(a) A registered owner or lessee of a vehicle may request a Special Interest or
Environmental License Plate. An application for a special interest or environmental license plates, as defined in section
206.00 of this Article and Sections
5060 and
5103 of the Vehicle
Code, shall be submitted in person or by mail to the department on a completed Special Interest or Environmental License Plate Application, form REG
17 (Rev. 11/2023), which is hereby incorporated by reference, and available on the Internet at
www.dmv.ca.gov, or completed and submitted through the department's online ordering system.
(1) If the application is submitted in person, it shall be submitted to any department field office.
(2) If the application is submitted by mail, it shall be mailed to the Department of Motor Vehicles, SPU, MS D238,
P.O. Box 932345, Sacramento, CA 94232-3450.
(3) If the application is submitted online, it shall be
completed through the department's online ordering system at
www.dmv.ca.gov.
(b) The application shall be accompanied by the applicable fees specified in Sections
4850,
5106 and
5108 of the Vehicle
Code; the fees may be found by searching for "special plate fees" on the department website at
www.dmv.ca.gov.
(c) Environmental license plate configuration.
(1) The configuration shall comply with the specifications of Section
5105 of the Vehicle
Code.
(2) When a requested configuration is not available, a letter shall not be substituted for a
number, nor shall a number be substituted for a letter, to create another configuration of a similar appearance.
(3) The number zero shall not be used in the configuration.
(4) The
department shall refuse any configuration that would be misleading, or the following:
(A) The configuration has a
sexual or scatological meaning.
(B) The configuration is an expletive or term considered profane or
obscene.
(C) The configuration has conveys any kind of message related to the following characteristics
of a group of people: race, ethnic or national origin, color, religion, disability, sexual orientation, or gender identity.
(D) The configuration contains fighting words, or refers to illegal or violent acts, including, but not limited to
criminal gang affiliation or activity, weapons, genocide, or creates a risk of inciting violence.
(E) The
configuration misrepresents an association with government or a law enforcement through any combination of letters or numbers which indicate an
affiliation to an agency or to an office or position, including, but not limited to an elected office, employment as a police officer, firefighter,
emergency medical technician, paramedic or first responder.
(F) The configuration is a non-English or
slang word or term or is a phonetic spelling or mirror image of a word or term falling into the categories described in subsections (A) through (E)
above.
(d) The department shall not honor a request for a change of license plate
selection or letter/number configuration, or a request for a refund, after the application is submitted, unless the request is due to department
error.
(1) If the department erred when making the special interest or environmental license plate, and the license
plate owner requests a change, the license plate owner shall be permitted to submit a new application without payment of additional fees.
(2) If the department did not err when making the special interest or environmental license plate, a new
application and application fees shall be submitted for any change requested.
