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Historic ‘blackout’ plate runaway winner as Colorado DMV unveils top designs of 2023

Based on the 1945 Colorado license plate, the blackout plate was the most popular selection for specialty plates among Colorado drivers in 2023.
Colorado Division of Motor Vehicles/Courtesy photo

The Colorado Division of Motor Vehicles has revealed the most popular speciality license plates of 2023, and the historic blackout plate based on the state’s 1945 variant was the most popular choice by far.

According to the state DMV, Coloradans chose the classic black-and-white plate 169,998 times in 2023, contributing more than $4.2 million to the Colorado Disability Funding Committee via plate fees.

While the blackout plate had more than 169,000 selections, the other three historic plates — the 1915 retired red plate (6,922), the 1914 retired blue plate (6,439) and the green mountains historical background plate (6,026) — were less popular.



Released in 2001, the license plate honoring the 13 lives lost in the Columbine High School shooting in 1999 was the most popular specialty design, and more than 75,000 vehicles were registered with Columbine plates in 2023.

Behind the Columbine plate, the top 10 specialty designs last year were the Wildlife Sporting (35,297), Pioneer (30,963), Ski Country USA (28,934), Adopt A Shelter Pet (26,447), the modified Breast Cancer Awareness plate (25,962), Firefighter (19,681), Broncos Charities (16,302), 150th Anniversary Under 13 (13,696) and Rocky Mountain National Park (13,299) license plates.



In 2024, Coloradans will see four new specialty license plate designs hit the road, including the Born to be Wild License Plate, the “In God We Trust” License Plate, the Stegosaurus State Fossil License Plate and the Navy Seabees Military License Plate.

According to the DMV, Colorado has almost 6.2 million active registered license plates on the road, and there are 218 license plates designs available.

To see all of the available license plate designs, go to DMV.Colorado.gov/License-Plates.

The historic red plate is based on the 1915 Colorado Visitor license plate. It was used to register 6,922 vehicles in 2023.
Colorado Division of Motor Vehicles/Courtesy photo
The historic blue plate is based on the 1914 Colorado license plate. It was used to register 6,439 vehicles in 2023.
Colorado Division of Motor Vehicles/Courtesy photo
The historic green plate is based on the 1962-1999 Colorado license plate. It was used to register 6,026 vehicles in 2023.
Colorado Division of Motor Vehicles/Courtesy photo
The Ski Country USA specialty design was a popular choice for drivers in 2023.
Colorado Division of Motor Vehicles/Courtesy photo
Colorado drivers can now purchase a Born to be Wild specialty license plate.
Colorado Division of Motor Vehicles/Courtesy photo
Evan Griesheimer of Denver won the over 13-year-old division, and his design will be Colorado’s 150th anniversary license plate.
Colorado Division of Motor Vehicles/Courtesy photo
Calista Blaschke of Denver won the under 13 year old division with this design.
Colorado Division of Motor Vehicles/Courtesy photo
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