Put a CALIFORNIA blue plate on your 70s 911

[wicks]

Greetings - thought I would share some facts gathered on this. Last month, the governor signed senate bill 1429 (SB-1429) into effect, which moves the YEAR-OF-MANUFACTURE license plate provision forward to cars up to 1980 model year. This is NOT the "legacy" license plate program, which is the law that allows one to purchase a new imitation of an original plate. That program failed to generate enough interest for a blue plate to be made an option. The Y.O.M. plate is better anyway - one uses an old original plate with patina and the original look of the stamping and painting.

Here is the updated law:

https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billCompareClient.xhtml?bill_id=201520160SB1429

One must find a set of plates that has the year sticker of their car on them. If you bring a plate to DMV that was pressed in your year, but it has an earlier or later sticker on it - no go.

The CA DMVs don't yet have info on how to execute this update to the law yet, so don't rush in. I went in to the DMV, then spoke with two people at the DMV HQ, who knew nothing of it, and then got a hold of the DMV's field relations number, whom I called, and they knew they had heard of the new law, but also had no idea when they would be ready to follow it. I think that demand could help speed this along, so if you feel like it, call 916-657-6560 and ask when SB-1429 will be ready so you can put your groovy set of original CALIFORNIA blues on your old car. They answered quickly on that line.

Kudos to Mr. Brown for approving this groovy new law, and to Senator Jim W. Nielsen for being mindful enough to propose it.

[Danimal16]

Make Sure that you have plates that are "clear". Check with the DMV on their Website to check that the plate is available for reassigning to your car.

[Peter Zimmermann]

Hey, it's not a 911, and it's not the original color, it's a '74 1.8, and it's noisy as can be, but it's got a cool plate!

[acme911]

How does this work for registration every year? How would law enforcement know if you have a current registration?

[Tori]

This is some great news. Thanks for posting !

[deguitars]

Why would it stop at 1980 when blue plates went through what, 1982-84?

[wicks]

Originally Posted by acme911

How does this work for registration every year? How would law enforcement know if you have a current registration?

There's an extra charge of $10 I think every year. It's explained in the link. One runs a side-tag stamped display with the normal year tag next to the plate like an antique car setup. Imagine it could just be placed directly on the plate too if one didn't want to maintain the original model year sticker.

[JQ911]

I recently acquired a 74 2002 with blue plates and went to DMV to ask if can transfer it to the 911. Since its an 86, I was told it can't except if its personalized.

[wicks]

Update - they'll be ready to do it in Jan:

21.175 Year of Manufacture (YOM) License Plates (CVC §5004.1)

Important Notice: New legislation expands the YOM Plate program to include 1980 and older year-model vehicles. The department will begin accepting original applications for YOM plate assignments for qualifying vehicles beginning in January 2017. This webpage will be updated with additional information during the next few months.

Year of Manufacture (YOM) license plates are any officially manufactured California license plates issued in:
1969 or prior, for autos, trailers, and motorcycles, and
1972 or prior, for commercial vehicles.
In lieu of the license plates otherwise required for the vehicle, YOM plates may be assigned to any currently registered:
1969 or older year model auto, motorcycle, or trailer of a corresponding model year, or
1972 or older commercial vehicle of a corresponding model year.
The department must determine that the YOM plates are legible and serviceable prior to assignment to a vehicle.

[Eric H]

Blue plates went through '87 I believe, at least as an option. I remember researching it a long time ago. My '87 has its original blue plates (4 numbers 3 letters).

[dicklague]

Interesting, but I feel the blue and yellow is the worse color combination the CA ever had.

Just my personal opinion.

[70basket]

Originally Posted by dicklague

Interesting, but I feel the blue and yellow is the worse color combination the CA ever had.

Just my personal opinion.

I have a 75 450SL in chocolate brown that the previous owner turned in the blue plates for white one around 1999 because he didn't think the color matched. I agree but still wish I had the blue plates! The blues look good on 70 911 in light ivory in my opinion.

[JL72911]

Anybody have any success getting a '70-'80 YOM blue plate approved by the CA DMV? I was told today that while the program extension was approved in say Aug of 2016 it hasn't been implemented yet. The DMV people were saying that they have a bunch of unprocessed applications sitting in a box in Sacramento waiting for the magic green light.

Sounds like they're trying to extort some money from the legislature to change the software before implementing.... My guess...

[McLovin]

It looks like that law was never passed.

The current version of that law reads:

(a)(1) An owner of a vehicle that is a 1969 or older model-year vehicle or the owner of a commercial vehicle or a pickup truck that is a 1972 or older model-year may, after the requirements for the registration of the vehicle are complied with and with the approval of the department, utilize license plates of this state with the date of year corresponding to the model-year date when the vehicle was manufactured, if the model-year date license plate is legible and serviceable, as determined by the department, in lieu of the license plates otherwise required by this code.

So it's still at 1969 and not expanded to 1980.

[JL72911]

I'm learning, but the status of SB-1429 seems to indicate it passed.

https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billCompareClient.xhtml?bill_id=201520160SB1429

Last 5 History Actions
Date Action
08/19/16 Chaptered by Secretary of State. Chapter 157, Statutes of 2016.
08/19/16 Approved by the Governor.
08/10/16 Enrolled and presented to the Governor at 10 a.m.
08/04/16 In Senate. Ordered to engrossing and enrolling.
08/04/16 Read third time. Passed. (Ayes 77. Noes 0. Page 5720.) Ordered to the Senate.

[McLovin]

My bad, looks like you're right!

(Amended by Stats. 2016, Ch. 157, Sec. 1. Effective January 1, 2017.)

[Danimal16]

Yep, I am in the process. It takes the DMV months to transfer the plates.

I had to bring the new law into the DMV to let them know what had happened.

Now I wait.

[Vic74]

Now if they would bring back vehicles older than 25 years get smog exemption in CA that would be fantastic!!! I guess one could only dream...

[tcoltt]

I called the field office today. They claim that my YOM plates require a year sticker that matches the year of the vehicle. Where in the above law does it say that this is required? It made sense for the black and yellow plates because they didn't have a new annual year sticker every year back then, but the new DMV application form that now allows applications for 1970 to 1980 cars, specifically only requires the matching year stickers for the 1963 black/yellow plates...

I wonder who at the DMV interpreted the new law to read that the same requirements should apply to the blue/yellow plates. Also, how do I convince a bureaucracy that their rules don't make sense?

Tom

[pegasus9]

I like the idea of the blue plates and think it would be cool to have them. But it sounds like a hassle and a lot of red tape, as in the DMV folks aren't even aware.