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Posted on 03/07/2026 9:37:31 PM PST by ProtectOurFreedom
Getting car tabs renewed in Idaho will soon be easier thanks to a new law just passed in the state legislature that eliminates the requirement for physical registration stickers on license plates.
The law, which takes effect in July, means drivers will still have to pay to update their tabs with the department of licensing, but won't have to put the physical sticker on their license plate. Lawmakers say the state will save $300,000 just by not having to print and distribute the stickers anymore.
Some drivers are looking forward to physical car tabs going away in Idaho, especially because drivers can get pulled over for having expired tabs in the state.
"It would be really difficult without that tag on there, and I have gotten pulled over before when I haven't got a tag on there," said Clay Harper, a driver. "They pulled me over and I had the tag in my glove box, I forgot to put it on. But they do recognize that."
However, other people worry others will use this as an excuse to not renew their tabs.
"If there's no tag, you don't have any term, so I have to go pay a tag to get mine on there," Harper said. "What's stopping them from not getting a tag and driving around until they finally get caught? So you have to have pretty stiff penalties for them if they do get caught."
Local law enforcement says the change could create issues for enforcement. When lawmakers came up with this bill, they referenced automated license plate readers that some law enforcement agencies use to check if cars are properly registered. But not every agency has that kind of technology at their disposal.
Both the Kootenai County Sheriff's Office and Post Falls Police say they prefer to be able to see the tabs on a car to tell if they're up to date.
In a statement, the Sheriff's Office said in part: "Burdening dispatchers with registration checks is not feasible for an understaffed group already. Given these limitations in enforcement capability, it is possible that the state may experience reduced vehicle registration fee collection."
Post Falls Police says it does make traffic stops for expired registration, but that's only a small percentage of the total stops its officers make.
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I wonder if companies that sell automated license plate readers were behind the push for this change.
In my state the tabs are color coded by year. Cops can tell at a glance if your plates are current or not.
CC
The State of Florida is debating a similar bill, there is really no need for the registration stickers, considering all the tag readers in use today that electronically read your tag and determine if your registration is up to date.
The savings in Florida will be significant, Miami-Dade county estimated a savings of over 2.4 million per year by eliminating the printing and mailing of the stickers.
Same here in CO. And sticking them on the plate once a year isn’t really a burdensome chore.
What a stupid, lame idea. Illegals just got one less path to getting caught in Idaho.
Why has there ever been a need for ‘tabs’ in the first place?
For License plates well ok I guess. we could debate that.
It isn’t a burden, but to a subset of folks it is (and its that subset that tends not to insure their vehicle as well as a tendency not to renew their registration.) Its a problem here in NC
“Cops can tell at a glance if your plates are current or not.”
Not without also reading the month and mentally registering that fact..
They simply type your tag number into their laptop computer,
and it will tell them the owners name,
whether the insurance is up to date,
whether the taxes are up to date,
They know all of this before they walk up to your window.
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“Sticker? Sticker? We don’t need no stinking sticker!”
Yes, I figured they wanted more observation cameras.
Correct. but,
That is not “at a glance”, which would be needed for a non pretextual stop..
Also, are you sure that all auto insurance information is in a state’s data base ?
What’s a tab? Tags I know.
“...all auto insurance information is in a state’s data base ?...”
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In my state, (Georgia), yes.
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I have been pondering in my own mind,
if driving around with last years’ colored sticker
is like self-incrimination...
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