California Vehicle Code

§ 5101.5

VEH § 5101.5 Effective Jan 1, 2011Div. 3 · Ch. 1 · Art. 8.5

Statute text

(a)A person otherwise eligible under this article who is a former American prisoner of war may apply for special license plates for the vehicle under this article. The special license plates assigned to the vehicle shall run in a separate numerical series and contain a replica design of the American Prisoner of War Medal followed by the letters “POW” and four numbers. The special license plates issued under this subdivision also shall contain the following words: “Ex-Prisoner of War.” The department shall, pursuant to this article, reserve and issue the special license plates provided for by this section only to persons who show by satisfactory proof former prisoner-of-war status. A person otherwise issued license plates within this series pursuant to this article prior to January 1, 1982, may retain them.

(b)Notwithstanding subdivision (a), the department, in consultation with the Department of Veterans Affairs and veterans’ service organizations, shall design and make available for issuance pursuant to this article a special environmental design license plate for former American prisoners of war who prefer not to have their former status as a “POW” or “Ex-Prisoner of War” identified by words or other markings or symbols. This section is not intended to prohibit individuals eligible for the special license plate from selecting the existing license plate design specified in subdivision (a). The design criteria for a special interest license plate pursuant to this subdivision are as follows:

(1)The license plate for a passenger vehicle, commercial vehicle, or trailer shall provide a space not larger than two inches by three inches to the left of the numerical series and a space not larger than five-eighths of an inch in height below the numerical series for a distinctive design, decal, or descriptive message as authorized by this subdivision. The license plates shall be issued in sequential numerical order or, pursuant to Section 5103, in a combination of numbers or letters.

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Legislative history

Amended by Stats. 2010, Ch. 345, Sec. 2. (AB 498) Effective January 1, 2011.