New Design for Oregon License Plate, Sept. 17

ODOT release – SALEM – DMV will start issuing a new design Oct. 1 for the Oregon Cultural Trust license plate for passenger cars. When and how Oregonians apply for the new plate determines which plate design will be issued. To guarantee receiving the new design, vehicle owners need to apply ON OR AFTER Oct. 1, 2021: online at DMV2U, by mail, or in person at a DMV office. Orders online or in a field office on or BEFORE Sept. 30, 2021, will receive the original plate design. You cannot order the new plate in advance. Orders placed by mail now likely will receive the new design because DMV is still catching up with a backlog in title/plate work that built up during 15 months of COVID-19 restrictions. Orders received from customers through the mail and from vehicle dealers (who file paperwork to DMV on behalf of customers) will be based on when DMV processes the transaction and issues the plates, not when the customer submitted their application themselves or through a dealer. DMV issues plates in order of manufacture, and the new Cultural Trust series will begin with CU67501. Cultural Trust plates are eligible for the custom (vanity) plate option. The Cultural Trust plate is eligible for passenger vehicles only. You can order one when you apply for Oregon title and registration when buying a car or when you renew your existing registration. If you have an original Cultural Trust plate design, your current plate will remain valid for as long as you continue to renew registration. The Oregon Legislature established the Cultural Trust in 2001 and the vehicle license plate in 2003 to help fund the trust’s programs. Since its launch, Oregonians have ordered 72,175 sets of Cultural Trust plates through July 31, 2021. The plate’s surcharge of $50 will remain the same. The surcharge is in addition to regular title and registration fees, plate manufacturing or replacement fee, and county registration fees if the customer lives in Clackamas, Multnomah or Washington Counties.