License Plate Stickers May Become A Thing Again In PA

HARRISBURG, PA — Pennsylvania could go back to having vehicle registration stickers if a Berks County lawmaker's bill is approved. State Rep. Barry Jozwiak has introduced legislation to have PennDOT resume the stickers, which were required to be on license plates.

PennDOT stopped the sticker renewal process four years ago in what was said was a cost-saving measure. Although the stickers were halted, vehicle owners still have to pay an annual registration fee.

"PennDOT stopped issuing the registration expiration stickers in January of 2017," Jozwiak said in a recent memo to colleagues. "Since then, PennDOT has lost considerable revenue. Twenty-two
million in 2017, eleven million in 2018 and eighteen million in 2019, for a total of approximately fifty-one million dollars.

"The absence of the expiration stickers has hindered the performance of both law enforcement and PennDOT. Law enforcement is now without a significant tool previously used to legally identify and stop unregistered and uninsured vehicles in Pennsylvania. Consumers have faced challenges while traveling out of state from law enforcement officials expecting to see a sticker on the Pennsylvania license plate.

"Issuing he registration expiration sticker on the license plate will ensure that all vehicles in the Commonwealth are properly registered and insured and will restore the lost revenue that
PennDOT claims it so desperately needs."

The bill currently is being considered by the House appropriations committee. It is unclear when, or if, the entire House will vote on the measure.