§ 31-2-213 — Department to supply registration certificates, plates and stickers; removable windshield placards

(a) The department on or before November 1 of each year
shall furnish a sufficient quantity of plates or stickers,
registration certificates fully completed and ready for
reregistration of vehicles registered the previous year and a
"vehicle register" to each county treasurer. Each county
treasurer shall check and receipt to the department for all
plates received and on December 31 of each year shall furnish an
abstract showing the number of plates or stickers received and
disposed of during the preceding year and the balance on hand
which shall be held subject to instructions from the department.
(b) The department may issue license plates, except
permanent, dealer and antique motor vehicle license plates,
which shall be valid for not more than eight (8) years if annual
validation stickers are attached in the upper left corner of the
license plate with the month and year of expiration clearly
visible. Department authorized license plates and annual
stickers shall be of colors that are readily distinguishable
from the previous year.
(c) The department shall issue a special tamper resistant
removable windshield placard to an applicant submitting a letter
from his physician, advanced practice registered nurse,
physician assistant, physical therapist, occupational therapist,
podiatrist or optometrist stating the applicant has a disability
that is expected to last a minimum of twelve (12) months which
limits or impairs the ability to walk, or to any person
responsible for the regular transportation of eligible persons
with a disability that is expected to last a minimum of twelve
(12) months which limits or impairs the ability to walk who
submits such a letter on behalf of an eligible person. The
placard shall display the international symbol of access. When a
vehicle is parked in an area reserved for the handicapped, the
placard shall be suspended from the rearview mirror inside the
vehicle, so as to be in plain view of any person looking through
the front windshield of the vehicle from the sidewalk or
roadside. For motor vehicles which do not have rearview mirrors,
the placard shall be displayed on the dashboard of the parked
vehicle, on the side nearest the curb or roadside. Upon request,
one (1) additional placard shall be issued to applicants who
have not been issued special license plates.
(d) As used in this section:
(i) "International symbol of access" means the symbol
adopted by rehabilitation international in 1969 at its eleventh
world congress on rehabilitation of the disabled;
(ii) "Eligible person" means a person with
disabilities which limit or impair the ability to walk as
determined by a licensed physician, advanced practice registered
nurse, physician assistant, physical therapist, occupational
therapist, podiatrist or optometrist, including:
(A) An inability to walk two hundred (200) feet
without stopping to rest;
(B) An inability to walk without the use of, or
assistance from, a brace, cane, crutch, another person,
prosthetic device, wheelchair or other assistive device;
(C) A restriction by lung disease to such an
extent that the person's forced expiratory volume for one (1)
second when measured by spirometry is less than one (1) liter,
or the arterial oxygen tension is less than sixty (60) mm/hg on
room air at rest;
(D) Requires use of portable oxygen;
(E) Has a cardiac condition to the extent that
the person's functional limitations are classified in severity
as class III or class IV according to standards established by
the american heart association;
(F) A severe limitation on the ability to walk
due to an arthritic, neurological or orthopedic condition; or
(G) A severe visual or audio impairment that
limits the person's mobility.
(iii) "Special license plate" means a license plate
that displays the international symbol of access:
(A) In a color that contrasts to the background;
and
(B) The plate shall consist of the arabic
numerals designating the county in which issued at the left,
followed by the bucking horse and rider emblem and a distinctive
combination of up to three (3) numbers and letters as determined
by the department, followed by the international symbol of
access. After the county number on the left-hand end, the
license plate may also contain a distinctive symbol or letters,
as determined by the department, indicating the vehicle type. A
special license plate issued for a motorcycle or multipurpose
vehicle shall not be less than three (3) inches wide and six (6)
inches long and shall contain the international symbol of access
and appropriate identification which may be in lieu of the
bucking horse and rider emblem. The motorcycle and multipurpose
vehicle license plate may also contain a distinctive symbol or
letters, as determined by the department, indicating the vehicle
type.
(iv) "Removable windshield placard" means a two (2)
sided, tamper resistant, hooked placard which includes on each
side:
(A) The international symbol of access, which is
at least three (3) inches in height, centered on the placard and
is blue or white on a contrasting white or blue background;
(B) An identification number;
(C) The seal or other identification of the
issuing authority;
(D) An expiration date.
Note: Effective 1/1/2026 this subparagraph will read as:
(D) An expiration date for a temporary removable
placard or the word "permanent" for a permanent removable
placard.
(e) Application forms for removable windshield placards
shall contain the following information:
CONDITIONS AND RESTRICTIONS
1. This placard is nontransferable. It is unlawful to loan
this placard to any person for any reason, regardless of whether
that person is handicapped.
2. The placard shall be suspended from the rearview mirror
inside the vehicle, so as to be in plain view of any person
looking through the windshield of the vehicle from the sidewalk
or roadside. For motor vehicles which do not have rearview
mirrors, the placard shall be displayed on the dashboard of the
parked vehicle, on the side nearest the curb or roadside.
3. Any fraudulent or other misuse of the placard may
result in withdrawal of the placard from the holder pursuant to
subsection (k) of this section.
4. The placard shall be surrendered to the issuing
authority upon death of the holder or when the holder is no
longer disabled.
(f) Applications for temporary and special removable
windshield placards and special license plates, shall be
submitted as provided by rules and regulations of the
department. The rules and regulations shall conform to federal
regulations adopted pursuant to P.L. 100-641, 102 Stat. 3335.
(g) The department shall issue a temporary removable
windshield placard under the same procedures and subject to the
same conditions as provided in subsections (c) through (e) of
this section except:
(i) The disability which limits or impairs the
ability to walk shall be one expected to last not more than six
(6) months;
(ii) The temporary placard shall:
(A) Be of a design readily distinguishable from
that of the special placard by having the word "temporary"
overprinted on the placard; and
(B) Expire on and bear an expiration date which
shall be visible from outside the vehicle when the card is
properly displayed under subsection (c) of this section and be
based on the information in the letter required by subsection
(c) of this section.
(h) Effective January 1, 1993, any person eligible for a
special placard under subsection (c) of this section may apply
to the county treasurer for special license plates for a motor
vehicle owned by that person. Special license plates shall not
be issued to any person who is eligible only for a temporary
removable windshield placard under subsection (g) of this
section. Special plates issued under this subsection are subject
to the following:
(i) The plates shall be displayed only upon the
vehicle for which issued;
(ii) The plates shall be the same color as regular
motor vehicle license plates and shall display the international
symbol of access;
(iii) Repealed by Laws 1995, ch. 127, § 2.
(iv) Repealed By Laws 2011, Ch. 111, § 2.
(v) Any vehicle registered under this subsection is
subject to this article except for provisions under W.S.
31-2-204 prescribing the type of number for license plates;
(vi) The department shall prepare necessary forms and
adopt necessary rules and regulations to implement this
subsection;
(vii) Any individual who is issued special license
plates under this subsection may be issued one (1) placard;
(viii) The county treasurer shall issue a set of
plates for each vehicle and a special license plate for each
motorcycle or multipurpose vehicle registered to a qualified
applicant under this subsection upon payment of required fees.
(j) Special license plates or removable windshield
placards displaying the international symbol of access, as
adopted by rehabilitation international in 1969 at its eleventh
world congress on rehabilitation of the disabled, is the only
symbol recognized in Wyoming for identification of vehicles used
for transporting any eligible person under this section. Wyoming
recognizes and grants reciprocity to licenses and placards
displaying the international symbol of access which have been
issued by other states or countries.
(k) Any person who is guilty of fraudulent or other misuse
of the permit issued under this section is subject to a fine of
not more than one hundred dollars ($100.00) for the first
offense. Upon receiving notice of a conviction under this
subsection from the court, the department shall suspend the
handicapped parking permit for a period not to exceed sixty (60)
days. For a subsequent conviction under this subsection, an
individual is subject to a fine of not more than two hundred
fifty dollars ($250.00) and the department shall suspend the
handicapped parking permit for a period not to exceed six (6)
months.