Voting is open for new design of New York State license plates

What will New York State’s next license plate design look like?

State residents can vote for their favorite of five proposed designs on the governor’s website now through Sept. 2.

The winning design will become the state’s new official license plate and will be available in April.

The new plates will replace the white and blue Empire plates, most of which are more than ten years old, according to the governor’s office.

The state DMV will also stop issuing the “Empire Gold” plates once the new plates are available.

Starting in April 2020, residents with license plates ten years old and older will be issued new plates as they renew their vehicle registration. A $25 license plate replacement fee will be added to the cost of the registration renewal.

Customers can keep their current plate number for an additional $20 fee.

According to the press release, over 3 million vehicles in New York State currently have plates that are ten years and older, many of which are damaged, oxidized, and peeling, making it difficult to read the license plate number.