Question: How can I replace the vehicle registration sticker that was stolen off my license plate? It doesn’t expire until October! I was hoping I could reprint it at a DMV kiosk but that didn’t work.
Answer: You can replace a lost, mutilated or stolen license place emblem for 50 cents at any of Oahu’s satellite city halls without an appointment; this is an Express Window service, according to Honolulu’s Department of Customer Services. Its website provides the following instructions, which are the same for replacing a missing license plate, although that costs $5.
>> You must replace a missing license plate or license plate emblem. The emblem is the small sticker on the license plate that states the month and year through which the vehicle registration is valid.
>> Report loss or theft to the Honolulu Police Department.
>> Download, print and complete form CSL(MVR)3 (808ne.ws/42hcH0b), which must contain the vehicle’s identification number and be signed by the vehicle’s registered owner.
>> Submit completed form and current Certificate of Registration at the satellite city hall.
>> If replacing a license plate, turn in the remaining plate if only one is missing.
>> The replacement fees are 50 cents for an emblem and $5 for a license plate.
Read more on the department’s website, honolulu.gov/csd.
As you mentioned, Hawaii DMV Now self-service kiosks, located in select grocery stores on Oahu and at other locations throughout the state, “will only process a vehicle registration renewal. (The kiosk) cannot issue replacement emblems or change the name or address on your motor vehicle registration,” according to the vendor’s website.
Another reader asked about replacing a stolen safety inspection sticker, which is different than a license plate emblem. The safety sticker is much larger, and not placed on the license plate. It shows the month and year through which the vehicle’s safety inspection is valid. Under Hawaii administrative rules (HAR 19-142-25), a safety inspection sticker that has been lost, stolen or destroyed “shall be replaced without re-inspection by the official inspection station that issued the original inspection certificate and sticker provided that the current certificate of inspection shall not have expired at the time replacement is requested. If the original inspection station is no longer in operation, the inspection sticker that has been lost, stolen or destroyed may be issued by another official inspection station provided that a current certificate of inspection be presented to the inspection station.” Re-inspection shall be required if there is no evidence of a current inspection, the rule says. Read more at 808ne.ws/19142.
Preschool Aid
The state’s Preschool Open Doors program still has money available to help eligible families send their 3- or 4-year old children to a licensed preschool this school year, according to a news release Wednesday from the state Department of Human Services. The deadline to apply for assistance for the 2024-2025 school year is Jan. 31 at 4:30 p.m., it said.
Subsidy amounts are based on a family’s size and income. Children must be eligible to enter kindergarten in the 2025-2026 or 2026-2027 Department of Education school year (born between Aug. 1, 2019 and July 31, 2021), the news release said.
To apply online for tuition assistance, or for more information, go to 808ne.ws/4arm3bJ, or check the DHS website, humanservices.hawaii.gov. Or interested families can request an application as soon as possible from the department’s Preschool Open Doors contractor, PATCH, by calling 808-791-2130 or toll-free at 1-800-746-5620. PATCH also can help families find a preschool, the news release said.
Write to Kokua Line at Honolulu Star-Advertiser, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., Suite 2-200, Honolulu, HI 96813; call 808-529-4773; or email kokualine@staradvertiser.com.
