How to Fill Out Oklahoma Form 797-D: Replacement License Plate Affidavit

Oklahoma Form 797-D is the notarized affidavit you file with Service Oklahoma to replace a license plate, registration decal, or annual boat or outboard motor decal that has been lost, stolen, mutilated, or destroyed. You fill out the single page, sign it in front of a notary, and submit it with the correct fee at any Oklahoma tag agency or by mail. For a motor vehicle, you also include proof of liability insurance.

When to Use It

The form covers four situations, and you check the one that fits: lost, stolen, mutilated, or destroyed. A plate that has faded or become hard to read after years of weather counts as mutilated. A plate taken off the vehicle that you cannot recover is stolen or lost depending on how it went missing.

The same form is designated under Oklahoma administrative rules for replacing annual boat registration decals and outboard motor decals that are lost, stolen, or mutilated.¹

It does not apply if you want a new plate design or are transferring a plate from one vehicle to another. Those go through separate registration processes.

How to Fill It Out

The form is short, but you sign it under penalty of perjury, so the entries need to match your records. Have the following ready:

Owner’s full name and address — street, city, state, and ZIP as they appear on your registration.
Vehicle or watercraft identification number — the VIN for a motor vehicle, the hull identification number for a boat, or the serial number for an outboard motor.
Registration year currently in effect.
License plate number assigned to the vehicle or vessel.
Registration decal number from your current or most recent decal, if you have it.

Check one box for the reason: lost, stolen, mutilated, or destroyed. Then check a second box to say what you need: a registration decal only, or both a decal and a license plate. If the plate itself is intact and only the sticker is gone, request the decal alone.²

Sign in front of a notary. The notary block at the bottom covers state, county, date, notary signature, commission expiration, and seal. The form is not valid without it. Most Oklahoma tag agencies have a notary on-site, so you can usually handle this step at the counter when you submit.

What It Costs

The total depends on what you are replacing. The fees printed on the form:²

Registration decal only (motor vehicle): $9.00 replacement, $1.73 mail, $1.50 insurance — $12.23.
Registration decal and license plate: $9.00 replacement, $6.60 mail, $1.50 insurance — $17.10.
Boat decal: $2.25 replacement and $1.73 mail — $3.98.
Outboard motor decal: $2.25 replacement and $1.73 mail — $3.98.

The insurance fee applies only to motor vehicles. The mail fee is part of the total whether you submit in person or by mail.

Proof of Insurance for Vehicle Replacements

If the replacement is for a motor vehicle plate or decal, your completed Form 797-D must come in with proof of liability insurance.² The verification form from your carrier needs to show the carrier’s name and address, the insured’s name, a statement that the policy was issued under Oklahoma’s compulsory insurance law, the vehicle year and make with at least the last three digits of the VIN, the policy’s effective dates, and the required warning about surrendering a copy at registration. Bring an original. Photocopies are generally not accepted unless the original is presented at the tag agency for inspection.

Boat and outboard motor decal replacements do not require insurance verification.

If Your Plate Was Ever Seized for No Insurance

Under 47 O.S. § 7-606, Oklahoma law enforcement can seize a license plate when the vehicle has no valid liability coverage. If that is what happened to yours, Service Oklahoma will not issue a replacement until every fine from the seizure has been paid and the county sheriff has issued a written release. That release has to be submitted with Form 797-D.²

By signing the affidavit, you confirm under penalty of perjury either that the plate was never seized under this statute or that you have paid the fines and have the sheriff’s release in hand. A false statement here carries perjury consequences.

Where to Submit It

You have two routes.

In person at any Oklahoma tag agency. The agency can usually process the replacement at the counter, and many have a notary available if you have not already had the form notarized. A directory is on the Service Oklahoma website at service.ok.gov.
By mail. Make payment payable to Service Oklahoma and send the notarized form, payment, and insurance verification (if applicable) to Service Oklahoma, PO Box 26940, Oklahoma City, OK 73126-0940.

Mail is slower because you wait for the replacement to arrive, and the form must already be notarized before it goes in the envelope. If your plate was stolen and you are worried about driving without one, the tag agency in person is the quicker path.² You can download the current form as a PDF from the Service Oklahoma website or pick up a paper copy at any tag agency.

1
Service Oklahoma. Chapter 22 Boats and Motors – Section 710:22-5-9
2
Service Oklahoma. Affidavit for Replacement License Plate/Decal Annual Boat/Outboard Motor Decal