One cool detail on a classic car is when the car has original, or time period correct license plates. A modern license plate on an old classic can look like an eye-sore, especially when the car is restored to original standards. 

For years in California the only way to get an original set of plates was to go to a swap meet, buy a pair and hope that the numbers weren’t being used on a modern plate. As SFGate News reported, Assemblyman Mike Gatto put a bill in to create the California Legacy License Plate Program. This would require the DMV to reprint license plates from the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s.  

The catch was that 7,500 people had to pay $50 to pre-order the plates before the DMV would start reprinting. That requirement was finally reached and the presses are going to be printing off the classic plates once again. 

“This is an easy way for the state to enable everyone from the backyard restorer, to the nostalgic, to the purchaser of a retro-styled automobile to add that extra bit of detail for those of us who appreciate the classic era of automobile design,” said Gatto. 

This is truly a welcome site for car restorers all over the sunshine state. We can only hope this trend continues nationwide for all the other restorers out there! 

If you’re in California and looking to get one of these plates, you can click here for the application.