An issue that surfaced late during the 2019 legislative session related to “blackout” license plates.
There was a desire to create a new license plate that was entirely black. Dordt University offered a black license plate, but featured additional white lettering. There was so much interest in an entirely black plate, people purchased the Dordt plates and used specially designed blackout brackets to cover the Dordt-specific lettering thus making a pieced- together black plate.
According to the DOT, about 9,000 blackout plates have been ordered- already making it the fourth most popular speciality plate. Because of the popularity, beginning Tuesday, September 3, you can obtain non-personalized blackout plates at your local county treasurer’s office, saving the 2 -3 week processing time if ordered online or by mail. However, your new blackout plates will not have the same letter/number combination as your current plates. Specialty plate fees apply. Due to this change, non-personalized blackout plates will no longer be available to order online.
Should you want a personalized blackout plate, you can order them online. If you currently have a personalized plate and would like to switch your personalized message from that plate to a new plate design you will need to complete the mail in form. You will be required to pay the $60 fee for your new personalized blackout plates. The plates will be sent to your county treasurer’s office. The typical processing time is 3-6 weeks.
While there are bigger issues facing our state than license plates, I am glad that this simple change is such a popular service for Iowans.
