UPDATE: California Advances Bill to Expand Legacy License Plate Program
DON’T DELAY! Please contact lawmakers to request their support for this proposal:
Overview: California Assembly Member Tim Grayson, a State Automotive Enthusiast Leadership Caucus member, has reintroduced SAN-sponsored legislation (AB 1980) to expand the state’s successful Legacy License Plate Program, which is available for all model years of motor vehicles. Under the bill, the DMV would create and issue an additional series of new specialized license plates resembling designs from the state's past: 1950s (black lettering on a yellow background), 1970s(yellow lettering on a blue background), and 1980s (white plate with blue lettering and California “The Golden State” sunset imagery). The Assembly Committee on Transportation passed the bill, which now awaits consideration by the Assembly Committee on Appropriations.
Currently, only the style of the 1960s (yellow lettering on a black background) is available for a $50 fee. Similar to the 2013 law that launched this program, AB 1980—if enacted into law—would require at least 7,500 applications for any particular plate design to be received by the DMV on or before January 1, 2026, to go into production.
