How Much Does a Custom License Plate Cost in Oregon?

A custom license plate in Oregon costs $50 per year for personalized characters, which works out to $100 on a standard two-year registration or $200 on the four-year registration that comes with a new vehicle.¹ If you want a special background design instead of (or in addition to) personalized characters, the surcharge runs from $10 to $100 depending on the plate, with most designs at $30 for two years.² All of this is on top of your regular registration fee.

Personalized Plates vs. Special Backgrounds

Oregon treats “custom” as two separate products with separate fees. Personalized plates let you pick the letter and number combination on a standard background. Special background plates carry a specific design or cause, like Crater Lake, Wine Country, the Oregon Zoo, or a university plate, and the DMV usually assigns the character combination.³

You can buy one, the other, or both. The fees stack when you combine them.

What Personalized Characters Cost

The personalization fee is set by statute at $50 for each year of your registration period.¹ Most Oregon passenger vehicles register in two-year cycles, so you’ll pay $100 at issuance and another $100 at each renewal. New vehicles bought with a manufacturer’s certificate of origin get a four-year initial registration, which makes the upfront personalization charge $200.²

That fee buys the right to choose your combination, subject to DMV approval. It sits on top of your standard registration and any plate manufacturing fee.

What Special Background Plates Cost

Background surcharges vary by design, and one detail matters for the long-term cost: some plates charge the surcharge once at initial issuance, while most charge it again at every renewal.²

For plates that charge at issuance and every renewal, the two-year surcharges are:

$10: several military and veterans’ plates, Oregon Professional Firefighters, and Share the Road
$30: Salmon, Wine Country, Oregon Zoo, OSU Beaver, Pollinator Paradise, Portland Trail Blazers, Smokey Bear, UOAA Duck, and Watch for Wildlife
$32: Fallen Public Safety Officer
$40: Gray Whale
$50: Cultural Trust

Two common plates charge only once. Crater Lake is a $30 one-time surcharge. Pacific Wonderland is a $100 one-time surcharge.² The surcharge revenue goes to the organization or program tied to each design.⁴

Personalized Characters on a Special Background

Many backgrounds allow you to add personalized characters for the additional personalization fee.³ You pay both charges. A personalized Wine Country plate on a two-year registration adds $130 to your base registration: $100 for personalization plus $30 for the background.

Adding It to Your Base Registration

Custom plate fees are extras. The base two-year registration for a passenger vehicle depends on fuel economy:⁵

0–19 MPG: $126
20–39 MPG: $136
40+ MPG (not enrolled in OReGO): $216
All electric (not enrolled in OReGO): $376

A 25 MPG car with personalized characters on a standard background comes to $236 for two years: $136 base plus $100 personalization. Add a Salmon background and it’s $266.

Replacement and Transfer Costs

A duplicate or replacement personalized plate costs $12 under the special plates fee schedule.¹ The general replacement fee for lost, stolen, or damaged plates is $12 plus a plate manufacturing fee.⁶

Moving your plates to another vehicle costs $30. If you were the current or previous owner of the vehicle the plates came off of, the remaining registration period carries over. Otherwise, you’ll owe full registration fees on top of the $30.⁷ The plates must go on the same type of vehicle, be a style the DMV still issues, and be readable.⁶ Because remaining registration transfers with the plates, it’s often worth pulling custom plates off a vehicle before you sell it.⁸

1
Oregon Legislature. Oregon Code 805.250 – Fees for Special Plates
2
Oregon Department of Transportation. Special Background Plates Fee Chart
3
Oregon Department of Transportation. Passenger Vehicle Plates
4
Oregon Legislature. Oregon Code 805.205 – Special Plates for Certain Groups
5
Oregon Department of Transportation. Vehicle Title, Registration and Permit Fees
6
Oregon State Legislature. Oregon Code 803.575 – Fees for Cards, Plates and Stickers; Issuance; Replacement; Transfer
7
Oregon Department of Transportation. Vehicle Registration – Renew/Replace/Transfer
8
Oregon Department of Transportation. Buying or Selling a Vehicle