California has fully legalized digital license plates for private and commercial vehicles, which comes along with a nearly $1,000 price tag.
The passage of the Motor Vehicle Digital Plates Bill, also known as Assembly Bill 984, requires the California Department of Motor Vehicles to authorize devices meeting specified criteria as alternatives to conventional license plates, stickers, tabs, and registration cards and also establishes requirements for piloting and adopting new alternative devices for vehicle licensing.
The legislation, authored by Assemblymember Lori Wilson and signed into law by Gov. Gavin Newsom earlier this month, comes after a first-of-its-kind pilot program launched in 2018 which included 175,000 participants.
According to the California-based company Reviver, a technology company, and developer of the digital license plate,10,000 California drivers have already purchased the Rplate, the company’s digital license plate product, as a part of the pilot program.
“Californians are known to be early adopters of emerging innovative technologies. We welcome new opportunities to automate and integrate as many parts of our lives as possible, enabling us to streamline mundane tasks and stay connected. Our cars are no exception,” said Neville Boston, Reviver Co-Founder, and Chief Strategy Officer
The Rplate battery-powered version, available to all consumers, is a self-installed model with a replaceable 5-year battery available at $19.95 a month for 48 months, which will total $975.60 if kept for the full term. Those who choose the yearly payments of $225.40 for the same term, will pay $861.60 by the end of the term.
The RPlate hard-wired version is currently only offered to commercial businesses and features a hard-wired, professionally installed model with integrated telematics features and a backlit display, at $24.95 a month for 48 months, and $275.40 if paid yearly.
The RPlates are currently legal for sale and DMV registration in Michigan, Arizona, and Texas for commercial fleet vehicles, while an additional 10 states are in various stages of adoption.
According to the company, the plates can display different emergency messages such as a stolen vehicle or an AMBER Alert, and a built-in location tracker will allow police to locate a stolen car.
The plates are available for purchase in California.
