PHOENIX – Buying a vehicle that needs a new license plate, or upgrading to a specialty or personalized plate? The Arizona Department of Transportation Motor Vehicle Division is reminding motorists that you don’t need to return an old license plate to the MVD.

“We’re working very hard to get Arizonans out of line and safely on the road, and part of that is letting people know it’s okay to keep an old license plate instead of taking time out of a busy day to go to an MVD office,” said MVD Stakeholder Relations Manager Jennifer Bowser-Richards. “The only exception occurs if a plate is mutilated or illegible. In that case, the law requires a vehicle owner to get a new plate,” she noted.

She added, “Customers do have the option of transferring their current plate when they buy a different vehicle, but quite often if it involves merely a standard plate, people will just want to get rid of it. We want to make sure they know an office visit isn’t needed to do that. We also urge people who may not want to keep a plate to put it in their recycling bin as opposed to simply throwing it in the trash.”

For more information on plates and placards, visit azdot.gov/mvd

PHOENIX – A recent change to how Arizona motorists can choose to be an organ and tissue donor at ServiceArizona.com has coincided with a nearly 20 percent increase in the number of people signing up for this important cause.

The increase was measured comparing sign-ups for donations between November, 2017 to July, 2018 to the same period the year before. 

Since Oct. 31, 2017, Arizona Department of Transportation Motor Vehicle Division customers have been able to register as donors when renewing a vehicle registration at ServiceArizona.com, which is the most common renewal method. Previously, that decision could only be made through ADOT MVD when a driver was getting a new or updated driver license or ID card.

Because Arizona licenses are valid until the customer turns 65, and photo updates occur every 12 years, the chances for customers to make this selection were limited. By contrast, vehicle registration renewals for most occur every one to two years. Customers who renew online can click a link to Donate Life Arizona at the completion of the transaction.

“This was an easy decision for the MVD to make,” said MVD Stakeholder Relations Manager Jennifer Bowser Richards. “Organ and tissue donations save lives and it’s gratifying that making a simple change to our vehicle registration process has enabled more Arizonans to become donors.”

For more information: azdot.gov or Donate Life Arizona: DonateLifeAZ.org

PHOENIX –What comes in many colors but ultimately rakes in the green? The answer is Arizona’s specialty license plates with annual sales exceeding $10 million for the first time ever.

During the fiscal year ending June 30, the Arizona Department of Transportation’s Motor Vehicle Division collected $10,617,427 for veterans’ services, families of fallen first responders, cancer research, historic preservation, college scholarships and many other worthy causes. It was easily the most financially successful period in the history of Arizona’s specialty plates.

“The specialty plate program is a real point of pride for Arizona and is a tremendous success,” said Arizona Department of Transportation Motor Vehicle Division Director Eric Jorgensen. “Seeing this kind of continued growth proves Arizonans are both generous and eager to support great causes.”

In the past year, three new plates were introduced that commemorate Luke Air Force Base, the Arizona Science Center and the Barrett-Jackson auto auction. The Arizona State University plate was redesigned and saw a bump in sales over the previous fiscal year. There was also a significant increase in sales of the Route 66 plate that was introduced in 2017.

Specialty plates typically cost $25. Of that amount, $17 is committed to the benefiting organization. They are available online and at MVD or Authorized Third Party offices.

The specialty plate program was established by state law in 1989 and plates are authorized by the state legislature.

For more information about specialty plates including how to order, please visit ServiceArizona.com or azdot.gov/mvd.

PHOENIX – The iconic Arizona Highways magazine is known as much for its award-winning photographs of Arizona’s beautiful landscape as for its stories of Arizona history and landmarks. One of those special photographs – by Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer Jack Dykinga – also gets credit for a popular specialty license plate that has raised more than $3 million to help fund the magazine.

The license plate carries a photograph of a sunset at Saguaro National Park west of Tucson. Nearly 182,000 Arizona drivers have purchased the plate since its introduction in 2009. 

“We needed a distinctive image to set the plate apart,” said Win Holden, publisher of Arizona Highways, which is produced by the Arizona Department of Transportation. “The simple beauty of this plate is what has drawn so many people to it. It’s a great billboard for our state and for our magazine.”

The dramatic license plate even has attracted the interest of drivers who aren’t familiar with the magazine. When Editor Robert Stieve approached a woman at a mall to thank her for supporting the magazine, she told him she only bought the license plate for its beauty and because it complemented the color of her car.

License plate sales, along with income from subscriptions, calendars and books, help fund the magazine, which doesn’t receive money from the state budget. Much of the money raised through license plate sales is used for marketing and circulation programs.

Sales of the license plate have increased each year since it was introduced nine years ago. Fiscal year 2017, which ended last July, saw a record 29,680 plates sold, raising $504,560. This fiscal year, sales are on pace for more than 30,000 plates and more than $514,000 in revenue.

Arizona Highways began as a simple newsletter in 1921 and became a magazine in April 1925. From the beginning, it contained travel stories and scenic photographs. In the early years the photos were black-and-white, and the magazine contained page after page detailing the Arizona Highway Department's (now the Arizona Department of Transportation’s) road-building projects. Editors added cartoons to liven up those pages.

Arizona was one of several states to develop a magazine to entice drivers to explore their newly developed roads. Of these magazines, none dates as far back or has featured the iconic photography that has made Arizona Highways a national treasure.

Dykinga worked as a photographer for the Chicago Tribune and Chicago Sun-Times before moving to Tucson, where he was a photographer for the Arizona Daily Star until 1985. His photos have appeared in Arizona Highways, National Geographic and other publications.

For more information on Arizona Highways, please visit ArizonaHighways.com.

PHOENIX – ASU faithful now have a new way to show their support for Arizona State University’s Sun Devils as the Arizona Department of Transportation Motor Vehicle Division unveils the redesigned ASU specialty license plate.

The plate replaces the primarily gold background and a maroon “Sparky” with a black background featuring the ASU pitchfork prominently in the center.

This is the third version of the Sun Devil plate, which was first introduced along with specialty plates for Northern Arizona University and the University of Arizona when the program began in 1989. Prior to this newest update, the ASU plate was last re-designed in 2010.

Because the ASU license plate is a new design, anyone with the current plate design can request the new plate design for a $5 replacement fee, but the exchange must occur at an MVD or Authorized Third Party office. The current ASU license plate design is still valid for use.

The redesigned ASU license plate has an annual fee of $25 for a non-personalized plate and $50 for a personalized plate, with $17 going to support the university’s scholarship program. Vehicle owners can purchase the new plates at any MVD or Authorized Third Party office location or online at ServiceArizona.com. There are no special requirements to get the license plate. The plate is also available with a disability symbol to those who qualify.

The specialty plate program began in 1989, and in the most recent Fiscal Year sales generated nearly $10 million for charitable causes and services in Arizona.

For more information: www.azdot.gov/mvd

PHOENIX –Online sales for veterans’ specialty license plates have proven to save a lot of time for both veterans and Arizona Department of Transportation Motor Vehicle Division employees since the convenient service launched in January 2017.

Previously, veterans’ specialty plates had to be ordered in person at an MVD or Authorized Third Party office because veterans must provide paperwork authenticating their service in the U.S. military. With the advent of new security and other technical measures, that process has been available on ServiceArizona.com for just over a year.

Because of the addition of digital access, more than 6,200 veterans’ plates have been issued online saving approximately 2,600 hours of customer visit time and 1,000 hours of employee processing time.

“The veterans’ plates not only honor veterans and their families, but also boost Arizona’s economy,” said Air Force Col. (Ret.) Wanda Wright, Arizona Department of Veterans’ Services Director. “In 2017, the funds from the license plates went to non-profits statewide that support veteran needs and events, which impact our local communities.”

“The veterans’ specialty plate is a great resource for Arizona,” said MVD Stakeholder Relations Manager Jennifer Bowser-Richards. “Making these available for sale online allows more veterans and their families to order these very popular plates and to do it on their schedule without coming to a physical location. It’s another way MVD honors those who have served and gets Arizonans out of line and safely on the road.”

For more information: www.ServiceArizona.com.