In Delaware, black-and-white license plates are coveted as a sign of prestige.

Reserved only for low-digit tag numbers, people bid thousands of dollars for them.

So why, pray tell, do they suddenly seem to be everywhere?

“That is not an authorized tag," said C.R. McLeod, community relations manager for the Delaware Department of Transportation after reviewing pictures of several unauthorized license plates.

“Technically, those are illegal tags.”

That's what Jordan Irazabal, who is behind the Facebook page and website, TheDelaware3000.org, said last week, too.

For the past 11½ years, Irazabal has been trying to find and photograph the 3,000 lowest Delaware tag numbers: 1-1000, C1-C1000 and PC1-PC1000.

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"Delaware allows you to have a black tag instead of the standard blue and gold tag if your number is low enough, and there's a distinct look to those black tags," said Irazabal, who has cataloged 2,868 low-digit tags.

But while working to find all 3,000, Irazabal discovered what he says is a disturbing trend.

"Throughout my travels, I started to notice that people were using black tags, but they didn't look correct," he said.

Some had "The First State" printed across the top (which real black-and-white tags don't) or were the wrong size and style. Others didn't meet the requirements for black-and-white plates, which are specific and set by DelDOT.

They were, in short, fake, which Irazabal finds offensive.

"It's honestly sad, and it's eroding at one of Delaware's proudest traditions," he said.

In response, he's started a petition asking police to crack down on people with unauthorized plates. So far, more than 200 people have signed it.

What are the rules?

There are specific rules for who is eligible for black-and-white plates in Delaware. They are historic reproductions, and only one company, The Delaware Historic Plate Co., is authorized to make them.

"Yes, we are aware that some individuals, unfortunately, choose to display an illegal, non-conforming license plate on their vehicle(s)," said Dave Miller, president of the company, in an email.

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To be clear, the illegal plates often have legitimate tag numbers, which police can still use to look up a vehicle's registration. It's the plates those numbers are printed on that are breaking the rules.

Websites, such as licenseplates.tv, produce them and they are often made of tin or aluminum. Customers can type in their tag number and order them.

There are also customizable plates for sale on Amazon.com.

Licenseplates.tv says online that its products are for novelty, and not official, use. But they also come with mounting screws so they can be attached to customers' vehicles.

"You are wholly responsible to ensure that the license plates purchased from this site will not be used in a way so as to violate county, state or country statutes," the website says.

By law, you can only get a historic replica plate if your tag number was first issued when porcelain or stainless steel plates were made.

In order to display a porcelain plate, your number cannot be higher than:

86999 (with no letters in front; example, 63040)

C9999 (example, C8000)

Dealer license plates can only be ordered at a DMV facility and cannot exceed D9999 (example, D2131)

M/C9999 (example, MC3333)

Porcelain plates have a diamond separator if there are more than three numbers on the plate. The diamond separator is placed between the third and fourth number from the right of the plate. Examples: 3♦342, 33♦342, C1♦342.

Stainless steel tags are from a slightly later era, and therefore more numbers are eligible, including PC plates. If your number is 2134, for example, you are eligible for both porcelain and stainless steel.

In order to display a stainless steel plate, your number cannot be higher than:

200000 (with no letters in front; example, 145300)

PC9999 (example, PC8290)

C50000 (example, C40590)

Dealer License Plates can only be ordered at a local DMV facility and cannot exceed D9999 (example, D7490)

FT9999 (example, FT7390)

T9999 (example, T8293)

To order a plate from the Delaware Historic Plate Co. drivers must supply a photocopy of their registration card with their tag number.

Delaware also has special plates, which help raise money for environmental, animal welfare and other groups. Those are issued by the DMV for an annual fee.

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Breaking the rules

State law says drivers have to have a license plate from the DMV or an authorized company such as the Delaware Historic Plate Co. The penalty for not having one is a fine not less than $25 nor more than $50, according to state statute.

It's illegal to make unauthorized plates. The law says if you do, you can be charged with an "unclassified misdemeanor."

But the laws are not easy to enforce.

For one, the DMV doesn't have the power to fine people itself or even take the plates away, McLeod, the department's spokesman, said.

"So DMV will tell a vehicle owner that their plate is not compliant, however, we do not confiscate the plate or deny them from registering their vehicle," he said.

That puts the onus on police, who would first have to be able to identify the fake plates, not an easy task because they look so similar to the legitimate, historical reproductions.

McLeod doubted the plates were officers' first priority.

“The poor police, it’s one more thing for them to do," he said.

Irazabal, who started the petition, thinks police should take the issue more seriously.

"The petition is simply asking police to be trained on what is legitimate and what is not (something I will offer to help with) and to be more vigilant on ticketing people who use these fake black tags," he said.

Contact Jessica Bies at (302) 324-2881 or jbies@delawareonline.com. Follow her on Twitter @jessicajbies.