S.C. starts issuing new specialty-license plates Friday

Update: Check out the new redesigned specialty license plates on the S.C. Department of Motor Vehicles website: colleges, military and a few others.

South Carolina will start issuing new college and military-specialty license plates Friday, the beginning of a six-year rollout that will change all 4.2 million state vehicle tags on the road.

The new plates will arrive as S.C. motorists renew their tags, which happens every two years.

South Carolina’s standard license plates, which now feature an orange sunrise behind a dark blue palmetto tree and crescent from the state flag, will start being replaced as early as 2018.

As part of the redesign, all the new license plates, including the more than 170 specialty tags promoting schools, professional organizations and social causes, will adopt a standard template.

The new plates have a white background with black numbers and letters, and "South Carolina" written across the bottom in black lettering. Distinctive accent coloring now used in special plates will no longer be included.

The new specialty tags will have color emblems — such as college logos — to the left of the plate’s identification numbers and letters. The specialty plates will be topped, between red and blue stripes, with wording in black lettering, such as “Ducks Unlimited” or “Shriners.”

Specialty plates can cost up to $75 extra every two years in addition to the standard $24 tag fee. The additional fee is split between the organization sponsoring a plate and the state.

The new plate designs were required as part of a state law passed in 2013. They will be easier for law enforcement officers to read, Department of Motor Vehicles officials said.

Changing all the state’s license plates will cost an estimated $45 million. The price will be covered by a $2 fee that motorists pay every two years with their vehicle registration, Motor Vehicles officials said.

This story was originally published April 30, 2015 at 2:17 PM with the headline "S.C. starts issuing new specialty-license plates Friday."