RI Lawmaker: Drivers Shouldn't Pay For Newly Designed License Plates

PROVIDENCE, RI — As Rhode Island prepares to roll out its first new license plate design in more than a quarter-century, one lawmaker is calling for the Division of Motor Vehicles to waive the $8 replacement fee.

Rep. Edward Cardillo, Jr introduced a bill to waive the fee for drivers switching over to the new plates, saying that "license plates don't last forever."

"We’ve had the same plates since 1996," Cardillo said. "While I don’t object to a fee to replace damaged plates, it seems unreasonable to tack on a fee for a plate redesign when car owners are already paying registration fees every two years — especially when the state is mandating that the plates be replaced."

The winning design was unveiled Wednesday after a months-long public contest. The winning design, which received the most votes of the five finalists, is an updated take on the non-iconic wave design. In total, close to 1,000 entries were submitted to the DMV by hundreds of Rhode Islanders.

The rollout of the new plates is expected to start this summer.