License Plates on Nurse Wagons

SNAFU.  You know what that stands for right?  We learned this month that some "clean up" changes made in the Illinois Vehicle Code last year accidentally eliminated several important things for agriculture.  One of them is the ability to obtain a title for nurse wagons, which you need in order to get them registered and the license plates which are required by law.  The other makes it illegal to cross the road with an ATV even if you are just going from one field to another.  Farm Bureau is working on legislation to fix the ATV problem, but IFCA just learned about the nurse tank title issue making it too late to introduce legislation this year to fix that. 

However, IFCA has worked out an agreement with the IL Sec of State so that you can still get plates for your nurse tanks if you don't already have a title.  Instead of applying for a title for the trailer (which now requires you to go through an inspection lane, which of course nurse tanks won't pass) all you need to do is obtain a certificate of origin from the manufacturer or bill of sale on the nurse tank trailer and have some type of unique identification number on the trailer that you can reference in your registration application.  If you don't already have a title and are applying for new plates or transferring plates on your nurse tanks, it's best mail the registration application, certificate or origin or bill of sale, ID #'s, a photo of the nurse wagon and the $13 fee for the plates directly to the SOS office in Springfield.  The address is:  IL Sec of State, Commercial Farm Truck Division, Howlett Building Room 300, 501 S Second Street, Springfield IL 62756.  Your local SOS office may not be aware of this special arrangement and may turn you away or completely confuse you.  Please feel free to contact IFCA for assistance.  We plan to introduce legislation next year to fix the problem in the Vehicle Code.  We thank the SOS staff for working with IFCA on a solution so that you can get your plates and stay legal.