Washington has been dealing with a shortage of permanent metal vehicle license plates for months. That's only half the problem facing car dealers and car buyers.
In 2022, the state Legislature passed a law that did away with window-taped paper permits and required car dealers to affix durable, temporary plates to the front and back of new and used cars. The problem: Those expire 45 days after a buyer drives off the lot. And it's taking longer than 45 days for some of those buyers to get their permanent plates.
"It's been really frustrating for our customer and us, as well," Titus-Will Automotive Group vice-president and CFO Kevin Kyser told The News Tribune on Thursday.
Previously, it would take only two weeks to get permanent plates.
The only recourse for buyers facing an imminent expiration is to get new temporary plates, but dealers just can't print out new versions as they do when a car is purchased. New temporary plates have to be issued by the state or its agencies for each specific vehicle and owner.
Cultural shift
For decades, buying a new car meant having a salesman tape a paper permit in your back window. Until your permanent metal plates arrived in the mail, a paper insert showing Bruce Titus's smiling face or telling you to Look Larson would take up space in the license plate holder.
That car buying ritual is a thing of the past.
Kyser said his company took the insert loss in stride, "... as much as we enjoyed seeing those inserts on new cars driving around town."
Now, a plain white plastic placard with black digits fills in for both the paper permit and those mobile ads. The 2022 law requires temporary but durable plates be affixed to both the front and back of newly purchased cars.
The state gave car dealers until Sept. 1, 2023 to make the switch.
Other states, like California and Texas, have also moved to Washington-style temporary license plates. Still holding out: Oregon.
Gone
Because the advertising inserts now stay on the lot, dealerships are saving money on printing costs. However, each set of temp plates and registration now costs dealers $45.
Neither dealers nor consumers have to pay for new temp plates if they require a second set. Still, it's a hassle.
"Most people are pretty understanding," Kyser said. "But when they ask — when is this going to be resolved? — that's when the frustration comes in."
Kyser said all of his company's customers are currently experiencing the delay.
An end in sight
In Washington, license plates are still manufactured by inmates in Walla Walla. The shortage occurred when old machinery at the prison was swapped out with newer versions beginning in May, according to the state Department of Licensing (DOL).
"The new machinery has been installed, and the new license-plate production facility at the Washington State Penitentiary is up and running and approaching full output," state Department of Corrections spokesperson Chris Wright told The News Tribune on Thursday.
He estimated that the plate shortage should be resolved by the end of August.
DOL does mail new temporary plates to dealerships, according to Titus-Will Toyota new car sales manager Leroy Hupp, but they are arriving within two of three days of the first set's expiration.
"My girls in the office back here give me an earful over that," Hupp said. They're the ones hearing from frustrated customers, he said.
Customers need to come back to the dealership for an install or Titus-Will will mail them.
Toll free no more
The old paper permits were difficult for toll cameras to read, giving new car drivers a 45-day grace period on toll fees.
Those days are gone.
"With tolling revenue, they've been able to get a better picture of the license plate," said Thomas Charlson, a DOL spokesperson.
Charlson is more than a hired mouth for the state. He's also a durable license plate tester, albeit unofficially.
"I spilled water on it, hit it with a hammer, threw mud at it, blew it around with a fan," he said. "It still looks good on a car."
Those acts of science were conducted for a social media video.
"I personally saw a car on the road that looked like it had been in a rear-end collision," Charlson said. "The temporary plate was still attached to the car and readable."
He does have one tip for at home installers.
"You have to make sure it's bolted in there," he said. "Otherwise, it might flap around."
State Patrol
As soon as a vehicle sale is registered with DOL, the owner's information is available to the Washington State Patrol, according to spokesperson John Dattilo.
Every durable license plate has black digits on a plain white background. As with permanent plates, each set of digits is unique. Although the numbers and letters are smaller compared to metal plates, they are easier to see than paper permits.
"The difference is in ease of visibility," Dattilo said. "We're not trying to see them through tinted rear windows. It's made our job, in that regard, significantly easier."
Troopers treat expired temporary plates the same way as they do expired tabs, according to WSP trooper Dakota Russell.
"I've stopped people for it before," he said. "I never wrote a ticket for it."
Front plate outlaws
A missing front license plate, whether it's temporary or permanent, is illegal. Some customers are adamant that front plates not be installed on their new cars, according to Hupp. They feel it ruins the look of a sleek, driving machine.
"They don't even want me to take the plastic off the inside," Hupp said. "They really want to do it themselves."
Customers who want to install their own plates sign a waiver before heading off the Titus-Will lot, he said. But some have no intent on installing the front plate.
Trooper Russell said some people place the front license plate on their dashboard. That, too, is illegal, he said.
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