How to Get Black License Plates in California

To get the black license plates in California with yellow lettering, order them through the DMV’s California Legacy License Plate Program. The initial fee is $50 on top of your regular registration, and you can order online for a first-time sequential or personalized set, or submit a Special Interest License Plate Application (Form REG 17) by mail or at a DMV field office. The plates replicate the design the DMV issued from 1965 to 1968, and they’re available for any qualifying vehicle currently registered in the state, not just classics.¹

Which Vehicles Qualify

Legacy plates are available for automobiles, commercial vehicles, motorcycles, trailer coaches, and permanent trailer identification plates. Your vehicle doesn’t need to be old. A brand-new sedan qualifies the same as a restored 1967 Mustang.²

Two exclusions to know about. Vehicles registered under the International Registration Plan (IRP), which covers carriers operating across state lines, cannot get Legacy plates.² Vehicles exempt from registration fees under Vehicle Code Sections 9101 or 9103 are also ineligible; that mainly affects government-owned vehicles and certain publicly operated transit equipment.¹

How to Place the Order

The fastest way to order is online at the DMV’s special interest plate ordering page. Have your registration card ready, choose sequential or personalized, and pay the fee. Online ordering is only for original requests. Anything else — a renewal, transfer, replacement, or retention — has to go through a paper Form REG 17.³

To submit REG 17 by mail, send the completed form to the address printed on it. To submit in person, bring it to any DMV field office. Booking an appointment ahead of your visit will spare you the walk-in line.⁴

Sequential or Personalized

Sequential Legacy plates come with a DMV-assigned six-character configuration. Personalized plates let you choose your own combination of two to seven characters.² Check availability through the DMV’s online tool before you settle on a combination, because short and popular configurations move fast.

The DMV will refuse any personalized configuration it considers offensive, vulgar, sexually suggestive, racially or ethnically degrading, or one that could be mistaken for a law enforcement designation. Foreign words, slang, and phonetic spellings of prohibited terms get flagged too. The DMV also won’t approve configurations that swap the number “1” and letter “I,” or that interchange “0,” “O,” and “Q” to mimic an already-issued plate.⁵

What Legacy Plates Cost

All Legacy plate fees are set by Vehicle Code Section 5004.3 and are charged on top of your regular registration fees:

Original issuance: $50, whether sequential or personalized
Annual renewal: $40, billed with your registration renewal each year
Transfer to another vehicle: $15
Replacement plate: $35 per plate
Retention (personalized only, when held off a vehicle): $38 per year

The $40 renewal is easy to miss because it rides along with your annual registration bill. If you skip it, you risk losing the plates and being issued standard replacements. Sequential plates cannot be retained off a vehicle; only personalized configurations qualify for the $38 retention option.¹

How Long Delivery Takes

Sequential plates are mailed to the address on your DMV vehicle record, typically within four to six weeks. Personalized plates take longer and are handled differently: they’re available for pickup at your local DMV office in roughly 8 to 12 weeks, and the DMV mails you a notice when they’re ready.⁶ Some applicants report the personalized process stretching closer to four months, so a delay past 12 weeks isn’t unusual.

Surrendering Your Current Plates

You have to give up your existing plates when you get Legacy plates. California Code of Regulations Title 13, Section 205.10 requires the current plates to go back to the department at the time of application.⁷ Applying in person, you hand them over at the counter. Applying by mail, you include them in the package. Ordering online, you surrender them when your new plates arrive or when you pick them up.

If the old plates are gone (lost or already destroyed), complete a Statement of Facts (Form REG 256) acknowledging that they’re no longer valid and agreeing to destroy them if they turn up.⁷

A Note on Color Options

The black-and-yellow design isn’t the only style under the Legacy program. Vehicle Code Section 5004.3 also authorizes a yellow background with black lettering (styled after 1956–1962 plates) and a blue background with yellow lettering (1969–1986). All three cost the same and follow the same ordering process, so if you change your mind at the order screen, the fees and steps above still apply.¹

1
California Legislative Information. California Code, Vehicle Code – VEH 5004.3
2
State of California Department of Motor Vehicles. California (CA) 1960s Legacy License Plates (VC 5004.3)
3
State of California Department of Motor Vehicles. Special Interest and Personalized License Plates Orders
4
California Department of Motor Vehicles. Forms – REG 17 Special Interest License Plates Application
5
California State Department of Motor Vehicles. Personalized Configurations – Mandatory Refusal
6
California State Department of Motor Vehicles. How To Obtain Personalized and Special Interest License Plates
7
Cornell Law School. California Code of Regulations Title 13, 205.10 – Surrender of Current License Plates