ROBERT PIERCE
• Leader & Times
Earlier this year, the Kansas Department of Revenue began to replace all standard embossed license plates, and more recently, KDOR revealed the next design of the Kansas personalized license plate.
The new standard design features the Kansas Statehouse dome within a cutout of the state with a yellow, white and blue gradient background. Paying tribute to the state’s motto, “Ad Astra per Aspera,” the phrase “To the Stars” is inscribed across the bottom of the design.
As for the personalized plates, five designs were put for public vote in August, and after more than 30,000 votes were cast, Kansans across the state chose the design showcasing the iconic Flint Hills as the next personalized license plate design. That design emerged as the clear favorite, receiving 56 percent of the vote.
Seward County Treasurer Mary Rose said many liked the Flint Hills design because it is similar to a past design featuring a buffalo. She added the standardized plate began production Aug. 12, and KDOR has now stopped production of traditional metallic embossed plates.
“They’ll automatically get a brand new plate when they come in,” she said. “They’ll get a paper plate and plastic, and they’ll put that on until their new plate comes from Wichita.”
Once a new plate is received, Rose said drivers will get a new sticker to put on it when they renew their tags.
“That is in effect now,” she said. “They’re phasing out the embossed and the old style. That’s moving forward. We’ll have another personalized one coming out.”
As for the specialty plates, traditional designs such as the KU, K-State, 4-H and “Powering the Future” are being phased out, and Rose said personalized plates will likewise go to plastic.
“We’ll be seeing that coming through the tube soon. It’s a lot of work to do that,” she said. “We’re behind schedule with the new plates. I don’t see that coming in until mid-2025.”
Rose said she likes the design of both the standard and personal tags.
“I like that they went back in and redid the design on them,” she said. “That is nice.”
One thing that is different about the new tags, though, is the arrangement of numbers and letters on the tags.
“We’re so used to three numbers and letters, and it’s different this year,” Rose said. “That’s hard for us to get used to, but I like it. I like the design.”
KDOR said the current embossed plates have significantly deteriorated, and they lose about 50 percent of their reflectivity after five years, making them difficult to read, especially at night, which poses a challenge for law enforcement. Rose said she sees advantages to both plastic and metal tags.
“I personally like the metal plates, but at the same time, I’ve seen these plastic plates take the damage,” she said. “In our country, you have people who are pulling trailers, and you see where they pull the trailers and it has dented that metal plate. I don’t see that so much with these plates. It dents it, but I don’t see the hardship with the plastic plates that comes with the metal plates.”
In terms of cost effectiveness, Rose said the new tags will save money for Kansans as well.
“I think it’s a good choice,” she said. “I like the design they went to personally.”
Motorists can still renew their plates online even if they need a new tag through a PIN number provided for the vehicle. They will be sent a temporary tag, and within 30 days of the county treasurer’s office processing the renewal, a permanent plate will be mailed. Rose, though, reminded drivers that even online transactions for Seward County still come through her office.
“We’re still going to get it,” she said. “We’re still going to process it, and it’s going to be mailed out of our office.”
Rose said in recent years, her office has seen an increase in people completing tag renewals online, but she said in doing so, items such as insurance information and addresses will need to match up exactly in order to complete the transaction. She said tags for many fleet vehicles are done online.
Rose estimated about 70 percent of tag renewals in Seward County are from foot traffic in her office, with the remaining 30 percent being done online. She said there have been fluctuations, however, such as what was seen during the COVID-19 pandemic when many plates were renewed online.
Rose said many of the fleets of vehicles getting their tags in Seward County come from industrial businesses.
“If the oilfield has a fleet here, they’re doing 15, 16 vehicles, and we’re shipping those decals off,” she said.
Rose reminded new residents to Kansas they have 30 days to get a tag in their name. She also talked about some of the other plate designs that were considered for new tags.
“The 4-H one has come through,” she said. “The Wichita one was coming through.”
Before a plate is approved for production, though, it does have go through the legislative process.
“It’s a whole process they have to do to get their tags approved,” Rose said. “They get it, and the treasurers find out, ‘This is when this one’s going to production, and these are the ones that are coming through.’ Usually, it’s about four or five at a time. It’s not just one or two. They run a whole bunch through.”
Rose said she does not see much difference, aside from the design, between the new personalized plates and the new standard plates.
“They both say ‘Kansas,’” she said. “They both say ‘To the Stars.’ The only difference is the sunset and Topeka.”
New standard plates are only 50 cents, but personalized tags are more. Rose said other than the designs, motorists should not see any other differences in the tagging process for their vehicles.
