Author Topic: Licensing your EV  (Read 10619 times)

john.emde

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Licensing your EV
« on: March 22, 2008, 01:04:33 PM »

The Illinois Secretary of State's office has made it a little harder to get EV plates.  Early on, one only had to fill out a form and send it in.  Then they required a photo of the vehicle to be sent with the form.  Later they required four photos, front, back, and both sides.   Just recently, they also want a photo with the engine compartment hood open showing what is in there.  It's about time.  Apparently, some have applied for EV plates and never really converted. Or, had no intentions of converting.

One other thing, there is no longer an “A” prefix plate.  All EV plates are the same.

EV plates for pickups --- let's hope so.  An EV is an EV first.

John

scott.taylor

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Re: Licensing your EV
« Reply #1 on: March 28, 2008, 01:10:19 AM »
Well, the good news is I just received the license plates for my electric scooter from the State of Illinois.  No problems to report except for a $3 miscalculation in the fee which required an additional round trip of the paper work between me and the state along with a new check.

The bad news is they didn't send me the electric plates they told me I would get, just the plain old variety.

Scott...

lawrence.miller

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Re: Licensing your EV
« Reply #2 on: July 05, 2008, 01:59:57 AM »
Scott, what kind of electric vehicles did you register? What are the maximum speeds? What qualifications did Illinois require?

I asked the Illinois SOS about registering an electric scotter some years ago. They wanted pictures, as the previous post mentioned. This seems like an arbitrary scheme. I expected, if the vehicle passes DOT, Illinois should accept it.

todd.dore

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Re: Licensing your EV
« Reply #3 on: September 06, 2008, 05:43:37 PM »
I got my temp plates yesterday from the Lombard DMV.  Bob over there knows everything - so he helped the other staff.  I filled out the paperwork and paid $27 for EV plates which are good until 12/2009.  Once Springfield gets the paperwork, I suspect they will require more information such as pix, etc, which I will gladly give.

The temp plates are good until Dec., but my regular EV plates will hopefully be here by mid-October at the latest.

Bob even knew to ask what the top speed of the car is - anything over 40mph gets an "A XXX EL", and anything under 40mph (but presumably over 25mph since it cannot be a low-speed EV) gets an "XXX EL".

By the way, I still have the IL plates for Electric Blue - A 88 EL.  Cool stuff.

chuck.carrington

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Re: Licensing your EV
« Reply #4 on: September 08, 2008, 03:21:42 AM »
I did not get an A plate for my car but it will go over 40 mph. What happens if I go faster than 40 without an A plate?

Chuck

john.emde

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Re: Licensing your EV
« Reply #5 on: September 08, 2008, 11:41:30 AM »

"What happens if I go faster than 40 without an A plate?"

      Your grin gets bigger.

 
« Last Edit: September 08, 2008, 12:05:08 PM by john.emde »

todd.dore

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Re: Licensing your EV
« Reply #6 on: September 08, 2008, 03:26:24 PM »
You may want to go to the Lombar, IL DMV, ask for Bob, and re-apply for new plates.  Otherwise, if you don't typically go faster than 40mph and never take your EV on the expressway, it may be best to not do anything.

nathan.stowe

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Re: Licensing your EV
« Reply #7 on: October 04, 2008, 03:26:01 PM »
Conversion titled as custom vehicle?

I just went to the lombard facility and unfortunately Bob was not in.  So I worked with Carol who is nice and researched the issue, but unfortunately came back with a different answer.  Plates, no problem, title - custom vehicle.  Yeiks!  http://www.cyberdriveillinois.com/departments/vehicles/title_registration/apply_custom_rod.html  Similar process as the ev plates, send in pictures, but then the vehicle must be inspected.  Has anyone had their vehicle inspected?  What do they look for?   I would like to know ahead of time so that I can be certain that it has what ever they need it to have.

Nathan.

rich.carroll

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Re: Licensing your EV
« Reply #8 on: October 05, 2008, 02:59:27 PM »
Boy, the Secretary of State of Illinois is being even less consumer friendly in invoking that rule.  That rule is designed for major reconstructions, essentially building a car from scratch.  The rules for constructing a car that is a street rod, or a replica car are correctly quoted above, but the wording from the SOS is a little disjointed.

You can apply for title under 3 different parts of the law. (Green text from the IL SOS rules)

 1) Vehicles older than 1948 (Street Rods) 
...a street rod that was manufactured after 1948 to resemble a vehicle that was manufactured before 1949 and has been altered from the manufacturer's original design or has a body constructed from non-original materials and which is maintained for occasional transportation...

 2) Custom vehicle - 1949 to 1983 (actually 1949 to 25 years old)
...a custom vehicle manufactured to resemble a vehicle at least 25 years of age and of a model year after 1948 and has been altered from the manufacturer's original design or has a body constructed from non-original materials and which is maintained for occasional transportation...

 3) A Specially Constructed vehicle (not limited in age, but generally considered to be less than 25 years old)
... a type required to be registered hereunder that: (a) has been materially altered from its original construction by the removal, addition or substitution of essential parts; or (b) was not originally constructed under a distinctive name by a generally recognized manufacturer of vehicles...

For Street Rods and Custom vehicles, you need to have a National Street Rod Association form signed by a NSRA inspector.  (more on this later) All applications must include a completed certification by a NSRA inspector. (NSRA originally created the forms, and the NSRA inspectors had them.  Later the form was photocopied with the SOS heading at the top, and the NSRA form below, but some issues have arisen from this)

I believe in all three classes, the vehicle must be examined by the Secretary of State Police for final approval.  Until a few weeks ago, the NSRA form was the gold standard, and the SOS police seemed to defer to that form.  That is, if you had the NSRA form signed by an approved NSRA inspector, the SOS police exam was only a cursory exam. 

My friend who is building a "Locost", (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Locost ) which is a home built car, done in the spirit of a Lotus 7 (ultra light, two passenger, low slung, perhaps cycle fendered car) tells me that the Locost registrations have stalled.  SOS wants to use the NSRA forms and inspectors, but the NSRA inspector claims there is a liability concern.  My friend is currently unable to assure title and license in Illinois for his Locost, and his project is stalled.  If NSRA won't inspect and approve constructin of the Locost on an NSRA form, the SOS will not title or license. By the way, the NSRA inspector would appreciate your being a NSRA member.

All of the above seems to apply to vehicles that have been significantly modified or constructed.  I see no reason that any of the above would need to apply to a conversion of a car or truck, unless significant other work was done at the same time.  You do not need to apply for any of the above types of titles if you were to drop a Big Block Chevy into your regular Chevy passenger car.  You do not need to retitle even if you change brands of engines, so dropping a Big Block Chevy into your Ford Ranger doesn't cause a change in title.  However, if you remove your Neon's engine, transmission, and front axles, and replace with a Big Block Chevy and Turbo 400 trans and a 9inch narrowed Ford Rear end, and use a Mustang II front suspension, well.................., that's likely a different story.

Taking a small car and swapping the ICE (internal combustion engine) for an electric motor should not require that you retitle the vehicle to a new class. (IMHO)

Summary: This should not be a problem for simple conversions.  If you are planning a major (re)construction of your vehicle, I would wait until the SOS - NSRA dust settles a little.

Rich Carroll                           rc@rc.to