Can we renew our HOV sticker?

[theatwar99]

Hi all,

Quick question regarding California HOV stickers -- we're owners of a 2015 Model S, purchased in late 2015. We received our white HOV sticker in early 2016. Will we be able to re-apply for a new sticker once our current sticker expires at the end of 2018?

 

[ChrisJ]

Short answer, no you can not renew it.

 

[derkan]

This was discussed at length on some other threads. As far as I know, white stickers expire at the end of this year, one person heard something about us being able to apply for a newer sticker in 2019, but this contradicts a bunch of other info and was not confirmed.

One person heard or read somewhere that - if your white sticker was issued in 2017-2018, then you will be able to apply for new sticker in 2019, presumably valid 4 "more" years. Perhaps you can apply for a REPLACEMENT white sticker now, and see if that makes you eligible in 2019 for a new, different color one. Worth a shot if you ask me - costs $22.

 

[miimura]

This is the DMV page that covers the HOV sticker program. I can only repeat this info so many times. Please read it.

Clean Air Vehicle Decals - High Occupancy Vehicle Lane Usage

 

[dailo]

I wonder if CHP will bother looking up license plates to verify what the expiration date for your stickers are supposed to be. The carpool lane is already hardly monitored, I can imagine the red / purple stickers being stolen especially since it seems like most people have their stickers on top of PPF or vinyl.

 

[gregincal]

I wonder if CHP will bother looking up license plates to verify what the expiration date for your stickers are supposed to be. The carpool lane is already hardly monitored, I can imagine the red / purple stickers being stolen especially since it seems like most people have their stickers on top of PPF or vinyl.

?? The CHP doesn't have to look up your license plates. They just need to look at the color of the sticker. All stickers of the same color have the same expiration date.

 

[dailo]

What prevents someone from taking a red sticker from another car and putting it on theirs? I imagine they must have thought of that and need another check in place.

 

[miimura]

What prevents someone from taking a red sticker from another car and putting it on theirs? I imagine they must have thought of that and need another check in place.

The stickers have serial numbers and a certificate with the serial number and the registered vehicle details is issued with each set of stickers. If fraud or theft is suspected, the driver needs to produce the certificate to avoid citation.
Obviously, the chance of such close inspection is pretty small, so sticker theft is an issue that people need to consider before mounting the stickers on PPF when applying them to their vehicle.

 

[Russell]

What prevents someone from taking a red sticker from another car and putting it on theirs? I imagine they must have thought of that and need another check in place.

I'm suspecting you haven seen an HOV sticker up close.
Removing a sticker from another car damages the sticker.

 

[dailo]

I'm suspecting you haven seen an HOV sticker up close.
Removing a sticker from another car damages the sticker.

Not if someone puts the sticker on top of vinyl or something. I remove mine all the time without damaging it.

 

[Russell]

Not if someone puts the sticker on top of vinyl or something. I remove mine all the time without damaging it.

Under normal circumstances...

 

[Need]

The stickers have serial numbers and a certificate with the serial number and the registered vehicle details is issued with each set of stickers. If fraud or theft is suspected, the driver needs to produce the certificate to avoid citation.
Obviously, the chance of such close inspection is pretty small, so sticker theft is an issue that people need to consider before mounting the stickers on PPF when applying them to their vehicle.

I think soon the cameras on the toll roads and on the police cars will automatically check the decal number and match it with the license plate number. They are already doing the auto scan for licence plates. That's probably why they wanted the red sticker to be on the front bumper too.

 

[JPP]

I think soon the cameras on the toll roads and on the police cars will automatically check the decal number and match it with the license plate number. They are already doing the auto scan for licence plates. That's probably why they wanted the red sticker to be on the front bumper too.

Wow--you are assuming a major upgrade in camera resolution. The serial numbers on the CA HOV stickers are pretty small. My understanding of the 4th sticker on the front is for the 'pay-to-play' HOV lanes in NoCA (and I believe also SoCA) where there is a camera facing the front of the car to check for/record:

number of front seat occupants
presence of the FasTrak transponder (which is supposed to be mounted up front and visible from the outside)
Presence of the CA DMV HOV decal

 

[Eno Deb]

My understanding of the 4th sticker on the front is for the 'pay-to-play' HOV lanes in NoCA (and I believe also SoCA) where there is a camera facing the front of the car to check for/record:

I don't think the cameras look for the decals (since the decals are linked to a license, scanning the plates should be sufficient). The front sticker is probably for law enforcement. I sometimes see motorcycle cops on on-ramps with HOV lanes checking for violations from the front.

 

[tienvy02]

This was discussed at length on some other threads. As far as I know, white stickers expire at the end of this year, one person heard something about us being able to apply for a newer sticker in 2019, but this contradicts a bunch of other info and was not confirmed.

One person heard or read somewhere that - if your white sticker was issued in 2017-2018, then you will be able to apply for new sticker in 2019, presumably valid 4 "more" years. Perhaps you can apply for a REPLACEMENT white sticker now, and see if that makes you eligible in 2019 for a new, different color one. Worth a shot if you ask me - costs $22.

For the $22 replacement stickers, however, the DMV website says it'll be the same color as the original stickers.

 

[3sr+buyer]

Yes, replacement stickers will be the same color as the original ones, but this old thread is about expiring white stickers that were issued before some time in 2018. Those white stickers expired at the end of 2018. Those who got white stickers in 2017-2018 could have gotten red stickers that expired at the end of 2021.

Clean Air Vehicle Decals for Using Carpool and HOV Lanes - California DMV has a section that shows the various color stickers, but it shows an incorrect yellow sticker. The current yellow stickers have the round part on the right side instead of the left side to distinguish them from older long-expired yellow stickers.