Colorado committee passes vehicle registration bill

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(The Center Square) - License plate transfers could get a bit easier in Colorado after a state legislative committee approved a bill that would let residents move license plates between vehicles.

The Colorado House Appropriations Committee unanimously passed House Bill 26-1053 Friday morning, crossing party lines for the issue. The Motor Vehicle Regulation Administration bill will now head to the full House on March 16 to be read for the third and final time. If passed, it will go to the state Senate for consideration.

“Upon request of the owner of a motor vehicle, the department may transfer a number plate from one motor vehicle to another motor vehicle if at least one person is listed as an owner on the certificate of title for each motor vehicle,” read the bill.

The no-frills bill aims to simplify new vehicle registrations by allowing Coloradans to transfer their license plates over from one owner to the next. License plates are currently retired when a car changes ownership, but the legislation would allow people to apply to keep their existing license plate after purchasing a car.

HB 26-1053, was introduced Jan. 14 and is sponsored by Rep. Tisha Mauro, D-46th District; Sen. Byron Pelton, R-1st District, and Sen Katie Wallace, D-17th District. If passed, the license plate change would go into effect Jan. 1, 2028.

On Friday, the committee also approved a short amendment to the bill, setting aside roughly $18,000 for the Colorado Driver License, Record, Identification and Vehicle Enterprise Solution (Colorado DRIVES) program.

The bill also made a number of other administrative changes, such as excluding professional firefighter license plates from the new transfer rule.

While the bill did not specify how much the application to keep a car’s license plate after its transfer would cost, the standard Colorado license plate set is currently $7.38.