Michigan Is Totally Divided on the Importance of Your License Plate Sticker Placement

It may seem like the most mundane thing to consider, where do you place the annual renewal sticker for your Michigan license plate renewal that comes from the Secretary of State?

For some the answer is obvious: each sticker comes with instructions on how and where to place the tab on your license plate.

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For others, it's a meh, place it anywhere as long as it's there.

Further, it may seem like a non-issue, why would anyone care about where a registration tab be placed? It turns out many do.

The topic came up for discussion recently on Reddit after a photo was posted showing registration renewal placed in the dead center of the plate (that's incorrect) and around the 4 corners of the plate like a bingo card (also incorrect).

For the record, the proper placement is upper right hand corner for standard plates and lower right for motorcycle and the newer Water Wonderland and Water Winter Wonderland plates.

What do Michiganders say about those who don't have their tabs placed properly? It's not kind...

I used to get frustrated by it as well, but then it became a good signal that the person is a bad driver that can't follow simple directions.

Exactly correct! It shows that you need to steer clear of them because they are likely to do something stupid lol

I actually teach my kids this when they start driving! Stay away from any car with the tabs in the wrong place.

READ MORE: This is Almost Certainly the Most Rare License Plate Every Issued in Michigan

There is one opinion that is more than just general frustration. Those who work for the Michigan Department of Natural Resources and have to inspect vehicles for Recreation Passports (it's the additional, optional fee you may pay to grant you access to the state's parks). Having a valid Recreation Passport is denoted by a tiny P printed on the registration sticker.

as a state park employee who has to look at so many license plates daily, it pixxes me off when people have tags in weird places, or multiple tags on their plate, because it takes me that much longer to check if tags are up to date and have a recreation passport. just makes my job harder ESPECIALLY now that the state has decided that all tabs are orange now

The flip side of the coin is the who cares crowd:

it's not that serious and you should mind your business.

How does it impact your life? Move along.

What exactly is the problem?

What laws were broken?

As long as the plate number is readable and the registration has been renewed with proof of insurance I don’t think any laws were broken.

Is there a law about proper display of your plate and registration tab? Yes, it's part of the Michigan Complied Laws, Section 257.224 and 257.225 both spell out the proper way to display vehicle registration and make it a civil infraction for violating the statute.