A. "It's sort of a compromise," said Carson Frazier, a legislative liaison for the Division of Motor Vehicles.

The Legislature wanted to respond to law enforcement's preference for two license plates for better identification of vehicles, but lawmakers also recognized that requiring only one plate would cost less.

So, front and back plates are required under state law for automobiles, trucks, buses, recreational vehicles and motor homes. Those categories represent about 94 percent of vehicles on Wisconsin highways.

Police cars and other vehicles owned by state and municipal governments are exempt from the requirement, Frazier said.

One plate is also OK for mopeds and motorcycles.

Another reader complains that his front plate is almost illegible from scrubbing off dirt and bugs. How often does the state issue new vehicle plates?

State law requires reissuance of most plates on a 10-year cycle, Frazier said.

That schedule began in 2000, however, so "this is the first 10-year cycle," she said.

And one reader reports he was issued only one vanity plate and was told he didn't need another for the front of his car.

If that happened, it was a mistake, Frazier said. Vanity plates and other specialized license plates, such as the popular Green Bay Packers design, are delivered by twos if the registered vehicle is one that needs two plates, she said.

-- State Journal staff

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