Car Registration Stickers To Be Eliminated In Pa.

License plate registration stickers will become a thing of the past in Pennsylvania starting in 2017.

On Jan. 1, the stickers will be replaced with Automated License Plate Reader technology that provides law enforcement a “better tool” to verify expired vehicle registrations, PennDOT announced this week.

“License plate reader technology allows a single law enforcement officer to quickly, accurately and reliably check the status of thousands of license plates on a single shift using information from PennDOT’s registration database to determine if there are expired registrations or lack of insurance for the vehicle,” PennDOT Secretary Leslie S. Richards said. “It is a true force multiplier.”

PennDOT officials say plate reader technology has “numerous advantages” over the registration stickers, which can be counterfeited, sold, affixed to dead plates or applied to plates for which they were not intended.

“By querying the registration information using ALPR technology, a law enforcement officer can identify expired vehicle registrations and insurance coverage. If there is something wrong, the officer would be immediately alerted by the ALPR of a problem with the vehicle’s registration,” PennDOT announced.

The last registration sticker will be issued December 30, 2016. Customers will still need to have their vehicles registered and inspected, but will not be required to display a registration sticker on their license plate after December 31, 2016.

Beginning January 1, 2017, customers who renew online will be able save a copy of and print a permanent registration card on demand. Future plans also include allowing customers to eventually upload their registration cards to their smart phones and eliminate the requirement to print a copy altogether.

PennDOT says there will be savings in reduced mailing costs. “Currently, 40 percent of customers already renew vehicle registrations online. Eliminating the need to mail these customers a registration sticker coupled with the ability to print their registration card on demand will eliminate more than $2 million per year in mailing costs. In addition, the elimination of the registration stickers will save $1 million a year in product costs, bringing the estimated first year savings to approximately $3.1 million,” PennDOT said.

To help law enforcement to prepare for the new technology, PennDOT is proposing a grant program utilizing the savings from the elimination of the registration stickers. The grant program could provide grants to law enforcement officers for the purchase and maintenance of license plate readers.