Vehicle Industry Registration Procedures Manual

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Section 22 of 38

Chapter 21: Special Plates

21.190 Personalized License Plate Assignments

Chapter 21 Special License Plates

21.190 Personalized License Plate Assignments

Field Office Assignment—Personalized license plates are sent to DMV field offices for issuance to customers if the Special License Plate Application (REG 17) form was not submitted with a registration application, or the applicant did not know the vehicle to which the license plates would be assigned.

  • Any license plates that are offensive to good taste and decency must be returned to the DMV Special Processing Unit (SPU) following the procedures in the Personalized Configurations—Mandatory Refusal section in this chapter.
  • License plates received in error must be forwarded to the correct DMV office.
  • License plates manufactured incorrectly must be reordered.
  • The license plate owner must be notified that the license plates have arrived in the office using the Notification Procedure in the following section.

Notification Procedure— DMV will make three attempts to contact the license plate owner approximately 30 days apart. Contact may be by telephone or by mailing an Environmental Plate Notice (FO 17) form. There will be a record of all attempts to contact the license plate owner on the ELP Reservation Confirmation (REG 272) form (insert received with the license plates). If the license plate owner does not respond to the first and second notifications to pick up and assign his/her special license plates:

  • A Last Notice (FO 16) form advising the owner that the license plates will be destroyed in 30 days and priority to that personalized configuration will be lost is sent.
  • If an applicant does not respond to the final 30-day notice, the license plates are considered unclaimed and will be destroyed.
  • A note “license plates destroyed” and the date on the REG 272 is forwarded to the DMV Special Processing Unit (SPU) at Mail Station (MS) D238.
  • If the applicant comes to claim the license plates after they have been destroyed, they must complete a new application and pay to reorder the license plates.

License Plate Assignments—The following must be submitted:
(for license plates other than Congeressional Medal of Honor (CMOH) or Former Prisoner of War (POW) license plates):

The registration card showing the vehicle is currently registered and owned by, or leased to, the license plate owner. License plates cannot be assigned to a vehicle with PNO status.

— If the license plate owner is not shown as the lessee or the vehicle is registered in a company/business name, a Statement of Facts (REG 256) form completed by the registered owner authorizing use of the special license plate on the vehicle must be submitted with the application.

  • The REG 272, for license plate ownership information.
  • The license plates currently assigned to the vehicle.
  • Fees Due.

Wrong/Incorrect Personalized Configuration—If, prior to accepting a special license plate, the customer states the license plate (configuration) is incorrect, call FOSU at (916) 657-6978 to verify the information on the original application. If the license plates were manufactured incorrectly due to DMV error, the customer may be issued new license plates for no fee. The transaction must be approved by the office manager.