Although our move to the Grand Canyon State is not imminent, we have been thinking about the logistics to facilitate our relocation. One relocation requirement is that we register our vehicles with the Arizona Department of Transportation.
Out of curiosity, I went on-line to the AZDOT website to check on the availability of the special plate that I currently have on my SUV here in the Golden State. I entered “CAPNBOB” and voila – it seems to be available. Now, all I have to do is choose which of the many plate formats that AZDOT offers. It boils down to these three: Arizona Highways ($25 annual fee plus personalization), Regular (no annual fee plus personalization) and military support/freedom ($25 annual fee plus personalization).
Personalized plates in Arizona are considerably less expensive in Arizona than in California. I guess that goes without saying since everything here is taxed, inflated and overcharged. The special plate fees for the Arizona Highways includes a $17 donation to their outstanding magazine. The military/freedom fee includes a $17 donation to a special fund to benefit veterans in Arizona.
According to AZDOT, the personalization rules are as follows:
Where indicated, plates may be personalized with a letter/number combination of your choice. Requires Special Plate Application. The fee for personalization is $25 initial application fee/ $25 annual renewal, in addition to regular registration fees and any other special plate fee. The maximum number of characters allowed (letters and/or numbers) varies with plate type. All choices must be approved. Available by special order only.
I like all three of my choices. I still have plenty of time to decide, so I’ll defer the final decision until we actually get into our new home.
I was lucky here. When I got my ham radio callsign on my plate, it’s a one-time fee of like $25, and they don’t ding you extra on the renewal.
They used to be free. I got my original callsign plates back in 1968. When I upgraded to extra and got the 2×1 callsign, I exchanged them. My old van that they were on died about 20 years ago. I still have one of the plates but never bothered to get them for the new car.
About fifteen years ago I got the CAPN BOB plates for my Mark VIII and when I sold that after buying the SUV, I swapped ’em over.
As an aside, my student pilots started calling me Captain Bob after I earned my airline transport certificate in the 1970’s. I liked it – an ego booster, so I got the plates. “Damsel” is a nickname my wife used for playing a trivia game in the old days. Now you know how I chose the name for this blog.