Q. I have had a disability plate since 1987. By now the card is quite beat up. Is there any way I can get a new one with the same number without going through a lot of red tape?

A. You can get a new disability parking permit placard very simply. Either appear in the Disability Parking office at the Pawtucket DMV, 100 Main St., Pawtucket with the old placard and the staff will replace it for you at no charge, or mail the old placard to that same address with a note saying you would like a new placard and certificate and one will be mailed to you.

You must include a note stating the circumstances or the placard could be canceled. Please include your current address so the placard and certificate will be mailed to the proper place. In either case, you must return the old placard to get a new one. If the placard is lost or stolen, you must file a police report and bring a copy of that report with you or mail a copy of the report with your request so that that placard number can be canceled and a new one issued. It is not possible in most cases to obtain a placard with the same number.

License plate lotteries

Q. When is the license plate lottery drawn and how do I enter?

A. License plate lotteries for preferred plates are handled by the Governor’s Office of Constituent Affairs. Preferred plates are those with two letters and two numbers, one letter and one to three numbers. You can request a plate by contacting that office in writing at: Governor’s Office, Office of Constituent Affairs, State House, Room 115, Providence, RI 02903. If a plate that you wish to have is available, the office will make sure the plate is here in the DMV’s Plate Department and issue you a card to pick up the plate and transfer it to your vehicle.

A plate lottery is held for all other low-numbered plates — passenger plates of four digits or less, commercial and motorcycle plates with three digits or less, combination, suburban, war veteran and National Guard plates with two digits or less. Enter your request on a 3 by 5 card and include your name, address, phone number, current registration number and what type of plate you are requesting. The Governor’s Office picks the date of the next lottery, but has not done so at this time.

Gina Antonucci Zanni, chief of communications for the State Division of Motor Vehicles, has agreed to answer questions of general interest posed by Journal readers about state motor vehicle laws and procedures. To ask a question that would also be of interest to other readers, send a letter to Ask projoCars, Features Department, The Providence Journal, 75 Fountain St., Providence, RI, 02902. You can e-mail your question to projocars@projo.com. Please put “Ask projoCars” in the subject field. Questions or complaints of a specific nature should be posed to the DMV directly and will not be answered in this column.