How to Make a License Plate Placard
Most U.S. states let you personalize your vehicle's license plates with custom theme plates. You have a variety of options to choose from, but you have to pay an additional fee for these vanity plates. You can choose a particular combination of numbers or select a background image to go with your license plate. It is necessary to learn about the particular laws stipulated by your state before you order a plate so that your request does not get denied.
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Instructions
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Open your state's Department of Motor Vehicles website. If you don't know the web address, open a search engine and type "DMV" next to your state's name -- for example, "Massachusetts DMV."
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Find the "License plates and placards" information page on the website. It should be somewhere in the website menu. If you cannot find it, type the text in the search box and hit "Enter."
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Learn about your state's policies regarding vanity and personalized plates. Generally, you are allowed to choose license plate themes that support particular causes, for instance, "Cure Breast Cancer," "Boston Bruins/Youth Hockey" or "Fish and Wildlife." You can pick any of the existing templates offered by your state on the website.
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Check the availability of your personalized number combination. You will find a page on your state's DMV website for confirming whether a certain number, word or a combination of the two is available. (For example, see Massachusetts' page in Resources below.) On this page, enter the number combination you desire and check if it is available.
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Find out if your DMV's website offers a downloadable application for requesting personalized plates. Download the form and fill it out.
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Visit the DMV in person and hand in your application. After you make the required payment, you will receive a letter within a week or two notifying you that your plates are ready to be picked up. When go to collect the new plates, be sure to take along the old plates to surrender them to the DMV.
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Tips & Warnings
According to Massachusetts DMV, specialty/vanity plate numbers are randomly assigned, so you cannot customize them.
Your DMV is not obligated to grant every personalized license plate request.
Requests for offensive or obscene combinations will be denied.
It takes about 12 to 14 days for personalized plates to be delivered.
An initial fee is charged for personalized plates (between $20 and $60), along with an annual fee that ranges between $18 and $31.
