Steve just told me about Nevada license plates and registration, and the have a good system going (thanks Steve!)

In Nevada all the info is on one sticker

a) Most states change the color of the year stickers so the police can spot a really out-of-date registration from afar. 

b) The year printed on it indicates that you didn't reuse an old sticker, or just color the sticker yourself.

c) The number 12 tells the cop that the plate expires in December. 

d) The name 'Nevada' indicates that you didn't stick on a yellow sticker from another state.

e) The license plate number on the sticker shows that the sticker wasn't razorbladed off of another car (which was a problem until the DMV started that). This eliminates the need for a separate serial number for the sticker.

Nevada also has self-serve kiosks all over the place, just go to the local Albertsons to renew and the sticker prints right then and there.