New Montana License Plates

Plain blue Montana license plates with white letters boasting “Treasure State” went on sale this week in motor vehicle offices for the first time in 35 years, as the new retro design gradually replaces old plates over the next five years.

Maj. Tom Butler of the Montana Highway Patrol, who served on the committee that came up with the old-school new look, said the simpler design, which has only two colors, will be easier to read for law enforcement officers.

“The other side of it is, retro is kind of in,” added Butler, noting the past-era uniforms that are now in vogue with pro football teams.

The last time a blue plate with white lettering graced the front and back ends of Montana vehicles was in 1975, Butler said.

Cascade County Treasurer Jess Anderson prefers the license plate the way it was.

“I would have stuck with the old plate,” Anderson said. “I thought it depicted the state real well, with the mountains and Big Sky.”

The old plates, designed five years ago, sport the phrase “Big Sky Country” rather than “Treasure State.” They depict the outline of mountains and have more colors than the new plate.

Both designs feature a small bison skull.

Plain blue backgrounds are nothing new for Montana license plates.

In 1918, 1924, 1940, 1951 and 1967, the plates were blue with either white or yellow lettering.

“We have 130 specialty plates,” Butler said. “Getting back to something simple and easy to read was something, in my mind, we wanted to do.”

Specialty plates will continue to be offered.

As of Tuesday, Butler had yet to spot one of the blue plates on a vehicle.

“I’m kind of curious to see how they are going to look,” he said.

Sales began Monday, according to Brenda Nordlund, administrator of the state’s motor vehicle division. A total of 54,750 sets and single editions of the retro plates were sent to counties for initial stock. Trailers need a single plate.

Residents purchasing a title for a vehicle will have to buy the new plates, but people who are renewing their registration won’t have to purchase them until being notified to do so on their renewal cards, Nordlund said.

That way, the old license plates will gradually be replaced over five years, she said.

Montana license plates are manufactured by state prison inmates in Deer Lodge. Last year, inmates produced 426,207 plates.

Meanwhile, another change is in store for Montana motorists.

Residents now need to begin replacing license plates every five years, Nordlund said. The change was approved by the 2009 Legislature to avert spikes and valleys in plate production, Nordlund said. Additionally, plates tend to lose their reflective properties over time.

The cost of the new plates is $10 — the same as the old ones — with the cost increasing to $20 for people whose registration is not up for renewal but who want the new plates.

more news at http://www.regplates.com