<img height="1" width="1" style="display:none" src="https://www.facebook.com/tr?id=192888919167017&amp;ev=PageView&amp;noscript=1">
Thursday, March 28, 2024
March 28, 2024

Linkedin Pinterest

License plates with additional numeral show up locally

By Tom Vogt, Columbian Science, Military & History Reporter
Published: August 25, 2010, 12:00am

Washington’s license plates are now produced by a digital printing process instead of being stamped by an embossing machine. State officials say the digital “flat plate” process is faster; it’s also easier to make specialty plates. The plates are produced by inmates at the Washington State Penitentiary in Walla Walla.

Washington drivers who got new car licenses recently have a little more on their plates: an additional numeral.

The state’s new seven-character plates are showing up more frequently in Southwest Washington as people move into the state, license newly purchased vehicles or get replacements for old six-character plates.

The new plates for passenger cars and SUVs follow the “ABC1234” format.

“We went to a seven-character plate for passenger vehicles at the beginning of the year,” Brad Benfield, a spokesman for the Washington State Department of Licensing, said from Olympia. “It’s because we ran out of six-character configurations. We have been using those for a long time.”

Washington's license plates are now produced by a digital printing process instead of being stamped by an embossing machine. State officials say the digital "flat plate" process is faster; it's also easier to make specialty plates. The plates are produced by inmates at the Washington State Penitentiary in Walla Walla.

Since adopting the format in 1968, the state actually went through the available combinations of letters and numbers twice.

“We did three letters followed by three numbers, and then three numbers followed by three letters,” Benfield said.

”Now, by adding a number, we can get 10 times as many plates. It’s a lot,” Benfield said.

The first shipments of new plates went to Whitman, Whatcom, Benton, Franklin and Kitsap counties.

“To date, we have shipped 520,000 of the new passenger vehicle plates statewide. We are currently in the ‘ACK-‘ series of plates,” Benfield said. “I do not yet know how many have been actually issued.”

Clark County started issuing the new seven-character plates in March, said Auditor Greg Kimsey.

“We’ve received 32,000 of them so far,” Kimsey said. Clark County had issued almost half of them — 15,247 — through July 15.

Minus some combinations of letters that are considered inappropriate, the new configuration will provide the makings for about 138 million different license plates.

The state had planned on generating even more letter-number combinations, but that turned out to be too complicated.

When the state originally announced the seven-character licenses in October, the plates were going to have a number, a letter, two more numbers and then three letters for a “1A11AAA” configuration.

Then the agency got some public opposition to that format. Some people said they’d have a hard time remembering their new plate numbers; others said it would be too difficult for people who witnessed a hit-and-run incident, or other crime involving a car, to provide police with a license number.

“We carefully considered all of the comments we received and decided, with the help of our law enforcement partners, to change the plan,” Liz Luce, director of the Department of Licensing, said in a news release.

License plates with seven characters are not new, the agency noted. Trucks and commercial vehicles have had seven-digit license plates for years. Personalized license plates, also known as vanity plates, have always been available with up to seven characters.

Washington motorists will continue to see six-character plates on the road through 2016 — and maybe even longer.

“There is a seven-year rotation on replacing plates,” Benfield said. “And if you really love your plate number, the state offers an option of paying an additional $20” to get the same number on your new set of license plates.

Loading...
Columbian Science, Military & History Reporter