How Do You Destroy Old License Plates?
There are several reasons why you may have old license plates. Maybe you bought a new vehicle and didn’t transfer the plates from your old vehicle. Or maybe you donated your vehicle to charity or sold it to a junkyard. Whatever the reason, the Department of Motor Vehicle (DMV) has a few general recommendations on how you can decimate them so they can’t be reused. Remove or deface the month and year stickers on the old license plates (if applicable). Use a sharp pocket knife to scrape the stickers off. If you can’t completely remove them, use the tip of the knife to scrape through them so they’re no longer readable. Use a permanent marker to cover up the numbers/letters on the license plates. With the stickers defaced and the numbers/letters illegible, the plates can’t be stolen and used illegally. Cut the old license plates up with a pair of tin snips if you haven’t already defaced the stickers and numbers/letters. Be sure to cut the plates so they are no longer usable.
