Earlier this year, the state of Washington said I needed to get new license plates for my car, as they were by then 7 years old. I’d lived in Washington from the mid-1950s through the late 1970s, and it was never an issue then. Then I spent about 30 years in California, and they never had a requirement like that. So … this leads me to wonder why Washington started requiring this. Do other states have the same requirement, or are we the only one?
— Florence Wheeler, East Minnehaha
This reporter adds: “When renewing my ancient 7-year-old plates, I discovered that it costs an extra $20 to retain the same plate numbers. Since a new number would cause some nuisances in notifying my insurance company and other official whatever, I felt compelled to fork over the extra $20. But not without a bit of swearing under my breath. Why does the status quo cost more than a change?”
A spokeswoman at the Washington State Department of Licensing said these answers are actually pretty simple, Florence.
Law enforcement concerns drove the license plate replacement requirement, she said. After seven years, license plates tend to lose their reflectivity. Police want to be able to read your plate at night, even in rain and fog. The reflective coatings and inks that are used are extremely effective — nice and bright — but not as durable as the old nonreflective stuff. Reflectivity is guaranteed for only five years, so by the time your plates hit seven years, it’s more than likely time to renew.
