Have You Given Up Your Ham Tag Because Your State Now Charges For Them?

[W2BBQ]

Have you given up your ham tag because your state now charges for there where they used to be free?

[AG8K]

In Mississippi you only pay once for a ham tag. I believe it was fifteen dollars. That is cheap enough as it less than a new DVD.

[K8ERV]

I've never had a ham tag cause in some towns I don't what it known I may have radio equip inside.

A ham tag would also make it easy for someone to find me after I run over (fill in the blank_______)

TOM K8ERV Montrose Colo

[K0PVW]

Here in Kansas a Ham plate costs a minimal $1.50, when I first got licensed it was $3. Hey you gotta pay the inmates someway!

[K4RKY]

5 bucks in Alabama paid every year of renewal. I am proud to be recognized as a ham. As far as theives... that is why I pay rediculous insurance rates for! :-I

[N1JGE]

Nothing is free in my state, $75 every two years, the same as my vetern plates.

[KK6RF]

One time fee of $21 here in California. It takes forever to get the plates but they're stamped metal, look good and $21 is reasonable. Although, if they outsourced them to China, they would probably cost $2 and you would receive them in a week. I guess prisoners are hard to motivate.

[N0AZZ]

We have to pay every year don't remember the fee but it's considered a custom plate and costs quite a bit.

[W2BBQ]

I did the depressing deed today. Time to renew. Georgia wants $35 now every year to keep the ham tag. Cancelled it for a regular tag. Dammit boy

[W0LPQ]

Indiana does not know how to make a zero ... so screw them. At least Iowa (amateur purchased dies), Kansas and Nebraska know how to make a zero. Had Iowa and Kansas plates ... one year of Indiana and no more.

[W7KKK]

Yes, AZ treats them as any other vanity plate and charges $25 per year for them so I gave it up.
Not worth it in my opinion.

[KB3LAZ]

I gotta pay for my DL and I didnt give that up.

[KD8COO]

Still $10 for mine. Wish they were free, but $10 is a substantial discount from the regular vanity plate amount. I dropped the regular vanity plate on my second car due to that cost. Not much worried about the ham plate being an advertisement for theft. No radio gear stays in the car when I'm not driving it and the interior of the car is largely gutted (as I use it for track days), so one can see the whole inside through the windows. It's obvious that there's nothing in it... :-)

[KA5ROW]

I think in Oklahoma they are $9.95 per year. It was $2.00 a few years ago. Big price increase. They should have only gone up a dollar or two.

[KB2CRK]

I did the depressing deed today. Time to renew. Georgia wants $35 now every year to keep the ham tag. Cancelled it for a regular tag. Dammit boy


The 35 dollar increase did not bother me as much as the exemption for the standard tag fee went away. So the standard tag fee of 20 and the 35 additional as with the rest of vanity tags created a 55 dollar increase from one year to the next. I however transferred my ham tag off of the old car onto my wife's old mini van (she got a newer one) i saw just a 35 dollar increase in fees over the previous year for the van. I kept it.

[K5PO]

In Arkansas it just costs a couple bucks. No big deal.

I'd definitely pay for one, but our amateur radio tags are EXTREMELY UGLY. They are a gross blue color with a stupid diamond thing. A kindergartener could finger paint a nicer design. Who wants to pay thousands for a nice vehicle and add an eyesore of a plate?

Anyway. I pay $35 extra per year to get a plate that at least doesn’t look nasty. Too bad I couldn’t have a decent looking amateur radio plate. I think they made the plates ugly just to drive specialty plate revenue.

/RANT

[KF7QPK]

I recently looked into it for Nevada, and the cost looks minimal. $25 for the initial then $10/yr. I'm not sure if I will do it or not after hearing some of the arguments against having the plates.

[K3ROJ]

My State, Maryland, still charges the maximum for tags but one concern I have along with many hams is the ability for anyone to find my address and other information just by going to QRZ.COM
I live 25 miles from Baltimore but crime is moving to the suburbs fast ever since that Obama guy was elected. It is a good idea to join the NRA and practice shooting since if civil war occurs, we can at least fight back.

[K3ROJ]

Yes, here in Maryland I have Ham tags but wanted a set for my wifes car usingv my call. The numeric zero looks the same as the alphabet O, so I ordered a set for her car K3ROJ and it went through. I always thought the prisoners made the tags, not work in the office?

[KB9HGI]

99.00 a year to renew the little sticker on the tags in Illinois.
Our Gov is rapeing us!

[W0DLR]

In Missouri it is a "Personalized" plate, which is either $25 or $29 extra EACH year. Not worth it to me.

It use to be something to be proud of, anymore its just another plate. Most people see it think you are one of those CB guys anyway.

[AB2T]

I've always have standard plates on every car I've owned. I've never operated mobile, so no antennas. Sometimes I would bring a HT, but I don't even do that anymore. All operating is from my residence.

It's sort of like the old "MD" plates in some states. Yes, cops would give doctors a break if they were speeding to the hospital. Younger doctors often get standard plates for their cars to discourage theft, searching for drugs etc. Same here. I don't want someone breaking into my car to see if there's gear in there.

[AH6RR]

In Hawaii if you are Registered with Civil Defense they are free otherwise they are a vanity plate and $25 a year more then the regular plates. So it pays to get involved with CD.

Roland AH6RR

[KI6USW]

A few posts back, someone said that in CA you only have to pay $21 for a one-time fee. Hope that is true, as I don't remember (ooops!). Didn't check last year if that is so. If it is the just $21 that I already paid and no more - then I'll keep it. If it isn't; then I'll save a few bucks and get rid of it. CA licensing fees are otherwise steep already.

Too bad that some state gov'ts have to treat their Hams so poorly - from what I can gather reading here. Penalizing Hams for a few bucks for doing them a service. A courtesy or two would be nice. They should be treating Hams well - for the ace-in-the-hole card that they really are . . .

[K8ERV]

Hey you gotta pay the inmates someway!

Right, I'm getting hungry----

TOM K8ERV Montrose Colo

[KJ4VOV]

$1.00 per year here in Virginia, and the vehicle must have operational radio equipment permanently installed.

Note however that is says nothing about the radio equipment being for amateur radio. Just "radio equipment". So as long as your factory radio works you're technically legal. :)

[KW9W]

Nearly every state charges for the initial, or first ham tag! Here's a listing of states and the fees (http://www.arrl.org/amateur-license-plate-information) that they charge.

[K4JC]

Here in Florida ham license plates have the legend "AMATEUR RADIO" embossed at the bottom of the plate; however, there are over 100 different specialty plates available so that some of those letter/number combinations end up looking suspiciously like ham callsigns! I once saw a truck with a specialty plate featuring some college, and the plate number was K7AB, or something like that. I asked the owner about being a ham and he looked at me like I had two heads! Things are made more complicated by the fact that some hams do have their callsign put on one of these specialty plates (as a vanity plate) instead of the regular Amateur Radio plate. I have also seen specialty plates with what looked like callsigns from France, England and Russia. The state's official position is that they don't care about the number combinations on license plates, but if a particular number conflicts with a currently issued plate they will not issue that number. Conversely if a ham wants their callsign on a plate and that "number" is already in use, the state will "ask" the current owner of that plate if they will exchange it for a new plate. I guess if that person says "no" then the ham is out of luck!

About 20 years ago Florida put "DMV" at the bottom of amateur radio license plates (indicating that the plate was issued by the Department of Motor Vehicles as opposed to a particular county.) I used to have a lot of people see that and ask me if I was a disabled military veteran!

[WB4WHJ]

Nearly every state charges for the initial, or first ham tag! Here's a listing of states and the fees (http://www.arrl.org/amateur-license-plate-information) that they charge.

Thanks for the info. I am afraid that the price here In Ga, is a bit too steep for me.
73
Bo Wb4whj

[KB5DOH]

I voted YES but the truth is never had one due to red-tape to much paper work and cost one has to maintain original tag & Tax as well as the Vanity Tag & Tax and the extra paper work involved Government just can not keep it simple.

[KG5UN]

In Texas it is an initial $2 fee then $1 every year after.
Also, we can have them on more than one vehicle, I have them on three of mine (Yes they are all the same call sign!)

[KW9W]

Indiana does not know how to make a zero ... so screw them. At least Iowa (amateur purchased dies), Kansas and Nebraska know how to make a zero. Had Iowa and Kansas plates ... one year of Indiana and no more.

And, the Indiana plate doesn't look 'special' like Alabama or other states that created something unique looking.

[WA6TKD]

Amazing the large variations among the States. I can see charging whatever initial fee they set to law, but what's with the yearly recurring fee? Is there some on-going costs to the State after they have issued the plates?

[KT1F]

You don't know how lucky you are. In New Zealand there are no ham plates but a basic "Personalised Plate" is $599. A "premium combo" which is the only type that could be a valid ZL callsign is $839. There's no annual fee.

http://www.plates.co.nz/prices/

[KF5FEI]

I've never had a ham tag cause in some towns I don't what it known I may have radio equip inside.

A ham tag would also make it easy for someone to find me after I run over (fill in the blank_______)

TOM K8ERV Montrose Colo

And my wife is begging me to get her a plate for her car...

A slick crook could look your address up, get a photo of your shack off QRZ, find you on APRS and go rob your house while you are gone. However, they'd risk life and limb at my place getting around the dog and junk piled high enough to cause a fatal injury if knocked over.

[W2BBQ]

Amazing the large variations among the States. I can see charging whatever initial fee they set to law, but what's with the yearly recurring fee? Is there some on-going costs to the State after they have issued the plates?


It's a money grab OM, taxes taxes and more taxes.....and in a solidly republican controlled state too (mine) - Georgia

[KF5FEI]

In Texas it is an initial $2 fee then $1 every year after.
Also, we can have them on more than one vehicle, I have them on three of mine (Yes they are all the same call sign!)

Yeah, the fact that you can have the same tags on different vehicles really cracks me up -- it would really confuse them if you had several vehicles of the same make, model, year and color. :p

Wifey has been pestering the crap out of me for callsign tags on her new car, so I finally gave in and sent her down there to take care of it. She apparently figured it out and got the tags ordered today.

[K0BAM]

Got my ham tags here in Colorado a few months ago. The cost was $2.00 in addition to the $175.00 that's charged for renewal. They look like someone used a color Xerox machine to make them and there's a SCL along the side which means Special Call License. Lots of people have asked me what school owns my car.

84587

[NZ9Y]

Pay the extra $55 or whatever for ham tags? Its already about $450 A YEAR for standard plates or tabs on my car. Makes high tax states like IL, CA and NY seem cheap.

And now individual counties are adding up to $50 additional "wheelage" tax. Its just a made up county tax for the priviledge of owning a car in "thier" county.

Atlas can't shrug soon enough.....

[WA4OTD]

Good thing I don't have a zero. Do you mean they can't put a slash through the zero?

I've been happy with my call tag.


Indiana does not know how to make a zero ... so screw them. At least Iowa (amateur purchased dies), Kansas and Nebraska know how to make a zero. Had Iowa and Kansas plates ... one year of Indiana and no more.

[KB9HGI]

Nothing free or cheap in Illinois I have a ham tag and it's 99.00 a year!

[W2CTM]

Everything in the Empire State is so expensive, that I don't even look at the amount anymore, just renew online! Both me and the xyl have had our Ham plates for years;)

[KF5FEI]

Wow. Some places really rake you over the coals on tags. I don't think I've ever paid over $80 here in TX for tags -- and I've owned some pretty large / heavy passenger vehicles.

[N0WYO]

In Nebraska you pay $5 more than what it would cost normally. I need to transfer my plates to another car. Not sure how that works yet.