The Washington State Department of Licensing provides many different Washington license plates for registered vehicles within in the state. In addition to personalized Washington license plates, you can also pick different special plates that promote different interests such as state’s universities, military branches, wildlife, landmarks and more. Since 1997, Washington State has required registered vehicle owners to get new Washington license plates every 7 years. For $20, Washington allows you to keep your same license plate number. You can also transfer the Washington license plates to a different, as long as the old and new vehicles are the same type.

Standard Washington license plates are currently white with a light blue mountain in the background, which is called the White Mountain design. This license plate costs $30 for initial licensing each renewal. Washington also offers many special Washington license plates, including:

• U.S. military

• Washington colleges and universities

• Sports and hobbies

• Service organizations and associations

• Parks and environment

Most of Washington’s special license plates come with a $40 initial fee and $30 for every annual renewal. A portion of these fees goes to the organization featured on the license plate.

Personalized Washington license plates, or vanity plates, can be issued for nearly all vehicles. These plats must have from one to seven characters, including numbers, letters, spaces, and hyphens. Personalized motorcycle or trailer plates can have a maximum of six characters. The Department of Licensing provides a personalized plate search tool service online so you can check if your desired plate configuration is available. Personalized Washington license plates support the Wildlife Diversity Program. These plates have an initial fee of $47.75 and $30 for each renewal.

The Louisiana Office of Motor Vehicles Public Safety Services offers people the chance to personalize their Louisiana license plates. They provided various designs and specialty plates as well as the option of choosing your license plate number.

Personalizing your Louisiana Car Registration and License Plates

You can use the Louisiana Office of Motor Vehicles Personalized Plate Inquiry page to find information about regarding ordering personalized license plates. You can also search to see if the plate you want is available. To request personalized Louisiana license plates, your motor vehicle must already be registered in the state. Your personalized message provides seven spaces (six for motorcycles and disabled drivers) for characters including the following:

• At least two letters from A-Z

• Numbers 0-9

• Hyphens, (full and half) spaces, and periods

Both hyphens and periods count as one space and a whole space uses up one of your seven spots. You cannot duplicate an existing personalized license plate. Furthermore, derogatory or profane combinations, patented logos, or special characters cannot be used.

Personalized Louisiana license plates cost $25 each year. There is also an $8 handling fee as well as a one-time $3 fee for various administrative services. All other fees for regular registration are still applicable.
If the personalized Louisiana license plates you want is available to register, you can apply by completing a Request for Personalized License Plate. You can then mail this to the office of motor vehicles along with the necessary fees.

Maine’s Bureau of Motor Vehicles provides a wide variety of specialty license plates that are available to anyone, such as popular Black Bear, Lobster, and other vanity plates. Special users can also apply for identification plates, while specialized vehicles in Maine are required by Maine law to obtain specialty Maine license plates.

Maine License Plates of Interest

The specialty plates, or plates of interest include the following:

Public Use:

• Black Bear

• Lobster

• Conservation

• Vanity

Special Users:

• Disabled

• Wabanaki

• Disabled mobile home

• Disabled veteran

Specialized vehicles:

• Special Equipment

• Bus

• Combination

• Horseless Carriage

• Motor Home

• Antique Auto

• Commercial

• Commercial Tractor

• Street Rod

• Farm

• Hire

Vanity Maine License Plates

Maine’s Bureau of Motor Vehicles allows you to obtain vanity license plates for your motor vehicle if you wish to have them. The process is the same as applying for regular Maine license plates. You first must visit your local Bureau of Motor Vehicles and show proof of ownership of your motor vehicle along with proof of insurance. Along with paying the usual fees, you will also need to pay an additional $25 initially and an additional fee each year after paying your registration fee. If you are ordering a specialty plate, that will also be an additional $20. You can search for available vanity plates and order them online through the Bureau of Motor Vehicle’s website.

In the United States, a license plate is issued by an agency of the state government. The appearances of license plates are often chosen to contain colors, slogans, or symbols associated with the jurisdiction issuing the plate. While you can be issued standard license plates, you may also be interested in receiving custom license plates with a special design or a personalized serial number.

In each of the 50 states as well as the District of Columbia, drivers can buy extra-cost vanity plates, which are custom license plates that have a custom serial (sequence of numbers and letter). Usually, custom serials cannot not contain obscene or profane messages. However, this standard of what is unacceptable varies between jurisdictions. 

In certain jurisdictions, vehicle owners can also pay a fee for specialty plates. With these plates, the plate serial is usually chosen by the licensing agency, but the owner chooses a plate design that is not the same as a normal license plate for that jurisdiction. For example, a student or alumnus of an area university may purchase custom license plates plate with the school’s logo, or a camping enthusiast may decide to pay a fee for a plate showing a nature scene. A percentage of the extra cost of these license plates usually goes to a school or non-profit organization as a donation. 

Usually, specialty plates can be purchased without any proof of any particular affiliation or status, with the exception being plates that indicate membership or the ability to use in an emergency like an EMT, amateur radio operator, firefighter or a police officer. 

Other custom license plates can indicate certain accomplishments or backgrounds of the driver. For example, a veteran who was a Purple Heart recipient or a prisoner of war may obtain a Purple Heart or POW custom license plate after presenting the necessary documentation of his or her status. Because custom license plates are government issued, under the First Amendment they must be issued as a type to any organization or group that qualifies under equal terms as any other organization to be issued a type of custom license plate. 

You can get custom license plates from your local Department of Motor Vehicles. To order custom license plates, your DMV will explain what exactly is allowed in custom license plates in that state. Most states will charge an initial fee as well as an annual fee to have custom license plates. Each DMV has specific forms or ways to sign up for vanity plates. For example, to get custom license plates in New York City, you can search online or call a number to do a license plate search and then order one with a credit card. In California, you can order custom license plates online with a credit card or use a request form along with a money order or a check.

Doing a License Plate Search

Although many sites may advertise their license plate search services, the best way to conduct a license plate search is by going through your local Department of Motor Vehicles. DMVs will not only provide a license plate search services to help you look through custom license plates and custom serials, but they will also help you determine if you eligible to receive custom license plates. Many DMVs provide both online search functions as well as phone numbers that you can call to see if the serial you want is available.

For example, in the state of New York, you can only receive custom license plates if you have a valid registration of a vehicle in New York State. You cannot purchase customized license plates if your registration expires with 60 days of the date or the mailing address of your DMV registration record is not the same as your current mailing address. IF you meet these qualifications, you must then have certain information ready, such as your current license plate number and your registration class code. You must then provide the specifications of your plates. If you are using a custom serial, you must explain what the serial means. You can then pay the DMV with your credit card to purchase your custom plates, which will arrive in the mail.

Most states do not require you to surrender your custom license plates if you move out of the state. However, there are some that will ask you to surrender them. If your DMV asks you to surrender your plates, you will usually be able to send them to a provided address without a charge. Some states will also let you surrender your custom license plate if you release interest in your vanity plate in order to switch back to a standard license plate.

Another way to personalize your car without getting customized license plates from your DMV is by purchasing a license plate frame. License plate frames as well as license plate holders can be purchased from third party venders. There are many designs for license plate frames, so they are a good way to express yourself with your car. For example, you can designer frames that can be made of different materials. If you are a fan of a particular sports team, you can buy license plate frames to represent that as well. There are also license plate frames with car logo designs. If you wish to show association to an organization, you may be able to find a license plate frame for it. There are license plate frames for countries, military service, sororities and frats, religious affiliation, scenic pictures, funny sayings, and more.

Like other states, the state of Maryland requires drivers to register their motor vehicles with the Maryland Department of Transportation Motor Vehicle Administration. After registering your vehicle, you can receive standard license plates for your motor vehicle. You can also get personalized Maryland license plates that have a customized designs or numbers.

To request personalized Maryland license plates, also called vanity plates, you can go online through the Motor Vehicle Administration’s website or you can complete Form VR-164, the Application for Special Registration Plates. This completed form can then be mailed to the Maryland Motor Vehicle Administration. You must also send the additional annual fee with the form. This fee can be paid by money order or a check made out to the Motor Vehicle Administration. Finally, you must also include a copy of your current registration card. The process of obtaining custom plates takes about eight weeks.

You can obtain personalized Maryland license plates for passenger cars, trucks 1 ton or less, motorcycles, non-freight trailers, historic vehicles, multi-purpose vehicles, and street rods. 

A Personalized Maryland license plate can consist of any combination of characters that do not exceed seven numbers, letters and spaces. Personalized Maryland license plates for motorcycles the disabled can have any combination that does not exceed six numbers, letters, and spaces No personalized plate can contain a diagram, symbol, slash, or any other character.

An additional yearly fee of $50 must be paid with the original registration and each renewal application for that vehicle. For a two year registration or renewal, this fee is $100.00. This additional fee cannot be prorated.

Like all other states, the state of Florida requires drivers to register their vehicles. After registering with the Florida Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, you can receive standard license plates for your automobile. You can also get personalized Florida license plates that have a customized image or license plate number.

Personalized Florida license plates can be issued to any motor vehicle lessee or owner or lessee except if a vehicle requires “Apportioned,” “Restricted,” “Wrecker,” or dual  truck license plates. Applications for personalized Florida license plates have to be submitted to the license plate agency for prior approval or rejection of your license plate choice to ensure that no obscene or objectionable choices are processed. Aside from the normal costs of standard Florida license plates, personalized plates cost an additional $15 each year for each personalized plate.

Applications for personalized Florida license plates can be submitted at any time of the year. The manufacturer of the plate has 45 calendar days to make and ship the personalized license plate. In general, license plates are issued for that current registration period unless the application is made during an advance registration period, which is three months before the birth month of the owner or designated registration period. When the personalized plate application is sent during the advance registration period and the full registration tax is paid, the personalized Florida license plate will expire the following year. In order to apply, you must fill out the Application for Personalized License Plate, or form HSMV 8304 issued by the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles – Division of Motorist Services. The application should be submitted to your local tax collector office.

When you register your motor vehicle with the Idaho Transportation Department, you will receive license plates. These Idaho license plates are your property, and if you do decide to sell your motor vehicle, you should make sure to remove your Idaho license plates before the transaction happens. Although the state requires you to remove these plates, Idaho also allows you to transfer your Idaho license plates to other vehicles that already own or buy.

The state of Idaho provides many different graphics. The standard one for Idaho license plates can be used for boat trailers, camp trailers, buses, commercial trucks, commercial trailers, mobile homes, motor homes, dealer, loaner, motorcycles, non-commercial trucks, rental trailers, passenger cars, transporter trailers, repossession, wrecker vehicles, and utility trailers. However, there are many specialty plates also available for Idaho license plates. Some of them include the following styles:

• Old timer

• Timber

• Famous potatoes

• Fire fighter

• Veteran

• Peace officer

• Purple hear

• Idaho freemason

• Breast cancer awareness

• Capitol restoration

• Centennial

• Lewis and Clark

• Science and technology

• NRA

• Collegiate

• Support our troops

These plates can also have custom serial numbers. Regardless of what style you choose, there are some rules for each one.

• The personalized Idaho license plate text must be tasteful, regardless of the language.

• Depending on the plate, there are a minimum and maximum amount of characters, letters, and numbers.

• Spaces can be used anywhere on the Idaho license plate, but they are considered a part of the available spacing.

All styles are subject to the standard vehicle registration fees, and the customized plates can have varying costs depending on the style. Certain plates will also require documentation. For example, the Air Force Veteran Persian Gulf Plate requires an applicant to supply a copy of his or her DD-214 or an equivalent form.

Nebraska residents are provided with many choices for their Nebraska license plates by the State of Nebraska Department of Motor Vehicles. The new standard design for 2011 Nebraska license plates is a yellow and green design depicting the western meadowlark bird and goldenrod. 

In addition to standard plates, you can also order many other styles. For example, you can order different specialty plates such as the following:

• Message and Husker Spirit license plates are students, fans, and alumni support the athletic program at the University of Nebraska. These plates have different fees depending on the options that range between $40 and $70. 

• Ham radio enthusiasts can choose Amateur Radio plates for their motor vehicles. These Nebraska license plates cost $5 in addition to other applicable registration taxes and fees.

• Different groups or organizations can make organizational license plates. These have a $70 fee to use.

• Gold Star Family license plates can be purchased by families of individuals who have died in good standing during active duty in the military service. Message plates cost $40 while numeric plates cost $5.

• Military veterans can choose from Ex-Prisoner of War, Purple Heart, Pearl Harbor Survivor, or Disabled American Veteran Nebraska license plates. These cost $5 for each one on top of standard registration taxes and fees.

You can also purchase message plates for cars, trucks, and motorcycles that contain seven characters (6 for motorcycles). In these Nebraska license plates, only letters and numbers are accepted. You cannot use punctuation.  To see if the specific message you want is available to use, you can use the Specialty Plate Search on the DMV’s website.