Article 7. License Plates of California Vehicle Code >> Division 3. >> Chapter 1. >> Article 7.

(a) The department, upon registering a vehicle, shall issue to the owner two partially or fully reflectorized license plates or devices for a motor vehicle, other than a motorcycle, and one partially or fully reflectorized license plate or device for all other vehicles required to be registered under this code. The plates or devices shall identify the vehicles for which they are issued for the period of their validity.
  (b) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no contract shall be let to any nongovernmental entity for the purchase or securing of reflectorized material for the plates, unless the department has made every reasonable effort to secure qualified bids from as many independent, responsible bidders as possible. No contract shall be let to any nongovernmental entity for the manufacturing of reflectorized safety license plates.
  (c) In addition to any other fees specified in this code, a fee of one dollar ($1) for reflectorization shall be paid only by those vehicle owners receiving license plates or devices under this section.
  (d) This section does not require vehicle owners with nonreflectorized license plates or devices to replace them with reflectorized plates or devices.
  (e) This section shall be known as the Schrade-Belotti Act.

(a) Notwithstanding subdivision (a) of Section 4850 and Section 5200, the department, upon registering a truck tractor, shall issue to the owner one suitable license plate or other device which identifies the vehicle for which it is issued and for the period of its validity. The license plate or other device shall be attached to the front of the vehicle.
  (b) This section shall become operative only when and if the Department of the California Highway Patrol implements a program which requires identifying numbers on the right and left sides of truck tractors.

Every license plate shall have displayed upon it the registration number assigned to the vehicle for which it is issued, together with the word "California" or the abbreviation "Cal." and the year number for which it is issued or a suitable device issued by the department for validation purposes, which device shall contain the year number for which issued.

(a) License plates issued for motor vehicles, other than motorcycles, shall be rectangular in shape, 12 inches in length and six inches in width. The number and letter characters on the plates shall have a minimum height of two and three-quarter inches, a minimum width of one and one-quarter inches, and a minimum spacing between characters of five-sixteenths of an inch.
  (b) Motorcycle license plates shall measure seven inches in length and four inches in width, and the characters on the plates shall have a minimum height of one and one-half inches and a minimum width of nine-sixteenths inches, and shall have a minimum spacing between characters of three-sixteenths of an inch.

(a) The department may issue one or more stickers, tabs, or other suitable devices in lieu of the license plates provided for under this code. Except where the physical differences between the stickers, tabs, or devices and license plates by their nature render the provisions of this code inapplicable, all provisions of this code relating to license plates may apply to stickers, tabs, or devices.
  (b) The department may establish a pilot program to evaluate the use of alternatives to the stickers, tabs, license plates, and registration cards authorized by this code, subject to all of the following requirements:
  (1) The alternative products shall be approved by the Department of the California Highway Patrol.
  (2) The pilot program shall be limited to no more than 0.5 percent of registered vehicles for the purpose of road testing and evaluation.
  (3) The alternative products to be evaluated shall be provided at no cost to the state.
  (4) Any pilot program established by the department pursuant to this subdivision shall be completed no later than January 1, 2017.
  (5) Any pilot program established by the department pursuant to this subdivision shall be limited to vehicle owners who have voluntarily chosen to participate in the pilot program.
  (c) In the conduct of any pilot program pursuant to this section, any data exchanged between the department and any electronic device or the provider of any electronic device shall be limited to that data necessary to display evidence of registration compliance. The department shall not receive or retain any information generated during the pilot program regarding the movement, location, or use of a vehicle participating in the pilot program.
  (d) If the department conducts a pilot program authorized in subdivision (b), the department shall, no later than July 1, 2018, submit a report of the results of the pilot program to the Legislature, in compliance with Section 9795 of the Government Code, to include, but not be limited to, the following:
  (1) An evaluation of the cost effectiveness of the alternatives used in the pilot program when compared to the department's current use of stickers, tabs, license plates, and registration cards.
  (2) A review of all products evaluated in the pilot program and of the features of those products. The report shall note if the devices evaluated in the pilot program are available with the ability to transmit and retain information relating to the movement, location, or use of a vehicle, and if a product contains that feature, the report shall also note if the product includes any security features to protect against unauthorized access to information.
  (3) Recommendations for subsequent actions, if any, that should be taken with regard to alternatives evaluated in the pilot program.