The first orders for Pennsylvania's newly-designed license plate are being accepted by PennDOT.
The revamped design — which features the Liberty Bell and includes the slogan "Let Freedom Ring" — is meant to coincide with next year's celebration of the nation's 250th birthday.
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"With all eyes on Pennsylvania, our new license plates will celebrate that heritage — and remind the country that here in Pennsylvania, we will let freedom ring," Gov. Josh Shapiro said last summer, when the new design was unveiled.
People who had signed up for alerts about the availability of the new plates received emails from PennDOT on Tuesday with an application to request a replacement plate. The fee to swap plates with the new design is $13.
The new plates are available for standard vehicles and trucks, including those with existing personalized plates. Requests for new personalized plates also can be made for the updated design.
People who have specialty plates for the military, special funds and organizations only will be able to get a standard version of the new design without those designations.
A PennDOT spokesperson said the agency will process requests for the new plates based on when people signed up for alerts about them. In the meantime, PennDOT and its partners will use up the remaining inventory of the old license plate design. Orders for the new design are expected to be open to the general public in the coming weeks, and more information will be posted on PennDOT's website when the plates are available.
The updated look is a departure from Pennsylvania's typical license plate color scheme of yellow and blue, which had been used in every design going back to the 1920s. The change is Pennsylvania's first since 2017, when a subtle outline of the state was added to the top left of the design that was introduced in 2004. Before that, between 1991 and 2004, the license plate had a solid blue background and yellow lettering with "Keystone State" written across the top.
The redesign is part of Pennsylvania's rebranding of signage and tourism materials, including the welcome signs that can be found along state borders and feature the same concept as the new license plate.
PennDOT did not say how soon it will deliver the new license plates, but drivers can expect to start seeing them on the road in the coming months.