Arizona only requires vehicles have 1 license plate. Why is that?
New residents to Arizona registering their vehicles may be surprised to find out the state only requires a single license plate — rear plate only.
The practice has been around for 30 years, and the reason is quite practical.
The single license plate requirement came about sometime in the early 1990s as part of a cost-saving effort by then-Gov. Fife Symington, according to a Nov. 4, 2004, Valley 101 response to a reader from late The Arizona Republic columnist Clay Thompson. Thompson explained the requirement was part of the State Long-Term Improved Management Project.
And, according to a March 15, 1996, article in The Republic, the project was unveiled in April 1991 by Symington as a means to “reduce costs, restructure organizations and improve productivity.”
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Those working on the State Long-Term Improved Management Project determined the state would save $1 million annually if it only required making one license plate instead of two, Thompson wrote in his column.
Most plates cost $2.15, while motorcycle plates are $1.50 and special plates are $3.11, according to Arizona Department of Transportation spokesman Bill Lamoreaux. The department's Motor Vehicles Division spent $3.9 million making plates during fiscal year 2022, Lamoreaux said.
This wasn't the first time Arizona tried one plate
Arizona tried single license plates decades before the State Long-Term Improved Management Project.
The state only required front plates between 1966-1969, not unlike 16 other states at the time, according to an April 1966 lifestyle column in The Republic. David H. Campbell, the Arizona Highway Department’s Motor Vehicle Division director, was cited as saying the production of two plates would have cost $500,000 more. The single plate requirement was temporary at the time, the column noted.
Then, to save money, the Motor Vehicles Division proposed a single license plate requirement in January 1983, according to an Associated Press article from the time. The division’s Director Juan Martin argued that the state Legislature made it difficult to meet demand by reducing plate funding from $640,000 the year before to $160,000 that year. Law enforcement insisted one plate made it difficult to identify motorists and the Senate transportation committee killed the measure.
But Arizona’s statute on license plates mandates that the nearly 6 million registered motor vehicles, motorcycles, trailers or semitrailers only need to display a plate in the back.
Which other states require one license plate?
A May 16, 2022, blog post from the Arizona Department of Transportation stated Arizona was one of about 20 states that do not require a front license plate.
According to data aggregator website worldpopulationreview.com, Arizona is among 21 states not requiring two license plates. The overwhelming majority of states not requiring two license plates are in the South, with some in the Midwest. Outlier states for single-plate requirements are Alaska and Delaware.
New Mexico is the only state bordering Arizona that does not require two plates. However, a New Mexico House bill from this past legislative season looked to change this. The bill did not make it past committee.
Reach breaking news reporter Jose R. Gonzalez at jose.gonzalez@gannett.com or on Twitter @jrgzztx.
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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Does Arizona require a front license plate? Here's what to know
