NC may get a special ‘America 250’ license plate, but not before the big party
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- Senate Bill 851 directs Division of Motor Vehicles to create special 'America 250' plate.
- Sponsors include Senate leader Phil Berger, Sen. Bill Rabon and Sen. Ted Alexander.
- The DMV says a new plate typically takes about six months to become available.
Lawmakers in the state Senate want to give North Carolinians a chance to show pride in America’s 250th birthday with a commemorative license plate.
But the plate won’t be available until after the actual birthday.
Senate Bill 851 directs the Division of Motor Vehicles to create a specialty license plate to mark America’s semiquincentennial. The bill says the plate must bear the phrase “America 250” and “other imagery commemorating the semiquincentennial.”
The bill was introduced last week by some of the Senate’s top Republican lawmakers, including Senate leader Phil Berger and Sen. Bill Rabon, head of the rules and transportation committees. Another sponsor, Sen. Ted Alexander of Cleveland County, co-chairs the General Assembly’s America’s Semiquincentennial Committee.
Alexander says the plate hasn’t been designed yet.
“We are in the process now of soliciting suggestions from our semiquincentennial committee,” he said in an interview. “It’s not going to be ready for the Fourth of July, but we’re celebrating for a long period of time anyway.”
The DMV has not received any information about the plate yet, said spokesman Marty Homan. It usually takes about six months to make a new plate available to the public after the General Assembly approves it, Homan said.
Alexander says the plate would be an option for residents receiving a new license plate, for the same cost as other standard plates.
Another plate already marks NC’s colonial history
Meanwhile, North Carolinians looking to celebrate the state’s colonial heritage already have access to a license plate highlighting two events from the early days of the American Revolution.
“First in Freedom” is one of three standard license plates the state offers. The others are the venerable “First in Flight” and one offered since 2019 with the national motto, “In God We Trust,” at the top and an English translation of the state’s motto, “Esse quam videri” — “To Be Rather Than To Seem” — in italics at the bottom.
The First in Freedom plate was introduced in 2015 and has a quill pen and two dates that also appear on the state flag and state seal. They are:
▪ May 20, 1775, when delegates from local militia groups in Charlotte reportedly signed the Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence. The declaration’s authenticity has long been questioned, but coming a few weeks after the skirmishes at Lexington and Concord in Massachusetts it would have been the first Colonial statement of separation from Great Britain.
▪ April 12, 1776, when 83 members of North Carolina’s provincial congress met in the town of Halifax and adopted what became known as the Halifax Resolves, directing the colony to declare independence and encouraging others to do the same. Three months later, the Declaration of Independence was ratified in Philadelphia — 250 years ago this summer.
The First in Freedom plate is the least popular of the three standard options offered by the DMV, according to the agency. As of last week, a little over 1 million were in circulation, compared to nearly 1.6 million “In God We Trust” plates and about 5.6 million “First in Flight.”
This story was originally published May 5, 2026 at 9:40 AM with the headline "NC may get a special ‘America 250’ license plate, but not before the big party."
