No More Seized Plates? Minnesota Legal Changes You Should Know
Minnesota Capitol Dome. via Wikimedia Commons
BY MN CRIME STAFF
If you’ve spotted a pickup truck or sedan recently with a white license plate bearing a bold, black "WA" or "WZ" sequence, you know what it means: "Whiskey Plates." For decades, these special registration plates have been the visual hallmark of repeat DWI offenders in Minnesota.
But starting since Aug. 1, 2025, the way police handle these impoundments has fundamentally changed.
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Under the newly enacted House File 2130, officers are no longer required to physically unscrew and seize a driver’s license plates on the side of the road. Instead, the state has moved to a "permanent sticker" system—a change intended to de-escalate roadside interactions while ensuring the "shame" of the violation remains immediate.
The New "Sticker of Shame"
Previously, if a driver was arrested for a qualified DWI offense (such as having a blood alcohol content over 0.16 or a child in the car), the officer was mandated to physically remove the vehicle's plates and destroy them.
Now, under the amended MN Statute 169A.60, officers can simply affix a permanent invalidation sticker directly onto the existing license plate text.
How it works: The sticker effectively "cancels" the plate instantly in the eyes of law enforcement databases.
The Penalty: Tampering with, peeling off, or covering this sticker is now a separate misdemeanor crime.
This change allows officers to clear the scene faster and avoids the "tool kit" hassle on the highway shoulder, but the legal effect is identical: that vehicle is no longer street-legal with those plates.
The "20-Year Trap"
While the sticker is a procedural change, the most dangerous update for drivers is the new "lookback" period.
For years, Minnesota used a 10-year window to determine if a driver was a "repeat offender." If your last DWI was 11 years ago, your new arrest was treated largely like a first-time offense. That is no longer the case.
The 2025 Legislature extended the administrative lookback period to 20 years.
The Impact: If you had a DWI in 2006 and get arrested today, the state now views you as a repeat offender. This triggers mandatory plate impoundment and longer license revocation periods that previously would not have applied.
The 14-Day Rule
The new law does offer one small leniency regarding paperwork. Drivers whose plates are impounded now have 14 days (increased from 7 days) to surrender their plates to law enforcement or apply for new special registration plates.
Note: If the vehicle is registered to someone other than the violator (e.g., a spouse or parent), the temporary permit remains valid for 45 days, giving the innocent owner time to transfer the title or get new plates.
Why the Change?
According to legislative authors, the shift to stickers reduces the risk of injury to officers who previously had to stand between a squad car and a suspect's vehicle to remove screws. It also eliminates the burden of storing and destroying thousands of aluminum plates at police precincts annually.
Bottom Line: The physical act of losing your plates might be gone, but the consequences are stricter than ever. With the 20-year lookback now in effect, thousands of Minnesotans who thought their past was behind them are one traffic stop away from seeing that sticker on their bumper.
Sources: MN House File 2130 (2025 Session Laws, Chapter 29), MN Statute 169A.60 (Administrative Impoundment of Plates)
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