PHOENIX -- Arizonans now have more options to show their support for charitable and other worthy causes with five new specialty license plates that debut today.

Specialty plates are available online through ServiceArizona.com. Most cost $25 each year, with an additional $25 per year if the plate is personalized. 

The plates making their first appearance today are: 

Alzheimer’s Awareness -- Available to everyone. $17 of the fee supports research to promote the scientific understanding and early detection of Alzheimer's disease and to educate Arizona residents about disease management.

Distinguished Flying Cross – Must be a recipient of the Distinguished Flying Cross medal (proof required) with $17 of the fee going to a special fund to benefit veterans in Arizona.

Fiesta Bowl -- Available to everyone with $17 of the fee supporting charities and programs across the state of Arizona designed to promote youth, sports and education.  

Habitat for Humanity – Available to everyone with $17 of the fee supporting Arizona families in need of decent, affordable housing.

Share the Road – Available to everyone with $17 of the fee going to both the Rob Dollar Foundation and the Uphill Into The Wind organization to promote road safety and awareness for cyclists and runners.

In addition to these new plates, the Arizona Historical Society, Northern Arizona University and Phoenix International Raceway plates sport new designs that have been available since July. 

In the Fiscal Year that ended June 30, the total statewide sales of specialty plates netted a new record of about $11.4 million for various causes and charities. 

Specialty plates are authorized by the Arizona legislature and have been offered since 1989. Authorized plate designs complete a review by law enforcement and the Arizona Department of Transportation. In all, there are now 71 license plate options for Arizona motorists.

PHOENIX - August is the Arizona Department of Transportation Motor Vehicle Division Saves Lives Month. Working with Donor Network of Arizona, the MVD urges all Arizonans to consider giving the gift of life by becoming an organ donor. 

“Organ and tissue donation is one of the best gifts you can give someone,” said MVD Director Eric Jorgensen. “Through our great partnership with the Donor Network of Arizona, we’re able to help make it easier for people to sign up and that’s especially important now as we face the ongoing public health emergency. It’s a great reminder that not only can you sign up during your driver license renewal, but you can do it online during the registration renewal process. It’s never been easier to become a donor.”

In 2019, 263,073 of the 280,531 new organ, eye and tissue donor registrations came from ADOT MVD. 

The story of Dylan Barrier is a great example. At 17 years old, Dylan was adamant about registering as an organ and tissue donor through the MVD. Just a year later, his life was cut short after a head injury from a skateboarding accident.  

Dylan’s love of life lives on in others who received his kidneys, lungs and tissue.

“That was Dylan’s goal in life: To help other people and do what he can to make other people’s lives better,” said Dylan’s mom, Stephanie Barrier.

About 3.9 million people in Arizona have registered as organ donors. Nearly 1,700 Arizona patients and more than 109,000 patients nationally are currently waiting for organ donations, said Nico Santos, Donor Network of Arizona media relations coordinator.

Since 2003, MVD and the Donor Network of Arizona have partnered to educate people about organ and tissue donation and make it easy for people to register. When applying for a driver license or identification card, registering to become an organ donor is as simple as checking a box. You can also sign up while renewing your vehicle registration.

Read more information about the Organ Donor Program on azdot.gov.  

PHOENIX – Even during an unprecedented public health emergency, Arizonans have proven to be firmly committed to supporting charitable and other worthy causes through the sale of Arizona Department of Transportation Motor Vehicle Division specialty license plates. 

For fiscal year 2020, which ended June 30, the total proceeds raised by specialty plate sales were $11.4 million, eclipsing the previous year’s mark of $11.2 million. 

Among the largest beneficiaries are Arizona’s military veterans. The Arizona Legislature has designated four plates to support programs provided by the Arizona Department of Veterans Services. A total of $2.6 million was directed to that agency through sales of Veterans, Women Veterans, Gold Star Family and Military Support (Freedom) plates. 

“The specialty plates not only honor veterans and their families, but also fund nonprofits statewide that support veteran needs, programming and events,” said retired Air Force Col. Wanda Wright, Arizona Department of Veterans’ Services director. "This has been especially useful during these times. With these funds, we've been able to support Arizona's veterans facing hardships during the COVID-19 pandemic."

Customers who wish to select a plate can go to ServiceArizona.com, and, once a selection is made, click on a link for more information that outlines the cause that's supported by the plate's sale. 

The specialty plate program began in 1989. While MVD administers the program, the plates are created by an act of the Arizona Legislature. They cost $25, of which $17 is directed to the program being supported.

PHOENIX – In order to strengthen efforts to protect the health and safety of all Arizonans during the current pandemic, all Arizona Department of Transportation offices, including the Motor Vehicle Division, now require employees and customers to wear face coverings.

“Our first priority is the safety and well-being of our customers and employees,” ADOT Director John Halikowski said. “COVID-19 is a significant health threat and we are committed to doing everything we can to protect Arizonans, especially those in vulnerable populations.”

Based on guidelines from state and national public health authorities, ADOT is making the wearing of coverings mandatory for employees and customers who have appointments at MVD offices and any other ADOT locations where the public does business. This includes ports of entry and Enforcement and Compliance Division offices, VIN inspection locations and the Executive Hearing Office, among others. Previously, only customers at MVD offices with road-test appointments were required to wear face coverings. 

Many Arizona municipalities are requiring people to wear coverings in public, and ADOT urges customers to be aware of the policies in their communities. 

The vast majority of customer contacts occur at MVD offices. Locations have been open since the public health emergency was declared in March, but appointments are required and are limited to services such as first-time driver licenses, first-time registrations and road tests. 

While the face covering requirement is new, since the declaration of the public health emergency MVD offices have implemented a number of procedures to protect the public’s health:

• MVD began limiting all office visits to appointment-only to reduce the number of customer and employee interactions. This also discourages lines forming outside.
• Every office now has clear screens separating employees and customers as well as social distancing markers.
• To further reduce the need for customers to visit an office, a statewide customer service phone line at 602.712.2700 was established to handle some transactions. Customers may also email MVD through the ADOT Contact page at azdot.gov.  Also, online offerings increased significantly with more services added to azmvdnow.gov.
• There is added cleaning of each location on a regular basis.
• Many MVD services are available online anytime at azmvdnow.gov or through ServiceArizona.com.
• Online options are especially important as the customer service experience has been impacted due to the coronavirus. Call center operations have been diminished, meaning call queues can be more than 30 minutes before reaching a customer service representative. 

“ADOT continues working with our telephone system providers to improve the customer experience,” Halikowski said. “We are operating in unprecedented times and our customers are feeling the stress of that when trying to do business with us. We recognize this is not the level of service that the public has come to expect, or that we expect from ourselves, and we are working hard to find new ways to safely and effectively serve the public.”

With employees absent due to illness and quarantine requirements, customer service representatives are feeling the pressure to maintain acceptable levels of service – building on the improvements heralded at MVD over the past few years. 

“Before this public health emergency, MVD was focused on improving the customer experience and reducing wait times in offices. We haven’t lost that focus,” said Eric Jorgensen, director of ADOT’s Motor Vehicle Division. “We know today’s situation for customers isn’t good, and we apologize for that. At the same time, we have offices around the state with front-line workers dedicated to keeping pace with the needs of our customers. Under stressful and hectic conditions, they are pushing forward to provide critical services for the public. We are making process and technology improvements every day to make the situation better for Arizonans.” 

The face covering requirement for employees, customers and visitors will be effective Monday, June 22.

For more information: azdot.gov.

PHOENIX - If you’re used to seeing Arizona license plates issued with sequential letters and numbers, those days are slipping away. The ADOT Motor Vehicle Division now issues plates with random sequencing. The change vastly increases the number and type of plates that can be distributed.

“We’ve had some questions about these new plates because it is a big change and it looks so different from what people are used to,” MVD Stakeholder Relations Manager Jennifer Bowser Richards said.

“One of the benefits of the new computer system now used by the MVD is that we have a lot more capacity to manage how plates are issued,” she said. “That’s a big deal when we have so many different types of plates for trailers, commercial vehicles, motorcycles, the standard plate and all the specialty plates we offer. Random sequencing means we have a virtually unlimited supply of letters and numbers to put on plates and one result will be the ability to add more specialty plates when authorized by the Legislature.”

Most specialty plates help fund charitable causes in Arizona. In addition to making it possible for more causes to be represented, random sequencing will also allow for more plates to be sized for motorcycle usage, which was a limitation of the old MVD computer system. 

This change also affects the temporary plate issued when someone buys a vehicle. The temporary document will display the sequence contained on the permanent plate being sent to the customer. Plates are no longer available at MVD or Authorized Third Party offices; they are sent to the customer by mail.

PHOENIX - Throughout this public health situation, Arizona Department of Transportation Motor Vehicle Division offices have remained open with one caveat: Appointments are required.  

Appointments are available for customers who need to get their driver license for the first time as well as first-time vehicle registrations. Most other services are available online through secure, personal accounts at azmvdnow.gov or through ServiceArizona.com. 

Scheduling an appointment must be done through the MVD statewide customer service phone line at 602.712.2700 during normal weekday business hours. Because call volume is typically very high, and phone-in transactions take more time than in-person services, customers are likely to experience waits of 30 minutes or more when calling in. MVD apologizes for the inconvenience while services are modified to meet social distancing and other pandemic safety protocols.

MVD encourages customers to use online services whenever possible for convenience and to reduce both the phone traffic on the statewide line and potential customer traffic at physical locations. 

Most Authorized Third Party offices are open, many of which can provide the full range of MVD services. For information on hours, locations and services, please visit azdot.gov.  

Customers whose driver license expires between March and September of this year have automatically had that date extended by six months. No office visit is needed until the new date. This extended expiration date is updated in the MVD customer’s motor vehicle record. 

MVD has also begun a new process of providing items such as registration tabs, license plates, titles and other documents to customers. Plates and tabs are sent to the customer through the U.S. Postal Service while titles and most other documents are recorded electronically on each customer’s online MVD account, which customers can securely access through azmvdnow.gov.