The Iowa Department of Transportation recently announced the new design for vehicle license plates to be released next year.

Greene County Treasurer Donna Lawson says when the DOT decides to release the new plates, vehicle owners can purchase them anytime they change or add vehicles; obtain new county standard plates; or replace any lost, stolen or damaged plates. To help reduce costs, Lawson points out any current plates will be replaced that have reached their ten-year replacement cycle. If a county resident would like a new set of plates when they are available, they can purchase them anytime for $5.

Lawson adds her staff jokes with her about what she would rather have seen the DOT do with the new plates.

“Oh why didn’t they go back to the old county plates and somebody said, ‘Ya know, you’re really dating yourself.’ That’s where they would use the county number and then go with the numbers after that. So that’s been kind of a joke in the office.”

However, of the three proposed plate designs, Lawson notes that her staff informally voted in favor of the one that was chosen by the majority of Iowans.

According to the DOT, the new design is called “The City and County Reboot.” The current license plates have been used since 1998.