License Plates Look Like This? Watch Out NY May Give You A Ticket

It's pretty simple for me: I love New York. The people, the food, the energy, you name it, and I can pretty much point to how great it is when it comes from the Empire State. However, while I love it here, sometimes I feel that New York doesn't love us back.

Whether it's our high cost of living, sky-high taxes, all of the excessive regulations, or the fact that New York is looking to ban just about everything, the Empire State sure has a great way of showing that love back to its people.

Case in point, owning and operating a car on the roads here is exceedingly more difficult. The regulations and rule changes make it not easy for most folks. New York is well on its way toward banning gasoline cars in the state. The Thruway Authority has just increased toll costs again, and now we're in danger of getting a ticket due to a problem the state caused and is forcing us to deal with.

Remember When NYS Made Everyone Change Their License Plates?

Back in 2010, New York State unveiled the newly improved Empire Gold State License Plate, and state officials had planned to force all New Yorkers to purchase the new plates when they renewed their registration. That plan would've generated more than $120 million in revenue for the state. After a tremendous pushback from people all over the state, the Empire Gold Plate went from being required for all New Yorkers to buy to optional.

However, it wasn't long after these plates began hitting the road that people began to notice a problem with them.

Is Your Plate Peeling?

Soon after these new plates hit the streets, it was clear there was a problem. The plates were defective, and the colored covering began to peel right off. So many plates have had this issue over the last decade that New York State ended the contract with the company that helped produce the plates.

When the issues were first brought to the attention of the DMV, officials offered to replace the plates, but you had to pay a $20 fee. After a lot more pushback from state residents and businesses, officials decided to make an option for you to get the plate replaced for free, but of course, there is a catch.

You can get a new plate with a new number for free, but if you want to keep the same plate number, you have to pay a fee.

If You Don't Replace Your Peeling Plate, You Can Get a Ticket

In short, yes, you can.

Section 402 of the New York State Vehicle and Traffic Law requires all drivers to have a license plate that is not obstructed, damaged, or obscured by anything. Unfortunately, a peeling license plate is considered damage, and you could be ticketed, especially if you're driving through Kenmore.

We are encouraging New Yorkers who have peeling license plates to get new ones, without any charge, to avoid the risk of being ticketed and having to pay a fine... We do not want that to happen to our customers, so we made the process to replace peeling plates as easy as possible.
-Mark J.F. Schroeder, Commissioner of the New York State Department of Motor Vehicles

So just be prepared for the fact that a license plate that New York State forced you to get and knew was defective might cause New York State (or a local police agency like Kenmore) to give you a traffic ticket, and you would be forced to pay New York State even more money because they forced you to get a defective license plate.