Replacement Nevada license plates won’t require DMV visit

Sean McDonald, left, and Dave Wiley of the Nevada Department of Motor Vehicles show examples of old and new license plates at the DMV office in Carson City on June 24, 2016. (Sandra Chereb/Las Vegas Review-Journal).

CARSON CITY — Getting replacement license plates under a new Nevada law that takes effect July 1 won’t require a dreaded trip to a Department of Motor Vehicles office.

Sean McDonald, services administrator with the DMV in Carson City, said Monday vehicle owners will be notified by mail if their plates are targeted for reissuance when they get their annual registration notice.

After registration fees are paid, the new plates, which will be the same number as the old ones, will be sent through the mail but will come separately from the registration tag.

Anyone informed their plates are being reissued should wait until their new plates arrive before applying the registration sticker.

The law passed by the 2015 Legislature and signed by Gov. Brian Sandoval requires most Nevada license plates to be replaced every eight years. Law enforcement and DMV officials said the move is intended to ensure plates are readable, even at night.

Blue and white license plates — both original ones issued up to 1982 and so-called “replica” blue plates issued before July 1, 2015 — are not subject to replacement.

Also exempt from are special plates issued for Nevada’s 125th and 150th anniversaries of statehood.

The DMV says it will take about three years to clear a backlog of roughly 720,000 plates that exceed the eight-year age limit. An estimated 140,000 will reach the threshold each year.

Contact Sandra Chereb at schereb@reviewjournal.com or 775-461-3821. Find @SandraChereb on Twitter.