License Plates

Alumni License Plates - CRS 42-3-214

Alumni Special License Plate:  A special license plate issued to an alumni association for a private or public college or university located within Colorado that offers at least a bachelor’s degree in an education program and that is accredited by a nationally recognized accrediting agency or association.             

If the organization meets the definitions above, such alumni association may apply directly to the Department for the establishment of a special license plate for the alumni association through rule. An alumni association shall collect commitments for license plate purchases from at least five hundred (500) persons in the form of the petition signatures with the names and addresses of such persons that are provided to the Department.

The creation of an Alumni license plate does not require a bill to pass, and is put into effect by the Department’s Rule, 1 CCR 204-10 Rule 45. “Alumni License Plates,” to include determining the effective date for the Alumni specialty license plate program. 

An organization or an individual desiring information or requesting an application to create specialty Alumni License Plates, may call the Vehicle Services Section’s Customer Service Center at 303-205-5608. 

For Alumni license plates are currently being issued refer to: https://dmv.colorado.gov/license-plates-alumni:

Designer License Plates - C.R.S. 42-3-212

The Department may issue optional license plates with a background consisting of a graphic design representing the state flag of Colorado. For detailed information and images please refer to https://dmv.colorado.gov/regular-license-plates.

Group Special License Plates - Various C.R.S.

Group Special License Plate:  A special license plate that is not a distinctive plate and is issued to a group of people because such people have a common interest or affinity.

Group Special License Plates are created via the legislative process, after the minimum statutory requirements have been met by the organization and certified by the Department pursuant to C.R.S. 42-3-207(5) and (6) and the Department’s Rule, 1 CCR 204-10 Rule 16 “Group Special License Plates”. 

Once the Group Special license plate application and the supporting documentation is submitted to the Department, and approved by the Department’s Executive Director’s Office, the certified organization may then seek a Colorado General Assembly Legislator to sponsor the legislation creating the Group Special license plate.

An organization or an individual desiring information or requesting an application to create Group Special License Plate, may call the Vehicle Services Section’s Customer Service Center at 303-205-5608. 

 For detailed information about Group Special License Plates and images please refer to  https://dmv.colorado.gov/group-special-license-plates.

Military License Plates - C.R.S. 42-3-213 and 42-3-218

Distinctive Special License Plate:  A special license plate that is issued to a person because such person has an immutable characteristic or special achievement honor. Such special achievement honor shall not include a common achievement such as graduating from an institution of higher education. Such special achievement shall include honorable service in the armed forces of the United States. “Distinctive special license plate” shall include a license plate that is issued to a person or the person’s family to honor such person’s service in the armed forces.

Military license plates are created through the legislative process.  Individuals desiring to create a Military license plate should be directed to contact a Colorado General Assembly Legislator. There is no application process with the Department of Revenue for creating a Distinctive Military specialty license plate, besides creating the design of the license plate, once it becomes the law. An organization or an individual desiring information about the creation of a Distinctive Military license plate, may call the Vehicle Services Section’s Customer Service Center at 303-205-5608.

For detailed information and images please refer to https://dmv.colorado.gov/license-plates-military

Other License Plates - Various C.R.S.

Other license plates are license plates that are not special license plates and have specific vehicle, owner or other requirements to be issued them.

Other license plates are created through the legislative process.  Individuals desiring to create an Other license plate should be directed to contact a Colorado General Assembly Legislator.  The below other license plates are currently being issued.  For detailed information and images please refer to https://dmv.colorado.gov/other-license-plates

Regular License Plates - Various C.R.S.

Regular license plates are license plates that are not special license plates meeting the requirements of the issuance of standardized license plate pursuant to C.R.S. 42-3-203(1)(a).

Regular license plates are created through the legislative process.  Individuals desiring to create a regular license plate should be directed to contact a Colorado General Assembly Legislator.

The below regular license plates are currently being issued.  For detailed information and images please refer to https://dmv.colorado.gov/regular-license-plates.

Retired And Eliminated License Plates

License plates that did not meet statutory or regulatory requirements or that were not statutorily permitted to be issued have been retired or eliminated.

Retired license plates are not recalled from the owners vehicle and the owner may continue to have the license plate registered to a vehicle until the registration expires or the license plate is lost, stolen or damaged.

Eliminated license plates are recalled from the owners vehicles and the owner is required to replace them.

Refer to Department published memos for details on individual retired or eliminated license plates.

The below is a list of retired or eliminated license plates:

• 2/4 License Plates - Retired 

• 10th Mountain Division - Eliminated January 1, 2016 with House Bill 14-1089

• Agricultural / Natural Resources - Retired see memo TR08-06

• Alive At 25 - Retired see memo TR16-05

• Always Buy Colorado - Retired

• Apportioned Trailer Regular - Eliminated

• Autocycle - Eliminated March 23, 2017 with House Bill 17-1044

• Breast Cancer Awareness - Retired see memo TR10-13

• Denver Firefighters - Retired

• Knights Of Columbus - Retired see memo TR08-06

• Light Truck Designer - Retired see memo TR05-15

• Masonic Family - Retired see memo TR08-06

• Naval Reserve - Retired see memo TR08-06

• Neighborhood Electric - Eliminated see memo TR09-13

• Olympic Committee - Retired

• Protective Order Of Elks - Retired

• Public Utilities Commissions (PUC) - Eliminated

• Rotary - Eliminated

• Regional Transportation District (RTD) - Eliminated

• University Of Colorado Colorado Springs (UCCS) - Retired see memo TR16-08

Rejected Personalized License Plate Requests

The following factors may be the reason for a rejected personalized license plate request:

• the requested configuration is already registered in DRIVES;

• the requested configuration conflicts with standard (regular) license plate configurations

  • 3 alpha, up to 4 numeric

  • Up to 5 numeric, 2 alpha

  • 1 alpha, up to 6 numeric

  • 2 alpha, 2 numeric, 2 alpha

  • 2 numeric, 2 alpha, 3 numeric

  • 1 alpha, up to 4 numeric, 1 alpha

  • 1 numeric, 2 alpha, up to 4 numeric

  • 1 alpha 1 numeric, 1 alpha, up to 4 numeric

  • Up to 5 numeric, 1 alpha, 1 numeric

  • Up to 4 numeric, 2 alpha, 1 numeric

  • 2 numeric, 1 alpha, 2 numeric

  • Up to 6 numeric, 1 alpha

  • Up to 4 numeric, 2 alpha, 2 numeric

  • 2 alpha, up to 4 numeric

  • 4 alpha, 2 numeric;

• zeros (numeric) are not allowed. (Effective February 1, 2003) with the exception of plate replacements as a result of SB21-069;

• more than seven (7) characters requested;

• more than six (6) characters requested for motorcycle plates;

• more than (5) characters requested for Persons with Disability plates;

• more than (3) characters requested for Persons with Disability motorcycle plates;

• requests for a special character other than the three allowed:

  • Period ( . )

  • Dash ( - )

  • Space ( )

• request for only one character. Minimum of two characters is required;

• an all numeric request must have a minimum of five numbers;

• a configuration possibly offensive to the general public.

Persons with Disabilities Personalized License Plates

Persons with Disabilities Personalized License Plates are available with the completion of the DR 2497 “State of Colorado Persons with Disabilities Personalized License Plates Application”.

Expired Personalized License Registrations

A DRIVES vehicle registration record that has been expired/lapsed for more than thirteen (13) months will cease the personalized license plates associated with it. At that time, in order to obtain the ceased personalized license plate, a vehicle owner will need to apply for the desired personalized license plate configuration at their county of residence Motor Vehicles office or online at MyDMV.Colorado.gov, again, and to initiate a new Personalized Plate Request case.

NOTE: If a personalized license plate has been reserved for auction by the Colorado Disability Funding Committee (CDFC), it cannot be issued until the CDFC releases the plate configuration.

Replacement of Personalized License Plates 

Lost or damaged personalized license plates may be replaced by the county of residence Motor Vehicles office performing an Update Registration activity, or online at myDMV.Colorado.gov.

Stolen personalized license plates may only be replaced by the county of residence Motor Vehicles office.

County Motor Vehicles office shall:

• accept a completed form DR 2283 “Affidavit for Lost or Stolen License Plates/Permits”, if the license plates have been declared stolen;

• apply any applicable credit to the Ownership Account and use it towards their subsequent registration. 

  • Note: Fees for the personalized plates will not be credited.

• order the replacement personalized license plates via the POD License Plate program, which will arrive to customer’s mail box within three weeks (21 days). Note: only the current personalized plate configuration may be reordered.

• Mutilated or illegible personalized plates must be surrendered to their County Motor Vehicle Office.

Personalized License Plate Type Conversion 

Requests may be submitted when the applicant has valid personalized plates and wants the identical plate configuration converted to another plate type.  These may only be handled at county Motor Vehicle offices.  If converting to a Group Special license plate would require a pre-qualifying certificate, or a certificate PIN, it should be obtained prior to the office visit.

If the plate is a Person with Disabilities personalized license plate, the county Motor Vehicle office shall validate the applicant’s Persons with Disabilities qualifications.

Personalized License Plate Recall Process 

There are situations when a personalized plate configuration has been approved and issued but must be recalled at a later date. The possible reasons for a recall may be one or more of the following situations:

• The configuration that was issued conflicts with regular license plate configurations;

• There are two active vehicle registration records with the same personalized plate configuration. The recall will be directed to the individual who most recently requested the personalized license plate configuration in question;

• There are two active vehicle registration records with the same personalized license plate configuration for the same vehicle owner. This may occur if the vehicle owner had the personalized license plates remade for a different type of vehicle (e.g. from motorcycle format to passenger format) and then obtained the registrations for both plate formats; 

• The issued personalized license plate configuration has been determined to be offensive.

Colorado law states that any personalized license plate, which is offensive to the general public, cannot be issued, therefore, a written complaint regarding a particular configuration falls into this category. Letters of complaint are received by the Department from individuals who have seen a license plate with a configuration that offends them. All written complaints regarding “offensive” plates are reviewed by a three-member panel. Upon the decision of this panel or three written complaints, the plate will be recalled for being offensive.

The owner of this plate may submit a written statement which specifies the reasons they feel the plate should not be considered offensive. This statement needs to be directed to:

Department of Revenue

Vehicle Services Section - ASU

P.O. Box 173350

Denver, CO 80217-3350

The determinations regarding the status of a personalized license plate configuration is made by the Department, and will be final.

The county of residence Motor Vehicle office will be notified of the recall, so the appropriate actions can be made in regards to the vehicle registration record in question to update the current registration and to prevent the offensive personalized license plate configuration to be available for a vehicle registration in the future. 

2/4 License Plates

If owners complied with C.R.S. 42-3-206, 2/4 plates may be printed with any configuration with two leading letters and up to four numbers (examples AA 1, AA 11, AA 111, AA 1111) as long as they are on the winner's list. Regardless of how printed on the plate, the legacy system, CSTARS, zero-filled any 2/4 plate that is less than four numbers (examples AA 0001, AA 0011, AA 0111).

The vehicle registration record, registration receipt, and record accessed by law enforcement, tolling authorities, etc. might show the zeros and would not match the printed plate in such  situations. When looking up 2/4 plates law enforcement must zero-fill to find the record. This does not make the plate, the registration receipt, or the registration record invalid and is an acceptable registration in Colorado.

Owners of 2/4 plates may have their plates re-manufactured by applying with the Vehicle Services Section’s designated point of contact. Remakes are made as digital (flat, not embossed) license plates and on the current green and white style.  2/4 plates are not eligible to be printed on any of the historic backgrounds which may be available.  2/4 plates are not subject to SB21-069 plate replacement

Personalized License Plate Reservation Rules

Per C.R.S. 42-3-211 (9), a vehicle owner(s) may reserve their previously registered personalized license plate configuration in  order to retain their right to register this configuration at a later date, even if their current vehicle registration has lapsed or about to lapse. 

Note:  If the current vehicle registration has been lapsed for more than 13 months, and no Personalized License Plate Reservation has been applied, the DRIVES license plate record will cease, and become available through the normal personalized license plate application process to anyone desiring to obtain such personalized license plate configuration.

A Personalized License Plate Reservation can be made for up to five years at the time, but no less than one whole year. The reservation fee is $25 per year, and it cannot be prorated. The reservation may be extended, if desired, for up to five at a time.

Note: The Department is not responsible for sending a renewal notice when a reservation nears its expiration date.

A vehicle owner(s) may apply for a personalized license plate reservation by mailing the form DR 2232 “Personalized Plate Reservation” and the applicable payment to the Vehicle Services Section’s designated point of contact at the following mailing address:

Department of Revenue

Vehicle Services Section - ASU

P.O. Box 173350

Denver, CO 80217-3350

Specialty License Plates Certificate PIN Program

For the Alumni and Group Special license plate programs that require a pre-qualifying certificate for the person desiring to be issued such specialty license plates, the verification of a certificate may be completed directly in DRIVES.

Organizations administering specialty license plate programs have been offered an opportunity to issue their pre-qualifying certificates through the Vehicle Services Portal, and some selected to participate.  This is an optional program and the organizations are not required to participate. The Certificate PIN program allows these organizations to issue certificate PINs through the portal in DRIVES in place of, or in addition to their “paper” certificates. For the purposes of this section and the current programming in DRIVES, a “paper” certificate would be a certificate in any format, other than a certificate PIN (e.g. a “paper” certificate may mean a certificate or a letter printed on paper, a confirmation email, a donation receipt, etc.).

A certificate PIN is a unique identifier, which is issued by the certifying specialty license plate organization, and which carries the information about the specialty license plate type it authorizes, and the name(s) of an individual or business, if applicable, which it authorizes to be issued such specialty license plate(s) for registering on their vehicle. A certificate PIN may be presented with or without a “paper” certificate. A certificate PIN is then verified in DRIVES during a registration activity by matching the specialty license plate selected and the name(s) on the Ownership Account. A certificate PIN can only be used once and cannot be duplicated or re-used a second time, unless the proper procedure to un-redeem a certificate PIN is followed. For more information, please refer to the “CERTIFICATE PINS FOR SPECIALTY LICENSE PLATE ISSUANCE” job aide on DRIVES Intranet.

The correct procedure for using certificate PINs during registration activities in DRIVES, should be, as follows:

1. If customer offers a certificate PIN, please select “PIN” in the transactional drop-down menu on the license plate qualifier validation screen in DRIVES, and enter the certificate PIN in the appropriate field. The system will validate automatically, based on the specialty license plate type and name(s) criteria matching.

2.  If customer offers a certificate in any other format – e.g. paper certificate, electronic certificate (email), or a receipt (for a donation made), please continue to reference the existing memos and reference materials to verify that a pre-qualifying “paper” certificate applies to the specialty license plate type being requested (certificate issued by the correct organization), is in the expected format, valid and authentic. If a pre-qualifying “paper” certificate has been determined to be correct, valid and authentic, please select “PAPER” in the transactional drop-down on the license plate qualifier validation screen in DRIVES.

Additionally, a person authorized by the certifying specialty license plate organization to be issued such specialty license plate, may use a certificate PIN for the selection of such specialty license plate(s) during “Submit a first-time vehicle registration” or “Request license plates” services online at myDMV.colorado.gov.  

For assistance and inquiries about the Certificate PIN program, please contact the Vehicle Services Section’s Customer Service Center at 303-205-5608.

Expired Specialty Plate Registrations

A DRIVES vehicle registration record that has been expired/lapsed for more than thirteen (13) months will cease the specialty license plates associated with it. At that time, in order to obtain the ceased license plate, a vehicle owner will need to apply for the desired license plate configuration at their county of residence Motor Vehicles office or online at MyDMV.Colorado.gov, again.

Temporary Special Event License Plate Authorizations

“Temporary special event license plate” is defined in C.R.S. 42-1-102(102.7), and means a special license plate that is valid for a limited time period that is issued to a person or group of people in connection with a special event.

The organizer of a temporary special event, or the event sponsor organization, may request an authorization to use “temporary special event license plate(s)” on vehicles participating in such events for a limited time, as authorized by the Department, pursuant to C.R.S. 42-3-220 and 1 CCR 204-10 RULE 1. TEMPORARY SPECIAL EVENT LICENSE PLATES.

The event organizer may provide vehicles to event’s participants in lieu of obtaining commercial rental cars, or other purposes directly associated with the temporary special event (e.g. designated photographer’s vehicle, event participant’s personal vehicles utilized for the purposes of the event, etc.). 

Motor vehicle dealers or manufacturers may donate vehicles to the event’s organizer, including untitled motor vehicles operated under Manufacturer’s Certificate of Origin (MCO). The donation or gift of an item requires the sales or use tax be paid by the donor.

In order to obtain the Department’s authorization to use temporary special event license plate(s) on vehicles, the event organizer must submit the “TEMPORARY SPECIAL EVENT LICENSE PLATES APPLICATION” and the supporting documentation to the Department for review prior to being issued the “Letter of Authorization”.

Temporary special event license plate may be designed and manufactured per the event organizer’s request. If the design and/or manufacturing of the temporary license plates is required, the event’s organizer must pay the material fee required in section 42-3-301, C.R.S., and the Temporary Special Event application fee required in section 42-3-220, C.R.S., for each temporary special event license plate requested. Payment of the fees must be received by the Department prior to shipment of the temporary special event license plate(s).

To request the temporary special event license plate application packet, or for more information about this process, please email the Vehicle Services Section’s Customer Service Center at 303-205-5608.

Facsimiles of Colorado License Plate for Televised Production and Media

Requests for use of the Colorado license plate images in a TV show, motion picture, feature film, other televised productions and other media use, are processed by the Department upon receipt of a letter from the production company or a clearance company, requesting permission to make facsimiles of Colorado license plates.  

The following information must be provided in the letter: 

• Company name

• Company’s contact information

• Name of the production

• Synopsis of the production

• License plate serial numbers (configurations) considered for use (the use of existing Colorado license plates is requested, there must be a copy of the written permission given by the vehicle owner whom these license plates are registered to).

A Vehicle Services Section’s designated point of contact reviews the letter and verifies that all requirements have been met, to include researching the requested license plate configurations in order to confirm that these configuration are not  “offensive”, are not currently registered or have ever been registered, and are not likely to be registered on a vehicle in the future.

If approved, an authorization is issued to allow the use of the requested configurations in conjunction with the Colorado license plate images. The Department does not manufacture the “production property” license plates, and it does not provide license plate samples or graphics.

To request the authorization for the use of facsimiles of Colorado license plates, or for more information, please email Vehicle Services Section’s Customer Service Center at 303-205-5608.