The Redesigned Vehicle Sticker:
The 2009 – 2010 vehicle sticker features several changes and security enhancements. The new stickers make it easier to check for legitimate stickers, significantly reducing the chances for counterfeiting of the stickers. In addition, the new sticker design eliminates the need for a second residential zone parking permit sticker, saving the City thousands of dollars.

New Features:

Mailing and Printing Features:
The primary reason for the new design of the vehicle sticker is to rapidly process all vehicle sticker orders utilizing the new printing and mailing features.

Customized Printing:
For the first time ever, vehicle stickers are printed specifically for each constituent with customized information. This allows for rapid processing of online and mail vehicle sticker orders and a faster transaction for in-person sticker orders. This printing system also allowed us to reduce the need for a second annual residential parking permit sticker and to create more customized fields in the sticker for each constituent.

Self-Mailing Feature:
All vehicle stickers are printed in a self mailer, eliminating the need for an envelope. The self-mailing feature speeds the processing of online and mail order vehicle stickers as they are simply printed on demand and then quickly sealed in a state of the art self-mailing machine.

                

Zone Feature:
The new vehicle stickers clearly display the vehicle owner’s residential parking zone. If no designated parking zone is needed, the word “None” is printed. This feature eliminates the need for a second sticker specifically for residential parking.

License Plate Number Feature:
The redesigned vehicle sticker features the vehicle’s license plate number directly on the sticker. Once fully implemented, this customized sticker feature lessens the chance of duplication, counterfeiting of the sticker and theft.

Security Features:
For 2009, we have redesigned the vehicle sticker application to streamline processing, be more environmentally friendly and improve security. By redesigning the application so that the label is integrated into a self-mailing form, vehicle stickers are printed with personalized information on every sticker identifying the car it belongs to. Security features include the following:

Self-Destructible Security Slits:
The slits are designed so the label destructs when tampered with, minimizing chances for the sticker to be transferred to another vehicle.

Custom Polyester Film and Adhesive:
            

Reflective particles:
The reflective particles in the adhesive allows for law enforcement to authenticate that the label is an original. This also makes it difficult to photocopy or scan due to the reflective nature of the flecks

Breakaway adhesive:
The film and adhesive are specially treated so that vertical segments of the adhesive will break away from the film when the decal is removed. Note that the reflective particles will remain in the stripped adhesive, so the appearance in this area of the decal will be altered. Therefore, it will be difficult to illegally reapply the label.

Polyester film:
This material was selected due to its ability to endure the long term UV exposure.

Barcode Technology:
Product design allows the City to print the label with information specific to the car or truck when the vehicle sticker is being purchased. Law enforcement can quickly identify if the sticker is valid and belongs to the vehicle it is on at the time the barcode is scanned.

Lightfast Inks:
Special fade-resistant inks are used to ensure that the appearance of the decals will be maintained over the lifetime of the vehicle sticker.

Contact our Investigation Division:
The Office of the Chicago City Clerk's Investigation Division handles constituent complaints and suggestions related to city stickers. If you know of someone who lives in the city and does not have a vehicle sticker on their car, or you know of a car that is parked in a residential permit parking zone and does not belong to a resident of that block, or if you believe a vehicle sticker is counterfeit, contact our staff by calling 312-742-9217. If you witness the unauthorized sale of a vehicle sticker, call 911.