Soon, but not now, says the Iowa DOT, about the arrival of the new license plate design. A few days ago, the Iowa DOTannounced that the newly-designed plates, with the theme called "City and County Reboot," should be in most counties by the end of the summer. Many people (including us) have been asking the ladies at the Benton County Treasurer's Office when the new plates will arrive. During the 2017 Iowa State Fair, interested residents voted (at the Fair, and on-line) for one of three potential replacements for the current plates that have been in use for 20 years. The DOT is making sure that all of the old design plates are used up before issuing the new design, county-by-county. Anyone who has an old-style plate and wishes to replace it with the new design will be able to do so for a $5 fee, when the new ones become available. The prisoners in the Iowa Prison Industries at Anamosa make the plates. The DOT says of thefinal sheeting 3M produced: "It is a new, high-definition sheeting with better reflectivity, which means the new plates will be easier to see and read both at day and night. Best of all it came at no additional cost, so we're getting a better product for the same price." Here are some additional facts about Iowa's new plates:
  • There was no cost for the new design. All design work was done in-house.
  • You can still get personalized plates, this change doesn't affect the availability of personalized plates on county standard plates, collegiate plates, or specialty plates.
  • Plates will still have the county name on them. Iowa law requires that we include the county name at the bottom of license plates (other than collegiate plates).
  • Special processed emblem plates - plates that have an emblem on the left side of the plate that promotes a specific organization or cause - that are produced on the county standard background will be transitioned to the new design and issued as existing inventory is depleted.
Want more information on Iowa license plates? Go to the Iowa DOTlicense plate web pages.