Notwithstanding that unhappy experience there was much to be gained from the use of multi-year tags, not the least of which were the conservation of resources and retaining a larger share of registration fees for the state road fund, rather than wasting money buying tags that would be thrown away at the end of the year.
The development in the 1950s of durable stickers that could withstand road hazards and weather extremes for sufficient time solved the problem, and in 1960 New Mexico’s 1959 plates were renewed with a tab and sticker that covered the “59” date. For the next 20 years plates were renewed with stickers alone, excepting only the occasional general issuance of new base plates with embossed dates. From 1979 onward plates have been entirely undated, with only the stickers indicating the year for which they’re valid.
Beginning with the black-on-white design introduced in 2001 for 2002 expirations, all stickers have had the same serial number as that on the plate, with the black-on-white colors remaining constant since then as well.
The New Mexico Transportation History Project is in need of examples of unused 1989 to 2002 stickers, inclusive. If you have any, please Contact us!
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