Re: vin id

Posted by BigKev On 2015/5/11 12:51:45

To use YOM (Year of Manufacture) plates, a the CA DMV has a bunch of rules that must be followed:

1) The plates must be of the same year as your car. So for example, you can't use a 1960s era "black plate" on a 1947 car. You would have to find a set of the plates that are the same style that was available in 1947.

2) You must have TWO matching plates. One won't do it since Calif requires a front and back plate.

3) They have to be real Calif plates, not a reproduction. Using a reproduction is actually illegal in the state of Calif for on road vehicles.

4) The number must not be currently in use by another vehicle. You may have the a set of perfect YOM plates, but if that number was already reissued be someone in a '96 Toyota Corolla because your YOM plates was not registered for a long time, then you are screwed. You'll have to find another yet of YOM plates that are "DMV Clear" aka number not already in use by another car.

5) Now you may see people with "Black Plates" that on a vehicle that is older that when those plates were issued. That can happen if the plates were issued at the time those plates were in service (aka 1960s), and the vehicle has been pretty much continuously registered since then, or at least still in the system between registrations. If not, you're screwed, and they will issue you brand new plates.

Trust me, I jumped through all kinds of hoops to get my car registered in Calif. My car was no longer listed in the system, no title, and last registered using the engine serial number in 1982. My car only had one "black plate" on it, so I couldn't use it and it is now a wall hanger in my garage. And sorry to say, that is pretty much what will happen with your plates if your car was not continuously registered with those plates since they were originally issued.

If you can find any previous registration slips with the info on them, that is your best chance of "Proving" anything. Luckily for me, I was able to find a half rat chewed registration slip from 1982 in the glovebox, where the numbers matched everything on the car. And with that, I was able to locate the owner from 1982, who signed the form for the replacement title form for me. Without that, I may have still been going in circles.