Provo PD seeing many cars with illegal black license plates

PROVO – Black license plates are one of the newest “cool” car accessories that people are buying in Utah County.

But, they’re completely illegal.

And Provo police are warning drivers not to waste their money on those so-called “vintage” license plates that you can get online.

Investigators say they don’t know what sparked the trend of placing these black plates on cars, but, they’re seeing a lot of them, lately.

Sgt. Nisha King says customers can order them online and use their actual license number.  However, even with a real plate number, these tags are not valid.

“Most don’t realize it’s not lawful to purchase a plate online,” King said.

The biggest issue is the paint used to make these vintage tags.  King says they’re incredibly hard to see at night.

“The actual paint that’s on it is not reflective.  Now, paint that the DMV puts on any license plate, and every license plate, is reflective,” she said.

Not only can drivers who have them expect to be cited if they’re stopped by police officers, but, that expensive plate will be taken away.

“When they see these vehicles, they’re being stopped.  That, in itself, is reason to stop a vehicle,” King says.   “They’re confiscating the black plates and turning them back into the DMV.”

There are a few vintage license plates that are allowable on Utah roads.  They’re just not black.

You may also be interested in:

State officials asked to look into controversial license plate

Live Mic: Gun advocate’s plan for personalized license plate is shot down