After public meetings and consultations with the Missouri Highway Patrol, a new automobile license plate design was selected by an Advisory Committee in late January 2017. The design commemorates Missouri’s 200th anniversary of statehood on August 10, 2021. The color palette honors the Missouri state flag with the use of red, white, and blue.

The new Missouri license plate will be available starting on January 1, 2019.

According to Gary Kremer, the State Historical Society of Missouri’s executive director, the Advisory Committee also worked to find a design that represented the entire state. “The waves in the bands of color represent a river,” Kremer said. “Rivers are an important symbol for Missouri, as waterways figured prominently in the state’s historic role as a gateway for American exploration and transportation.”

Ruth Otto of the Motor Vehicle and Driver’s License Division at the Missouri Department of Revenue agreed. “This design option is universal to the state of Missouri and not specific to a certain region of the state,” she said.

The selected design also had the greatest readability when tested by the Missouri State Highway Patrol, according to Lieutenant Brian L. Daniel. “We placed the sample plates on a vehicle and positioned a patrol car 50 feet behind the test vehicle to ensure officers could read the plate,” Daniel said. “This test was completed both during the day and night. The patrol car’s head lights, emergency lights, and spot light were also utilized to determine if the plate’s reflectivity compromised the readability of the plate.”

The bicentennial design will replace the current Missouri bluebird license plate. State law requires the Department of Revenue to begin a full reissuance of license plates with the new plate design in January 2019. “Plates will be issued on or before January 1, 2019,” Otto said. “If we have the plates produced and distributed to the license offices before January 1, 2019, we will begin issuing sooner than this date.”

House Bill 2380 established the Advisory Committee in 2016 to develop and approve a new motor vehicle license plate design commemorating the bicentennial of Missouri. The committee held public meetings last year in St. Louis, Kansas City, Springfield, and Poplar Bluff to gather input on the design.

Committee members included the director of the Department of Revenue or his or her designee, the superintendent of the Highway Patrol, the correctional enterprises administrator, the director of the Department of Transportation, the executive director of the State Historical Society of Missouri, and the respective chairpersons of both the Senate and House of Representatives Transportation Committees.

Online Voting begins September 27, Meetings to be held throughout the Show-Me State

All Missourians are encouraged to help select the design of a new automobile license plate, which will be out in time for the Show-Me State’s bicentennial in 2021. Options for the plate design will be presented at four public hearings across the state:

Missouri Bicentennial License Plate Options

• September 27 at the Southwest District–Missouri Department of Transportation building (3025 E Kearney Street, Springfield, MO 65803), phone 417.895.7600
• October 11 at the Kansas City Area District– MoDOT building (600 NE Colbern Road, Lee’s Summit, MO 64086), phone 816.607.2000
• October 25 at the MoDOT Transportation Management Center (14301 South Outer 40 Road, Town and Country, MO 63017), phone 314.275.1500
• November 1 at the Tinnin Fine Arts Center (Tinnin Fine Arts Center, Poplar Bluff, MO 63901), phone 573.840.9605

All sessions begin at 6 p.m. The public is invited to discuss the plate options at the meetings. Online voting will be open from September 27 until through December 1 on this website.

Missouri became the nation’s twenty-fourth state on August 10, 1821. Planning for statewide commemorations began in 2013, after the 97th General Assembly selected the State Historical Society of Missouri to spearhead the efforts.

“It was essential that the process start when it did,” said Gary Kremer, SHSMO executive director. “The bicentennial license plate is the first step of many to help ensure that all Missourians are a part of the state’s celebration.”

State Representative Glen Kolkmeyer of Missouri’s 53rd District sponsored the legislation, and Dave Schatz, Senator from the 26th District, helped ensure the effort progressed on the Senate floor. On July 1, 2016, Missouri Governor Jay Nixon signed House Bill 2380, authorizing the bicentennial plate.

SHSMO trustee Doug Crews has also been an instrumental figure in the project. “A lot of people helped bring the idea of a bicentennial license plate this far. We are thankful to the Governor, Representative Kolkmeyer, and Senator Schatz for their support,” Crews said.

The public meetings were organized by the Bicentennial License Plate Advisory Committee, created by HB 2380. Members include leaders from the State Historical Society, Department of Revenue, State Highway Patrol, Department of Corrections, and Department of Transportation, as well as the chairpersons of the transportation committees in both houses of Missouri’s General Assembly.

All Missourians can celebrate 200 years of statehood with a new automobile license plate that will be out in time for the Show-Me State’s bicentennial. The plate, to be designed no later than January 1, 2017, will be issued to Missouri drivers starting January 1, 2019.

Missouri State Capitol Building

Jay Nixon, Missouri’s governor, signed House Bill 2380 authorizing the bicentennial plate on July 1.
“It was essential that the process start when it did,” said Gary Kremer, SHSMO executive director. “This is the first step of many to help ensure that all Missourians are a part of the state’s celebration.”

Glen Kolkmeyer, Missouri state representative from the 53rd District, sponsored the legislation, and Dave Schatz, senator from the 26th District, helped ensure the effort progressed on the senate floor.

The final resolution, which does not affect personalized license plates, designated an advisory committee for the project. In addition to a State Historical Society representative, the committee includes leaders from the Department of Revenue, State Highway Patrol, Department of Corrections, and Department of Transportation, as well as the chairpersons of the transportation committees in both houses of Missouri’s General Assembly.

SHSMO trustee Doug Crews has been an instrumental figure in the project. “A lot of people helped bring the idea of a bicentennial license plate this far,” Crews said. “We are thankful to the Governor, Representative Kolkmeyer, and Senator Schatz for their support. Now we get to work together to find a design that reflects the unique blend of people, regions, and places that make up Missouri.”

For updates on the project, continue to visit this site.