssic (limited use) makes it unattractive to me. Plus, getting pulled over due to limited understanding of this program is also a detraction.

I like seeing the new CA legacy plates such as black and gold, blue and yellow, etc. I’ll bet they’re raising a ton of cash allowing folks to buy those plates. They offer a nice bit of nostalgia and they’re just plain better looking compared to the current designs.

https://www.dmv.ca.gov/portal/dmv/detail/legacyplates/index

I’m glad to hear that it sounds like you were pulled over by a reasonable cop. The wrong cop from the small portion of the grumpy minority might have enjoyed making this a crappy experience for you by writing a ticket claiming your plates were expired for the past 30 years.

Mon Apr 23, 2018 8:27 pm

the_benjamin_effect wrote: Derek,

Thanks for the reply. Do you have any decals on the actual plate or is yours just blank month/year boxes?

Cheers!
Benjamin

There are stickers (from the late 80s, they don't look like modern stickers).

-Derek

Mon Apr 23, 2018 10:11 pm

I had original white with green letters 1971 plates on my ‘71 Westy. Was also pulled over, but the cop didn’t even know about the restored program. I too had the tab (‘71) and I showed the lady at the DMV, who approved it, and I never had another problem after the Tenino cop.

I think you just learn to educate the local police when he/she isn’t sure. Print that “DMV” info sheet from the website, and be ready to use it if pulled over again.
He was a good sport in the end. Even asked him if my wife could go back and take a pict since we were so suprised he pulled us over in our slow bus

Tue Apr 24, 2018 11:08 am

I have a pair of restored 51 plates that I had on my 51 ford CA state sent me 2 metal tabs that mount above the plates using the plate mounting holes and that's where the stickers go.

Tue Apr 24, 2018 5:42 pm

Hello again,

To follow up on the subject for anyone looking this up in the future, or those that are curious, I did end up calling the WA DOL in Olympia at 360-902-3770, explained the situation with the registration certificate and the “Tab/Decal” block. It appears that this block is sometimes filled out with a serialized tab number, but since tabs are not required to be displayed, the physical tabs are not issued to restored plates.

The big issue the officer had with my plates was the “87” decal serial number not matching the registration certificate. Since decals are not required on restored plates I plan on leaving mine as it stands with the “87” decal in place, as both the “87” decal or blank “month/year” block will draw a little attention from the unknowing law enforcement.

I did have the printed rules from WA DOL website to provide the Officer at the time I was pulled over. I recommend if you have restored plates you print this page as well and keep it with your registration: http://www.dol.wa.gov/vehicleregistration/sprestored.html

In addition, WA DOL in Olympia gave me these two references as well, and I will now keep with my registration as well:

WAC 308-96A-074
RCW 46.18.220

Both are easily accessed by a simple google search.

Cheers!
Benjamin

Tue Apr 24, 2018 7:25 pm

I’ll bet that no matter what you display on these plates they’ll catch the attention of LEOs and it wouldn’t be surprising if one or two pull you over to chat. Frankly, I think that’s reasonable as is your being prepared with the relevant codes.

Tue Apr 24, 2018 10:25 pm

The irony is that to be able to run '87 plates you need the tabs. Washington State, used that series of plate for many years, the only easy way to tell the year is by the tab. The law says it must match the year of manufacture, even though once registered, the tabs are meaningless as long as you own the car.

Mon Apr 29, 2019 12:49 pm

Resurrecting this old thread...

I am in WA and I have restored plates on my '68 912 & on my '77 bus.

The '68 has repro 1968 tab.
The '77 did not.

The registration certificate issued should include a license plate number, but on the "equipment" section it will include the number of your restored license plate.

I was followed only once by a police officer in my '77 bus with restored plates, but after following for a short while he flipped a U-turn - I am assuming after he saw the restored plate info on file.

Mon Apr 29, 2019 1:12 pm

-Derek- wrote: I also have a 'restored' plate on my '83 Washington registered vanagon. The decal/tab fields on the registration are blank.

-Derek

Same - I have WA '67 plates with a 67 year sticker on my MG, nothing in the tab field, as I don't believe the stickers have any numbers either...

The mismatch on your registration makes me think something either went wrong at the DMV when you submitted? Or the stickers you're using are new enough to have numbers, but that's causing the confusion with the cop, as they don't match the reg, as they don't need to.

Edit! I stand corrected... My 67 stickers do have numbers on them, which I received from the vintage plate shop I got them from, but the reg I don't believe has any numbers

Tue Apr 30, 2019 7:18 am

the_benjamin_effect wrote:
I ask that if you have “restored plates” on your van, can you please advise me what is in YOUR “Tab/Decal” block on your registration? AKA….. is it blank, exempt, etc.

I have "restored", aka old and worn and not at all restored, plates on my 86 van, with no month or year stickers on them. At times I've thought it would be cool to get a little 86 sticker to show it's an '86, but I think having no tabs at all helps fly under the radar. Here in WA you'll see lots of cars (30+ years old) with Collector Vehicle plates, which also sport no tab stickers.

To answer your question, my printed registration does have an entry in the 'Tab/Decal number' box, not sure where that number came from but it's there.

No interactions at all with Johnny Law about it, even crossing the border to Canada. Curious, have any of you been pulled over because of the plates?

My local DOL was pretty loose with the whole deal, for example my plates are actually of the WA state 79-83 vintage, where the word Washington is embossed, rather than screened, as it was in 84-onward. The gal at the DOL had a notebook full of black and white pictures of plates, and said "what year? 86?" and in her book saw a black and white picture of a plate with the caption 'white with green boarders' and said good enough. Cool note, in the old era of plates, the first letter was the county code. So in erikgundy98's picture of his white bay, you can see the plates were from Walla Walla County as designated by the letter O.

The DOL website made me laugh:
Quote:
Vehicle May Be Driven
*To and from auto shows, circuses, parades, displays, special excursions, and antique car club meetings.
*For testing purposes.
*For the pleasure of others without compensation.

Every time I drive it's a special excursion for testing purposes! And I think this is one area where the unreliability stigma may help us. Driven in the manner of a normal vehicle? Why, officer, I just got this thing running for the first time all summer!

Tue Apr 30, 2019 7:37 am

cawvin wrote:

Every time I drive it's a special excursion for testing purposes!

"Why, yes, officer, I always travel with all this gear. You know how often these things break down? I could be out here for weeks!"