[shavy]

Hi all,
Can anyone please tell me what is the process to apply for HOV sticker. I have seen in a web Honda Clarity PHEV is eligible for HOV.
And is that free of cost or do we need to pay some.

Thank you.

 

[Leabhras]

Ca HOV sticker

I assume you are applying for the California HOV sticker.
The website is here: https://www.dmv.ca.gov/portal/dmv/detail/vr/decal
There is a $22 fee.

 

[shavy]

I assume you are applying for the California HOV sticker.
The website is here: https://www.dmv.ca.gov/portal/dmv/detail/vr/decal
There is a $22 fee.

Thank you.
Looks like we need to print and fill the form, then mail to DMV.
There is no online service.

 

[2002]

Thank you.
Looks like we need to print and fill the form, then mail to DMV.
There is no online service.

Before you get it find out how long the HOV sticker will be good for if you get it now, compared to if you wait until January. I have heard people say that you can gain a year if you wait a few months when it's near the end of the year. I'm not saying that's for sure how it works but just saying be sure to check it out because once you purchase your sticker it can't be changed if you then realize you wish you had waited.

 

[your_chum]

Just got mine - was pretty easy but a LONG wait.

Print the form
Fill Out the form
Include a check for $22 dollars
Mail the form + Check
Wait exactly 30 business days
Wait 3 more days for shipping
Receive your sticker
Stick your sticker on

 

[4sallypat]

Before you get it find out how long the HOV sticker will be good for if you get it now, compared to if you wait until January. I have heard people say that you can gain a year if you wait a few months when it's near the end of the year. I'm not saying that's for sure how it works but just saying be sure to check it out because once you purchase your sticker it can't be changed if you then realize you wish you had waited.

^^^
This is so true!

I waited a few days at the end of the year to get the contract sale date on January 2019 for my 2018 Clarity.
That few days helped get me 2 upgrades:
1. Local utility rebate doubled to $1000.
2. CA HOV sticker color changed from red to purple - giving an extra year.

 

[2002]

^^^
This is so true!

I waited a few days at the end of the year to get the contract sale date on January 2019 for my 2018 Clarity.
That few days helped get me 2 upgrades:
1. Local utility rebate doubled to $1000.
2. CA HOV sticker color changed from red to purple - giving an extra year.

In case someone will be purchasing prior to the end of the year, my understanding is that you don't have to apply for the stickers right away. One person was upset because they bought their car near the end of the year and they planned to wait until January 1st to apply for stickers so that they would get two years or whatever it was at the time. Then they found out the dealer applied for stickers for them without asking if that's what they wanted, so now they will only have stickers to the end of the year and the following year, so barely over one year. Once the stickers expire you cannot get new ones, you only get them once. The HOV lanes are really designed for HOV and they don't want them to be filled with EV and PHEV, but they want to encourage EV and PHEV purchases so they allow one set of stickers but that's it.

 

[4sallypat]

In case someone will be purchasing prior to the end of the year, my understanding is that you don't have to apply for the stickers right away. One person was upset because they bought their car near the end of the year and they planned to wait until January 1st to apply for stickers so that they would get two years or whatever it was at the time. Then they found out the dealer applied for stickers for them without asking if that's what they wanted, so now they will only have stickers to the end of the year and the following year, so barely over one year. Once the stickers expire you cannot get new ones, you only get them once. The HOV lanes are really designed for HOV and they don't want them to be filled with EV and PHEV, but they want to encourage EV and PHEV purchases so they allow one set of stickers but that's it.

Yes this is true - some dealers will do the courtesy of obtaining the HOV stickers before the car is sold hoping that customers will be lured into a car that can be driven off the lot and hop onto a HOV freeway lane without waiting for a few months....

My dealer routinely orders HOV stickers ahead of customers but when I negotiated my Clarity deal, I had them make sure they did not order stickers for the car before I took delivery.
My dealer said they get the red stickers but I wanted the newer purple HOV stickers.
The advantage of that meant when I applied in 2019, I got a full 4 years of HOV exemption instead of the 3yrs if the dealer had gotten them.

The other advantage I got was that the dealer was able to pull a new incoming Clarity fresh off the boat instead of a car that may have sat around for months with the HOV sticker already on it.
My car was manufactured in early December 2018 and delivered to the port in early January 2019.
The dealer had pulled that car off the boat, did the VPC and got it my hands super quick!

 

[tommyboy]

I received my HOV sticker from Utah. It is an RFID chipped sticker that goes on the windshield by the rearview mirror. I also get the blue sticker for the back of the car (probably so the state troopers don't pull me over if behind). Pretty nifty. works just like the toll pass chip. You get a green light as you pass under the HOV sign every 3 or 4 miles. In Utah the carpool lane is only on I-15 from south of Provo to Ogden. For $10.00 I bought it even though I live in the southern part of the state. Nice to have when I am in the metro SLC area. I also like that I didn't have to put it on the paint like I did in California (Prius Prime). It is good until 2025.