What Vehicles Are Required to Have Whiskey Plates?

What Vehicles Are Required to Have Whiskey Plates?

We have previously discussed what “whiskey plates” are and when they’re required, but another common question we get is which vehicles are required to have whiskey plates installed. Like the answer to many legal questions, the answer to those questions is dependent on the circumstances of the particular case.

When a person faces a plate impoundment order and is required to get whiskey plates, this order applies to 1) the motor vehicle involved in the offense; and 2) all motor vehicles owned by, registered, or leased in the name of the offender, including motor vehicles registered jointly or leased in the name of the offender and another.

So not only is the vehicle involved in the offense subject to the whiskey plate requirement, but so are any other vehicles that the offender is a registered owner of or even a registered co-owner of. A common scenario involves all vehicles in a family being registered to both spouses. So if one spouse incurs a DWI that triggers the whiskey plate requirement, all the family vehicles will be required to get whiskey plates, regardless of whether the offending spouse actually drives each vehicle. The practical result of this is that the vehicles driven by the other spouse or their children will have to have whiskey plates as well.

But what if the offender was driving a vehicle that was not theirs? If a driver incurs a DWI offense that triggers the whiskey plate requirement in a vehicle they are not an owner of, a plate impoundment order will still be issued for the license plates on that vehicle and it will be subject to the whiskey plate requirement. However, depending on the circumstances, it may be possible for the actual owner of the vehicle to have the whiskey plate requirement lifted in such a situation by filing some paperwork with Driver and Vehicle Services.

Attorneys John J. Leunig and Justin J. Duffy have vast experience handling DWI cases, including cases that resulted in acquittals at trial, dismissals prior to trial, and have successfully overturned DWI convictions on appeal. If you or a loved one are facing charges for a criminal offense, call the criminal defense attorneys at The Law Office of John Leunig, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, at 952-540-6800 for a free consultation.