39:3-32. Replacement of lost, destroyed or defaced license plates; reissuance of surrendered plates; fees

 39:3-32 .  If one or both license plates or one or both inserts are lost, destroyed, or so defaced that the numbers thereon are illegible, the owner of the motor vehicle for which the same were issued shall apply to the director or his representative for new plates or inserts within 24 hours of the discovery of such loss, destruction, or defacement. The application shall be made upon a form furnished by the division, on which the loss, defacement or destruction of the plate or plates, insert or inserts shall be set forth.  The application, except as hereinafter provided, shall be accompanied by a fee fixed by the director, the amount of which fee shall equal, as nearly as possible, the cost to the division of replacing the plates or inserts. Thereupon the division may cancel the original registration and shall issue to the applicant new plates or new inserts, as the case may be, and a new registration certificate, if necessary. 

   Every replacement by reason of defacement shall be by a license plate or plates of the same identifying characters as those on the plate or plates replaced. 

   When a person has surrendered license plates to the director pursuant to any law or regulation, the director may charge a fee under this section for the reissuance of the plates surrendered or the issuance of new plates, as determined by the director, in an amount set by regulation but equal, as nearly as possible, to the cost incurred by the division in reissuing or replacing the plates.