A Touch of Gray - ALPCA and YOM plates of North Carolina
If you are a member of ALPCA (Automobile License Plate Collectors Association), you are going to want to read this article.
This is the official ALPCA policy regarding counterfeit or reproduction plates:
An ALPCA member who offers, in a transaction, any plate not officially sanctioned by the proper issuing authority and manufactured during the period of intended original use as depicted by the validation marking on the plate, tab, or decal as appropriate, is subject to suspension from ALPCA. This policy applies to date stickers and tabs, plate attachments and windshield decals (photographs are exempted)
For the collector who is a member of ALPCA, this is pretty much cut and dry. However it creates a problem when it comes to what it eligible for Year of Manufacture plates used in North Carolina.
Here is the current law of YOM in NC-
§ 20‑63. Registration plates furnished by Division; requirements; replacement of regular plates with First in Flight plates; surrender and reissuance; displaying; preservation and cleaning; alteration or concealment of numbers; commission contracts for issuance.
Any motor vehicle of the age of 35 years or more from the date of manufacture may bear the license plates of the year of manufacture instead of the current registration plates, if the current registration plates are maintained within the vehicle and produced upon the request of any person.
In short, the only requirement required is the year on the plate has to match the year of the vehicle. So if you want to run a pair of 1956 California plates on your 1956 Ford Thunderbird, it is perfect legal to do so as long as you have the current plate in the vehicle. So what if you want to have those California plates custom made with the number "56 BIRD" from a maker that advertises on the internet? Once again, perfectly legal to do here in NC. One can literally design and manufacture his own license plate to display as long as the year is shown on the plate. Locally, there is a 1972 Chevy pickup that runs a First in Flight base plate with the number "CRAZY" with 19 & 72 in the upper corners where the stickers would be and of all things, it's made out of cardboard!
So as far as the State of North Carolina is concerned, any reproduction plate is legal to display for YOM purposes which includes those shown on the ALPCA website. And there are some porcelain NC plates that some members of ALPCA will tell you they are fake, but the reality is they may very well be the real thing as the seller who is now deceased acquired the plates deemed as overstock from a NC state auction back in 1936. The plates were new, wrapped in brown wax paper and crated in quantities of 25 plates per crate and the price was a mere $100 each. If you have any of these plates, it might be worth having it tested for radiation as all metal produced before 1945 will have no radiation in it.
One more thing that I have seen lately is the use of older validation stickers used to cover the month sticker on older NC plates. Basically the owner uses a 2004 sticker in the upper left corner of the plate on his 2004 year model vehicle. Again, perfectly legal to do here in NC.
My take on ALPCA's policy is that it is simply outdated. The policy originally came into play in 1981 and has had some modifications since then. I don't see ALPCA changing the policy anytime soon and if you are in the business of dealing in restoration work as i am, you might want to take a close look at your options for when/if a potential customer asks you to manufacture a plate for YOM use in NC. One word from your fellow ALPCA member to the board that you or your business sold a reproduction plate or sticker and your name could go onto the revoked members list. That list is mainly for people who misrepresent plates in a transaction, however a couple of names on that list are totally honest sellers who properly offer reproductions in their businesses that refused to discontinue their practices even though they never sold their product to an ALPCA member.
Reproduction plates are always going to be made available as long as there is a need for them in the YOM market. Not many people are going to pay $200 for a beat up 1952 NC motorcycle plate and then spend another $100 or more to have it restored when they can find someone to make one on a computer for $25-50 that will serve the same purpose. And I very much doubt anyone would be foolish enough to buy a restored 1913 NC for $1000 and then distress it with buckshot to use on their rat rod titled as a 1913. As long as you know what you're buying and who you are buying from, you should have no problem with a transaction.
This is the official ALPCA policy regarding counterfeit or reproduction plates:
An ALPCA member who offers, in a transaction, any plate not officially sanctioned by the proper issuing authority and manufactured during the period of intended original use as depicted by the validation marking on the plate, tab, or decal as appropriate, is subject to suspension from ALPCA. This policy applies to date stickers and tabs, plate attachments and windshield decals (photographs are exempted)
For the collector who is a member of ALPCA, this is pretty much cut and dry. However it creates a problem when it comes to what it eligible for Year of Manufacture plates used in North Carolina.
Here is the current law of YOM in NC-
§ 20‑63. Registration plates furnished by Division; requirements; replacement of regular plates with First in Flight plates; surrender and reissuance; displaying; preservation and cleaning; alteration or concealment of numbers; commission contracts for issuance.
Any motor vehicle of the age of 35 years or more from the date of manufacture may bear the license plates of the year of manufacture instead of the current registration plates, if the current registration plates are maintained within the vehicle and produced upon the request of any person.
In short, the only requirement required is the year on the plate has to match the year of the vehicle. So if you want to run a pair of 1956 California plates on your 1956 Ford Thunderbird, it is perfect legal to do so as long as you have the current plate in the vehicle. So what if you want to have those California plates custom made with the number "56 BIRD" from a maker that advertises on the internet? Once again, perfectly legal to do here in NC. One can literally design and manufacture his own license plate to display as long as the year is shown on the plate. Locally, there is a 1972 Chevy pickup that runs a First in Flight base plate with the number "CRAZY" with 19 & 72 in the upper corners where the stickers would be and of all things, it's made out of cardboard!
So as far as the State of North Carolina is concerned, any reproduction plate is legal to display for YOM purposes which includes those shown on the ALPCA website. And there are some porcelain NC plates that some members of ALPCA will tell you they are fake, but the reality is they may very well be the real thing as the seller who is now deceased acquired the plates deemed as overstock from a NC state auction back in 1936. The plates were new, wrapped in brown wax paper and crated in quantities of 25 plates per crate and the price was a mere $100 each. If you have any of these plates, it might be worth having it tested for radiation as all metal produced before 1945 will have no radiation in it.
One more thing that I have seen lately is the use of older validation stickers used to cover the month sticker on older NC plates. Basically the owner uses a 2004 sticker in the upper left corner of the plate on his 2004 year model vehicle. Again, perfectly legal to do here in NC.
My take on ALPCA's policy is that it is simply outdated. The policy originally came into play in 1981 and has had some modifications since then. I don't see ALPCA changing the policy anytime soon and if you are in the business of dealing in restoration work as i am, you might want to take a close look at your options for when/if a potential customer asks you to manufacture a plate for YOM use in NC. One word from your fellow ALPCA member to the board that you or your business sold a reproduction plate or sticker and your name could go onto the revoked members list. That list is mainly for people who misrepresent plates in a transaction, however a couple of names on that list are totally honest sellers who properly offer reproductions in their businesses that refused to discontinue their practices even though they never sold their product to an ALPCA member.
Reproduction plates are always going to be made available as long as there is a need for them in the YOM market. Not many people are going to pay $200 for a beat up 1952 NC motorcycle plate and then spend another $100 or more to have it restored when they can find someone to make one on a computer for $25-50 that will serve the same purpose. And I very much doubt anyone would be foolish enough to buy a restored 1913 NC for $1000 and then distress it with buckshot to use on their rat rod titled as a 1913. As long as you know what you're buying and who you are buying from, you should have no problem with a transaction.
