The concept is very new, but we will likely be seeing a lot more of them soon. In the US, Ford has just become the first manufacturer to offer them on new cars.

The digital license plates are legal in all 50 states, as well as Canada and Mexico, but can only be sold in Arizona, California and Michigan. In those three states, digital plates are now available as an optional extra when you buy a car from Ford dealerships.

The E ink technology used for digital plates gives them a monochrome look, with users able to pick between light and dark modes. Users can also add a personal message to the bottom of their plate, under the registration itself.

Perhaps more interesting is the fact that these digital license plates have 5G data and GPS connections.

Basically, they can be connected to a smartphone app, which then alerts the owner if the vehicle is stolen, showing its real-time location. ​The plates are also designed to survive extreme temperatures and tampering by potential thieves.

The Wisconsin Department of Transportation Division of Motor Vehicles recently launched an online option for ordering special or personalized plates.
Wisconsin DMV offers 52 special plate options, plus the opportunity to personalize. The DMV Special and Personalized License Plate Application portal tracks all the options, estimates the fees and places the order online so new customized plates are ready faster.
Last year, more than 33,000 special license plates, which provide recognition for the sponsoring group, were ordered. 

A specialty license plate featuring Rock and Roll Hall of Fame member and Arizona resident Alice Cooper could hit the state's roadways later this year.
A bill passed by Arizona Legislature and signed by Gov. Doug Ducey earlier this month not only creates a new specialty plate design, but also establishes the Youth Music and Art Special Plate Fund.
The fund is dedicated to helping Alice Cooper's Solid Rock Teen Centers, a faith-based nonprofit based in Phoenix and Mesa that mentors people ages 12 to 20 and helps them discover their talents at no cost.
After researching specialty plates, the nonprofit determined having one would help to gain exposure and some extra income. 

Virginia has the highest volume of vanity — or specialty — license plates per capita of any state in the country with 19% of drivers owning one in 2021, according to a story in Virginia Living, citing stats from the American Association of Vehicle Administrators and the state’s department of motor vehicles. The state offers a wide variety of plates that let drivers associate themselves with good causes and nonprofits.

New Hampshire state’s license plates that include the state motto “Live Free or Die” are made by prison inmates working for New Hampshire Correctional Industries.

​Specialty plate sales in the state of Arizona have raised $11.2 million for shareable cases, according to the Arizona Department of Transportation. Arizona has a population of about 7 million, compared to 21 million in Florida.
 
The causes that the $11.2 million supports ranged from Arizona veterans programs, Special Olympics, organ donation, hunger relief, university scholarships and many others.
 
ADOT reported that money raised has steadily grown for a number of years with $8.7 million in 2015, $9.4 million in 2016 and more than $9.8 million in 2017, followed by $10.6 million in 2018
 
Through a prepared statement, ADOT Motor Vehicle Division Director Erik Jorgensen stated “The specialty plate program is a real point for pride for Arizona and is a tremendous success. Raising more than $11 million in the last fiscal year proves Arizonans are both generous and eager to support great causes and organizations they believe in.”
 
ADOT said that drivers who wish to select a plate can go to servicearizona.com and once a selection is made, may click on a link for more information that outlines the cause supported by the plate’s sale.
 
Once in the portal, it is possible to select and click on the plate style, enter your choice of letter and/or numbers and click to see if that combination is taken or not free of charge. When ordering the plate, one must: Enter the vehicle information for the vehicle you are requesting the specialty plate, confirm record information displaying it’s for the correct vehicle, select your plate sale and plate format (if applicable), view total fees, provide credit card information and pay fee, print confirmation and attach to your current registration until your request plate arrives, provide feedback by answering a quick and simple optional survey.
 
Specialty plates are created by an act of the ArizonaLegislature. The program, which began in 1989, is administered by the MVD.

PHOENIX – The specialty license plate “In God We Trust” has come under fire because the group behind the plate is designated as a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center for its anti-LGBTQ views.
Secular Coalition for Arizona, a nonprofit that promotes the separation of church and state in government, asks on its website “Why is Arizona money funding a hate group?”
Alliance Defending Freedom, a Scottsdale-based Christian nonprofit whose mission is to “defend religious liberty,” has collected $827,000 from sales of the license plates since 2014, according to a spokesman for the Arizona Department of Transportation. The agency provides and distributes specialty plates that have been approved by legislators.
“That’s their right to have their hateful views and to push their hateful policies, but we shouldn’t be using the government to help them raise the money to do it,” said state Sen. Juan Mendez, D-Tempe, who is proposing two bills to offer more transparency on specialty plates.
This is the first time the group has received any pushback on the license plate, said Kristen Waggoner, senior vice president of the U.S. legal division for the alliance.
“Secular Coalition of Arizona is targeting Alliance Defending Freedom and the license plate because it disagrees with the view that the license plate expresses,” she said.
For each license plate sold or renewed annually, the group collects $17. In fiscal year 2018, 11,169 license plates with the motto were sold or renewed.
The state offers more than 60 specialty license plates, according to ADOT. To create a new plate, a state lawmaker must introduce a bill and have it approved by both houses of the Legislature. Motorists can request specialty and custom plates through ServiceArizona.
ADOT’s role is to provide the plates to customers “and distribute the funds generated from the plate sales as required in the law,” an agency spokesman said in an email.
Mendez has introduced two bills, SB 1462 and 1463, that would eliminate the “In God We Trust” plate and require ADOT to keep a publicly-accessible database that includes the names and missions of the organizations that receive money from the plates.
Source: Cronkite Daily News.

Arizona Department of Transportation officials say specialty license plates keep raising record amounts of money for charitable causes.
In the most recent fiscal year ending June 30, sales of the license plates generated more than $9.8 million for charitable causes and public programs.
In the previous fiscal year, about $9.4 million was raised.
ADOT officials say many longtime plates continue to see growth in their sales, but the overall figures were bolstered by the introduction of four new plates midway through the fiscal year.
Those plates support the 100 Club of Arizona, Special Olympics, Grand Canyon University scholarships and preservation efforts for Historic Route 66.