Starting in 2018, the State of Montana Motor Vehicle Division will take a step back in time in regards to license plates, or more specifically, the tabs that denote the registration year.

Deputy Administrator for the Motor Vehicle Division, Sky Schaefer, said the change will come at the first of the year when drivers renew their plates.

“We are reverting back to the colored registration tabs on license plates beginning in January of 2018,” said Schaefer. “This is to aid law enforcement. They have asked us for the last several years to go back to colored license tabs so that it’s easier for them to read registration violation from distances and at different rates of speed.”

Schaefer explained the process of changing out the license tabs.

“We are partnering with Montana Correctional Enterprises to do the printing for our registration tabs,” she said. “They will then distribute the tabs out to the local county offices, who will them distribute them to the public when they reregister their vehicles. There will be no cost increase to the State of Montana.”

Montana license plates are already noteworthy with over 250 different designs and color combinations, so the new colored registration tabs will be easier to spot for law enforcement.

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