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DMV Brings Back Retro License Plates From 50s, 60s & 70s
From top to bottom: black plates from the 1960s, blue from the 1970s and our current plates. Yellow plates from the 1950s can be viewed here. (Photo by ToGa Wanderings via the Creative Commons on Flickr)
The California DMV is taking orders for license plates modeled on the ones the agency issued back in the day: yellow from the 1950s, black from the 1960s and blue from the 1970s.
If you're interested, you can fill out a pre-application form on the agency's website for "legacy plates." It will cost $50 for these plates.
The program isn't a sure thing. The DMV will need to get 7,500 orders to start the program, and it will be canceled if it doesn't get those orders by January 1, 2015. Once it gets enough orders, it will take 9-12 months for you to get your plate. The license plates won't be exact vintage replicas: for instance, all license plates have to be "reflectorized" under California law. (There are more FAQs about the program here.)
The program was started to give classic car collectors a way to get plates that match the era of their vehicles, according to the Los Angeles Times.
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