During my quest to learn about the various special licensing programs that Washington State offers for my 1966 Corvair convertible, I have uncovered a mistake in the Department of Licensing's chart of license plates. I'll describe the situation, then explain how you can help if you own a 1966 automobile.

Background

I have the original plates for my convertible. The plates weren't on the car when I bought it. The previous owner fell victim to a short‑lived program in 1985 which required all plates with non‑reflectorized paint to be updated to new, reflectorized plates. Fortunately, the previous owner kept the original plates in the hope that they could be used again when the car turned thirty years of age. They had been restored to a like‑new appearance.[1]

The tabs for my convertible were due in January, 1996 so I went over to my local license bureau after the holidays and inquired about the programs. The Restored Plates option sounded like just what I wanted. (Also see WAC 308-96A-074 for the full legal description.) Imagine my surprise when the bureau employees cheerfully informed me that I had the wrong year plates (1967 instead of 1966) and therefore was ineligible!

The Hunt is On

Not being one to give up easily, I started researching the situation. I obtained copies of the program requirements and the license plate charts. It seemed a little strange to me that all cars licensed for 1963‑66 would have plates which read “WASH. 63”. My plates exactly matched the description and picture for the 1967 plates.

After digging through quite a bit of documentation that came with car and talking several times with Kathy Rambur of the Department of Licensing in Olympia, we verified that:

My records went back to 1976. The Department's went back to 1972. Since neither of us had a copy of the 1966 registration, we couldn't be certain that the plate I wished to use was the original. However, it is very unlikely that the “Previous Plate No.” field would have been blank on the 1972 registration if there had been, in fact, a prior plate.

Will the Real 1966 Plate Please Stand Up?

All of the evidence pointed to a mistake in the Department of Licensing's charts, namely that they actually started using the "1967" style plates approximately mid‑year in 1966, perhaps because they ran out of the “1963” style plates before the end of the year.[4]

I then contacted Peter Madsen, a long-time license plate collector who lives in Olalla, WA. He was kind enough to write a detailed letter to Kathy and me that explains the situation. Fortunately, Kathy at the Department of Licensing agreed with my assessment and Peter's evidence. I was allowed to use the original plates.

Sharp-eyed readers probably have at least two questions at this point:

1. If there really is a mistake in the license plate charts, why didn't the Department of Licensing know about it? My tabs were due in January, the first possible month for qualifying 1966 cars. I assume other folks will run into this situation as the year progresses.
2. If the car was purchased in June, 1966, why were the tabs due in January? The previous owner took the car out of service for about a year and half while he was restoring it. He chose to return it to service in January.

How You Can Help

Although I was successful, Kathy told me that her management did not have enough evidence to officially declare an error in the license plate chart, even with Peter Madsen's letter! They are handling each case individually. Based on the large amount of research time required, they will not be able to dig through the archives for every similar case. Owners will need to provide a very early (optimally, the original 1966) registration.

Unfortunately, many 1966 vehicle owners with “1967” style plates may not have this documentation and will not be able to use their plates. This is where you can help: If you have a 1966 vehicle with “1967” style plates and you can prove that they are the original plates, we can contact the Department of Licensing and ask them to officially declare the error. Obviously, more evidence is better, so I hope to take at least three documented cases to them. Perhaps we will even be able to pinpoint the changeover date based on the plate numbers.

If you have a car which can help prove that “1967” style plates were introduced in 1966, please contact me. Thanks and happy motoring!