Number Plate Changes – New York

Although a plan for New York State to raise $130 million in vehicle registration fees by switching to a blue-and-gold number plate was abandoned in late December 2009, the plates are still forthcoming under a revised plan.

Greene County Clerk Michael Flynn said Friday that the new plates, called Empire Gold, will begin being phased in on April 1, but that their use will no longer be automatically mandatory for all registration number plates.

Flynn said people wanting to keep their existing blue-and-white Liberty plates when they renew an expiring registration will be allowed to do so, but that the state will, however, require all new vehicle registrations to use the Empire Gold number plate.