South Dakota license plates have a new look. The plate design was unveiled Friday. Jonathan Harms is the Communications Director for the South Dakota Department of Revenue.
“The design has been updated,” Harms says. “And it has a blue sky, there’s a chiseled texturized look of Mount Rushmore in the background, and it’s a grayish type brown color. It still has the Great Faces Great Places on the bottom and the South Dakota script on the top.”
The plates are for a re-issue that begins in January. Drivers will receive the plate during regular vehicle registration renewal at their local county treasurer’s office, self-service terminals throughout the state, or online through the Motor Vehicle customer portal. Harms says this is the first re-issue since 2006.
“So the license plates that are currently on South Dakota vehicles are ten years old,” Harms says. “And South Dakota needs a new re-issue for license plates because the old ones are starting to lose reflectivity, they’re becoming damaged, and generally succumbing to age.”
Harms says license plates are usually re-issued every five years, but budget cuts caused a delay. He says the project is costing nearly eight million dollars.