New Plates Wait is Months-Long; E-mail Updates Offered

HARRISBURG PA – Pennsylvania’s new “Let Freedom Ring” license plates won’t be available until Spring 2025, the state Department of Community and Economic Development confirms. Don’t let that stop you if you’re anxious to get one, it added. Vehicle owners can register online now for updates on the plates’ arrival.

Want to keep tabs on what’s happening with the plates? Sign up here.

E-mails will be sent explaining how vehicle owners can request plates for their vehicles from the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation. Military, special organization, special fund, and specialty plates without legislatively mandated designs also will be updated with the new design.

Designs for the new plates, and accompanying highway welcome signs, debuted Tuesday (July 9, 2024). Signs are already installed in Bucks (on Interstate 295) and in other counties that border other states. Another 29 signs are due for installation in the coming months, the department adds.

Both the plates and signs highlight “Pennsylvania’s place as the birthplace of American democracy and freedom.” They are a precursor to Pennsylvania’s planned state and local observances of the 250th anniversary of the United States in 2026.

Part of PA’s new tourism effort

The designs also intend to complement the state’s “Pennsylvania: The Great American Getaway” tourism promotional efforts. Nearly 72 million people who live within a four-hour drive of the state’s getaways and experiences can be expected to see the new designs upon crossing its borders.

A report unveiled in March (2024) by the Pennsylvania Tourism Office its tourism industry generated $76.7 billion in economic impact. During 2022 it was said to support 486,871 jobs, contribute $4.7 billion in state and local taxes, and welcomed 192.4 million visitors.

Pennsylvania considers itself “a premier weekend getaway destination within close driving proximity to major hubs along the East Coast,” the department notes. “Our main streets and small towns, world-class restaurants and bars, renowned historical sites, thrilling outdoor recreation, and top tier events and sports can be experienced in a single weekend.”

License plate photo provided by the PA Department of Community and Economic Development