POST FALLS, Idaho — 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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