5585 Retitle Success!

[Blue Cobra]

Originally Posted by BruceSnyder

I talked to Bob Reynolds at DOL a couple days ago. He told me to get a collector plate I needed a WSP inspection to determine the year OR an amended MSO that said it is a 1965. So, I called Factory Five today and asked if I could get a new MSO. The lady I talked to said my MSO should already say 1965. I told her it says 2009. She said just a second. She came back about 5 minutes later and said you’re right it does say 2009 and that is a mistake. She then told me she will fix it and mail a new MSO to me today. I love it when a plan comes together.

Bruce

Excellant news Bruce, welcome (shortly) to the Washington DOL Titled Collectors Car Gang of Snakes!

BC Kevin

[Blue Cobra]

Great information. Thank you Mastiff107 for the link to your plate-man's Old License Farm, looks like he does good work.

I so love how our bureaucracy always has such diversity in answers. I talked to DOL earlier this week and was told it's kind of fuzzy in the level of details DOL have for the restored plates. My DOL guy seemed to be quite fluent in the restored plate process, and claimed that the WA DOL really have no way to verify the plate as authentic. Sounded like the data on many of the old original plates registration records are unavailable.

So he says all they have to go by to authenticate the plate is by matching the plate numbers to the DOL's county-coded records of plates produced county by county during the plates production lifetime. Ian Slade has done a fantastic job at documenting the Washington County-Coded Passenger Plates, 1958-1981 at this link to his web site:
http://staff.washington.edu/islade/counties/index.htm

He went on to inform me that if the numbers match recorded county-codes on record, the final DOL decision is made based on the colors of the plate matching the era of the car you are registering the restored plate on.

I asked about using reproduction plates (although prohibited by the WA DOL documentation I have read), and basically he indicated a reproduction plate with the correct numbers and colors which is not recorded as currently registered, will pass the DOL criteria and be allowed.

Thanks everyone for your valuable input, the hunt begins!

Regards,
BC Kevin

[jwd]

I would avoid going to the DOL and go to a sub agent instead. I've done several YOM (year of model) plate transactions and it only takes a couple of mins. All they do is photo copy the plate, fill out the form and off you go. They don't care what it looks like. I restore mine before I go in.
One thing I should mention is that when you get a YOM plate, that plate number will not show up in any records. If you get pulled over and they run the plate, it will come back as "not assigned". They have to look at your registration to confirm that plate belongs on the car. A friend who's a police officer was telling me that if you have a pair of old plates, you can put them on two different vehicles. I went to the DOL and asked them and they said "no way". I asked them if I had a plate that said AXC 911 (which was the plate on my Cobra) could I register it. She ran a check and said "that plate is not assigned so if you have that plate, you can put it on your car". You should have seen the look on her face when I told her it was already on my car and she's the one that registered it.
The nice thing about YOM plates is you don't have to run one on the front.

Jim