License plate shortage update
To address an ongoing shortage of standard vehicle Washington license plates, we are temporarily authorizing the printing and use of non-embossed plates.
The transition to non-embossed plates will begin the week of September 23.
Visit our Licensing Express page to learn more.
Personalized
Special plates production delay warning
We're experiencing significant delays in our ability to issue personalized and specialty plates. Due to this delay, you may want to consider waiting to apply for a personalized or specialty plate. We don't have a timeline for when production delays will return to normal.
If you applied and your temporary license plate is expiring soon, visit a vehicle licensing office to get a new one.
We apologize for any inconvenience this causes.
Overview
- Decide what you'd like to have on your plate.
- Find out the initial cost for a plate.
- Submit your application and payment.
- Update your Good-to-Go! account.
- Renew your tabs and plates every year.
1. Decide what you'd like to have on your plate
The characters you can use are letters, numbers, hyphens, or spaces:
- For standard-size plates: 1-7 characters.
- For motorcycle and small trailer plates: 1-6 characters.
You can't use:
- Unusual characters: (#, %, &, @, +, !) etc.
- Invalid letter and number combinations.
- Vulgar, racial, ethnic, or indecent messages.
Use these tools to help you plan your plates:
- See which letter and number combinations are allowed:
- Go to Look up personalized plates
- Under "Questions?" select "Click here for Personalized plate requirements"
- Check to see if your plate is available, look up personalized plates.
- Chose between personalized plates with:
- standard mountain background.
- or
- special design background.
2. Find out the initial cost for a plate
| Vehicle type | Fee |
|---|---|
| Passenger vehicle | $169.25 |
| Truck | $168.50 |
| Trailer | $117.25 |
| Motorcycle | $87.25 |
| Vehicle type | Fee |
|---|---|
| Passenger vehicle | $209.25 |
| Truck | $208.50 |
| Trailer | $157.25 |
| Motorcycle | $127.25 |
| Keep Kids Safe plate | Add $5 to above |
Contact a vehicle licensing office to find out the total cost of your plates.
Your personalized plate will be canceled and available for another vehicle owner to use if you don't:
- Renew your personalized plate within 45 days after the renewal date.
- Transfer your personalized plate to a new vehicle within 30 days of the sale of your previous vehicle.
3. Submit your payment and application
To find out the total cost of your plates, contact a vehicle licensing office.
Mail your payment and Specialty License Plate Application to the address on the form.
4. Update your Good To Go! account, if needed
If you have a Good To Go! electronic tolling pass, be sure to update the contact information on your account with the Department of Transportation:
- Online: www.wsdot.wa.gov/goodtogo/
- By phone: 866.936.8246
5. Renew your plates yearly
You must renew your plates every year.