Will your personalized WA license plate cost you more?
Those personalized license plates on the front and back of your vehicle could cost a few dollars more if the Washington State Fish and Wildlife Department gets what it wants. In the agency’s bill for the 2025 session, the WDFW wants the House and Senate to approve an increase in the cost of renewing personalized license plates.
Personalized license plates became available after the November 1973 election when Referendum 33 was passed. This gave residents the opportunity to personalize their license plates for an additional fee. This fee was earmarked and was to go to the WDFW for environmental conservation efforts. Over the years, the state began to include groups, organizations and sports teams in the personalization mix.
The last time the fee structure was addressed by the elected chambers in Olympia was in 2013. Back then, lawmakers determined that the initial fee for a personalized license plate would be $52 and the annual renewal fee would be $42. Keep in mind that this fee does not represent the total cost of a personalized license plate, just the fee that lawmakers set. A portion of this fee, $10, goes to WDFW for their conservation work.
$52 doesn’t sound bad for a personalized license plate
The more comprehensive RCW states that the fee imposed by the legislature is in addition to any other fees or taxes due established by the agency (in this case, the Department of Licensing). The cheapest personalized license plate, according to the DOL, is shown in the table below:
If you want to go one step further and purchase a WSU plate or a plate identifying the branch of the armed forces in which you served, it will have to put a bit more strain on your wallet:
Both options require an annual renewal fee. WDFW is urging lawmakers to raise the renewal fee to the same price as the original $52 fee. The conservation agency estimates the increase will generate an additional $1.6 million over the course of the two-year budget.
The increase, if approved, will not affect all personalized plates. License plates issued by universities, the military and nonprofit organizations would not be affected by the increase. The rate of personalized renewals is so consistent that WDFW stated in its proposal that they do not anticipate there will be a decrease if the additional $10 is approved.
If you’re thinking about getting a personalized license plate, you may want to act sooner rather than later. The DOL continues to note on its website that license plate production is still significantly delayed due to COVID-19 closures, and there is no timeline for reducing that delay.
If you are wondering
License plates have been made by inmates since 1923, primarily at the Walla Walla State Penitentiary. About three dozen inmates work in the license plate factory. Some plates are also made at the Correctional Complex in Monroe.
