Message Plates

Express your individuality by creating and ordering your own unique Message plate in place of a regular county issued license plate.

Message Plates - Fee: $40.00

Your individual chosen message will be depicted on the Nebraska license plate which is currently in issuance (with the exception of motorcycle and autocycle message plates). Message plates are available to motor vehicles, motorcycles, trailers, semitrailers, and cabin trailers.

County Message Plates - Fee: $40.00

County message plates are available to Lancaster, Douglas, and Sarpy county residents wishing to retain their regular county issued plate in place of the alpha/numeric plates. County message plates are issued on the current Nebraska plate in issuance.

The distribution of the $40 fee is as follows:

60% ($24.00) to the Department of Motor Vehicles Cash Fund
40% ($16.00) to the Highway Trust Fund

Order Message Plates Online

We cannot honor a change of plate and or message choice or request for refund after the application has been processed.

Please allow at least 4 - 5 weeks for the plates to arrive at your County Treasurer Motor Vehicle Office.

Apply for Message Plates

Selecting a Message

Check Message Availability Online

If submitting your application by mail, you will be asked to submit multiple message selections. Be very sure that each choice you submit is acceptable to you. Your first choice, if available and approved, will be processed. If your first choice is not available or is denied we will automatically move on to processing your second choice. Once your application has been processed, your message choice can not be changed and no refunds will be issued.

Maximum of 7 characters allowed for motor vehicles. Maximum of 6 characters for a motorcycle or autocycle plate. Eight positions are provided to allow for one space if the maximum numbers of characters are used in the message. (Note: A character cannot be substituted for this space.) Your message choice will be centered on the plate unless you specify otherwise.
Alpha and numeric characters only. All alpha characters are printed in upper case. No punctuation marks or symbols such as slashes, periods, apostrophes or other such symbols are allowed.(Exception: County Message and Commercial plates available only to residents of Douglas, Lancaster and Sarpy Counties and must indicate placement of hyphen.)
Messages that conflict with present numbering system or a valid set of plates currently registered, will not be processed. Due to the issuance of alpha/numeric plates in some counties, messages containing three alpha followed by three numeric characters (ABC 123) cannot be processed, regardless of spacing.
Messages determined by the DMV to express, connote or imply objectionable, obscene or offensive words or phrases will not be processed. You are required to complete the section on the application indicating the meaning of your message. Applications received without an explanation of the meaning of the message may be returned to you unprocessed.
Message availability may be checked on our Online Specialty Plate System by following the steps below:
1. select the appropriate vehicle on the Vehicle Type screen (click “Continue”);
2. select the appropriate type of specialty plate by clicking on the radial button next the correct image (click "Continue");
3. select the type of plate from the drop down menu;
4. type in the message you wish to order; (Note: There is no guarantee when a choice shows available that it is the message you will receive.)

Completing a Specialty Plate Application

Before submitting your application for a Message plate, you must have a Nebraska Certificate of Title in your name on the vehicle. If the vehicle is leased your leasing company must have a Nebraska Certificate of Title in their name on the vehicle. Applicants who are non-resident military must submit a copy of the vehicle’s registration and your name must appear on that registration. The most common reason for an application to be rejected is the applicant has not obtained the appropriate Nebraska title or included appropriate proof of lease or non-resident military ownership.

Registered Owner Information Section

Name(s)of the registered owner(s)of the vehicle
Address (city and zip code)
Email Address(optional)
Daytime phone number where the applicant can be reached during regular business hours (8:00 am to 5:00 pm CST).
Signature
Date

Vehicle Type Section

Indicate vehicle type (i.e. passenger, motorcycle, autocycle or trailer)

Vehicle Information Section

Vehicle Identification Number (please be very sure that this number is correct)
Vehicle Make (i.e. Chevrolet, Ford, Nissan,Toyota,etc)
Vehicle Year
Vehicle Model
Vehicle Body type
County in Nebraska in which the vehicle is currently titled/registered
County number designation (i.e. 1 – Douglas, 2 – Lancaster, 3 – Gage, etc.)
Current license plate number
Title number
Indicate whether or not the vehicle is leased. If leased, indicate name of leasing company.

Plate Type Section

Indicate on your application by checking the appropriate box the type of plates for which you are applying (i.e. Message plate).

If Submitting your Application by Mail

Be sure to enclose a check or money order made out to the "Department of Motor Vehicles" with the appropriate plate fee for your specialty plate.

We cannot honor a change of choice or request for refund after the application has been processed. A $30.00 processing fee will be added to all returned checks.

Applications by mail should be submitted, along with the appropriate fee, to:

Nebraska Department of Motor Vehicles Driver and Vehicle Records Division
301 Centennial Mall South
PO Box 94789
Lincoln, NE 68509-4789

Final Steps

After your application has been processed and your message plate approved (if applicable), you will receive an approval letter by U.S. Postal Service first class mail (Note: if you apply online you will receive an email confirmation prior to your approval letter). The approval letter will indicate the approved message (if applicable), and the date the plates will be available at your County Treasurer’s office for you to register to your vehicle. In addition, the letter will have your County Treasurer’s telephone number to verify the Treasurer has received the plates. You must surrender your current plates and registration when your Specialty plates are registered. The cost of a Specialty plate is due at the time of initial application and again annually in the same month as the vehicle registration. Additional fees for production of the license plates and new registration will be charged. You should allow 4 to 5 weeks for the plates to arrive at your County Treasurer’s office.

Questions regarding Specialty Plates may be addressed by email or phone at 402.471.3918