Eligibility for carpool stickers

[Funchik]

Hi there I am new to this forum and I joined because I have some questions about Teslas in particular I am looking at buying a used 2013 model S from a dealership in Arizona a third-party dealership and the car has never been registered in California I live in California I want to be able to purchase carpool stickers for my vehicle if I decide to purchase it. I can do this ? And how long would the stickers be good for ? Thank you

 

[ucmndd]

Only if you’re low income.

 

[Cheburashka]

I think you can. I don't think the low income thing applies at all. As long as the car has never been registered in CA it should be eligible.

 

[FatherTo1]

Apparently there IS an Income Based system to allow a new owner of a used vehicle to still receive an HOV sticker even though the prior owner already received one. I did not know this before and thought they only had income thresholds for the California EV Rebate. More info below:

Current Clean Air Vehicle Decal | California Air Resources Board

 

[aerodyne]

As a second owner of a CA car built 2015, I did not qualify for one.

They are are fugly purple and I have little need for the carpool lane, car on AP1 sometimes gets a little too close to the K walls..

 

[aerodyne]

Hi there I am new to this forum and I joined because I have some questions about Teslas in particular I am looking at buying a used 2013 model S from a dealership in Arizona a third-party dealership and the car has never been registered in California I live in California I want to be able to purchase carpool stickers for my vehicle if I decide to purchase it. I can do this ? And how long would the stickers be good for ? Thank you

Do you know you will loose free supercharging buying 3rd party? Other bad things can happen to you when buying from a dealer. Do your research....

 

[cwerdna]

As a second owner of a CA car built 2015, I did not qualify for one.

The OP is trying to buy a car that has never been registered in CA, so it's unlikely to have been issued CA HOV stickers.

 

[aerodyne]

The OP is trying to buy a car that has never been registered in CA, so it's unlikely to have been issued CA HOV stickers.

Mine never had stickers issued, but because if was used, did not qualify. At least that is the best I can recall.

Only the DMV would be able to say from sure.

 

[cwerdna]

Only if you’re low income.

The low income thing are the income-based ones for vehicles the previously had expired CA HOV stickers so they can be issued another one.

See Clean Air Vehicle Decals for Using Carpool and HOV Lanes - California DMV under income based.

Under the rules section of the above page there's

If your vehicle was originally issued white or green decals prior to 2017, your vehicle is no longer eligible to participate in the CAV decal program (as of January 1, 2019). View the CAV Decal Issued Prior to January 1, 2017 by vehicle identification number (VIN) to check if a vehicle was issued a CAV decal prior to January 1, 2017. You will need the VIN to search the list.
If you are considering purchasing a used clean air vehicle to participate in the CAV decal program and the VIN is not on the list, please call 916-657-8035 to determine the vehicle’s eligibility.

A ca.gov page used to have a better question and answer about used vehicles that have never been issued CA HOV stickers before. I'm not sure if it's still up.

 

[cwerdna]

Mine never had stickers issued, but because if was used, did not qualify. At least that is the best I can recall.

That's not the way it works. If it has NEVER been issued CA HOV stickers and is a qualifying vehicle, you can apply for them now.

You can try searching for its VIN at https://www.dmv.ca.gov/portal/uploads/2020/03/CAVVINList.pdf. If it's there, it was issued the stickers. It's possible the previous driver applied for and was issued the stickers but never put them on the car. (My former '13 Leaf is on there as is my current used '13 Leaf. I applied stickers on the first one and the previous driver applied for them on my current one. I am out of luck now on my current Leaf since I'm not low income.)

 

[aerodyne]

Doubt if that works for the daughters 2003 Prius...

The OP needs to visit the DMV to find out for sure.

 

[cwerdna]

Doubt if that works for the daughters 2003 Prius...

Of course it doesn't. The yellow HOV stickers for non-plugin hybrids all expired ages ago. I'm more then familiar with non-plugin hybrids as I had an 06 (gen 2) and 03 was gen 1. And yes, my 06 Prius had yellow CA HOV stickers.

Look under CAV Decal Colors... at Clean Air Vehicle Decals for Using Carpool and HOV Lanes - California DMV. It mentions expiration on 7/1/2011. They hit their issuance cap years before that and stopped issuing them at that point. Search below pages for yellow:
Clean Air Vehicle (CAV) Decals - High Occupancy Vehicle HOV Lane Usage
Eligible Vehicles - Single Occupant Carpool Lane Use Stickers
Eligible Vehicles - Single Occupant Carpool Lane Use Stickers

 

[aerodyne]

I'm just saying the OP needs to go to the source..CA DMV and verify. They have been changing the rules as recently as last year.

I recall a need to exchange white stickers for purple, or some other such nonsense.

Using the handy link you supplied, it seems my car was issued stickers but never used them. That why I am SOL sticker wise.

 

[cwerdna]

The low income thing are the income-based ones for vehicles the previously had expired CA HOV stickers so they can be issued another one.

See Clean Air Vehicle Decals for Using Carpool and HOV Lanes - California DMV under income based.

Under the rules section of the above page there's

A ca.gov page used to have a better question and answer about used vehicles that have never been issued CA HOV stickers before. I'm not sure if it's still up.

I found it.

From Clean Air Vehicle Decal Factsheet | California Air Resources Board:

If I buy a used eligible battery-electric, plug-in hybrid or fuel cell car, can I apply for a decal? When would that decal expire?
Used cars are eligible for a decal providing they have never previously had one. The expiration date of the decal is based on the application date for the decal, which is three full years plus the partial year. Keep in mind that most qualifying vehicles prior to 2017 were already issued a decal.

 

[cwerdna]

I'm just saying the OP needs to go to the source..CA DMV and verify. They have been changing the rules as recently as last year.

I recall a need to exchange white stickers for purple, or some other such nonsense.

I'm not aware of any rule change regarding used EVs and qualifying PHEVs that have never been issued CA HOV stickers.

As for the exchange, yes, white and green HOV stickers expired 1/1/2019. There was a certain subset of those drivers who could get them replaced to extend their CA HOV validity. From Clean Air Vehicle Decals - High Occupancy Vehicle Lane Usage

White and green CAV decals are valid only until January 1, 2019. Vehicle owners issued white or green decals on or after January 1, 2017, who are eligible for the red decal, were mailed, to their address on file, a pre-filled CAV decal application form with instructions and a return envelope. The pre-filled applications were mailed in mid-October 2018. If you believe your vehicle is eligible for a new red decal and you did not receive a letter, please submit a completed CAV decal application form (REG 1000) for review.

If having CA HOV stickers is important, I recommend following what I quoted in post 9.

 

[Dsancho]

I purchased my 2015 last year out state. DMV has a website database of vins of cars that have be issued a sticker. I was able to get one that I registered for in Jan 2020. I have orange stickers.

@Funchik