A wide variety of Minnesota license plates now being issued bear a somewhat different look. These new plates display the letters WX, WY, XW etc., printed with blue letters on a silver plate. These plates commonly referred to as "whiskey" plates are issued to permit licensed drivers to operate a motor vehicle when the original license plates have been impounded by court order or through administrative action. Department or court permission is required for issuance and ownership transfer of these special plates.
Examples of when regular plates may be seized:
- 2nd drug or alcohol related violation in 10 years?
- Commercial vehicle disqualification
- Driving with a BAC of .20 or more
- While having a child under the age of 16 in the vehicle if the child is more than 36 months younger than the offender
- Violators drivers license is canceled-IPS (DWI or sober)
Impoundment order(s) to seize the regular plates may include all plates that are registered by the violator; the plates must be turned in to the DPS (Department of Public Safety) in seven (7) days. Any regular plates on any vehicle that the violator is currently driving will be seized and destroyed, regardless of ownership. If the violator is on an ATV, snowmobile or boat, the license plates on the vehicles registered to the violator will be seized as well.
Special registration plates issuance: Special series registration plates may be issued to a vehicle owner if they have a valid or limited license. A person does have the option to request an administrative review as well as judicial review during this process.
In 2003 the Minnesota Supreme Court ruled unconstitutional Minnesota State Statute 168.0422 which authorizes law enforcement to stop motorists based solely on the presence of special series registration plates. The court held that the presence of special series plates alone does not amount to reasonable articulable suspicion to justify the stop of a motorist.
Please contact your local law enforcement agency or Minnesota Department of Driver and Vehicle services for any additional information.