By Jeff Wentworth
Guest Commentary  

Unique license plates are starting to appear on cars, pickups, motorcycles and certain types of trailers since the Texas Department of Transportation began offering Texans the opportunity to design their personal plates.

Texans may support their teams or favorite charities, honor their spouses, children or even their pets, or just bring a smile to other drivers with a clever combination of letters with a personalized license plate.

If you “bleed” orange, there is a plate that lets everyone know you are a Texas Longhorn, but if you are a dyed-in-the-wool Aggie, as I am, there is a maroon plate for you. There also are plates for all Texas colleges and universities.

The plates are available at www.myplates.com, or by calling toll-free (877) 769-7528, e-mailing This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it or writing My Plates, 11149 Research Blvd., Suite 300, Austin, TX 78759.

Basic colors and designs as well as letter and number combination availability are on the Web site. There also is a special section for Texans who qualify for disabled license plates.

My Plates is handling the designing, marketing and sale of the specialty license plates. The public/private partnership is the first of its kind in the country.

My Plates benefits Texans in two ways. It allows them to personalize their plates with a design that they both enjoy and may be remembered easily, a boon for Texans who are prone to forget their plate number.

In addition, part of each sale goes to the General Revenue Fund, which provides services that benefit Texans. The vendor’s contract guarantees a minimum of $40 million to the state over a five-year period.

The style and level of personalization dictate the plate price. There are three My Plates designs: custom, premium and luxury. Prices start at $95 annually, or less than $40 a year if you buy a 10-year minimum.

Fewer than one percent of Texans have specialty plates, which is the lowest percentage of any state. This could be because specialty plates had to be renewed every year. The new program offers plates for either five or 10-year renewal, and there are gift certificates for those Texans in your life who have everything but a personalized license plate.

Whether you are a “SOCCER MOM” or a “SPURS FAN,” a personalized license plate will let others know a little about who you are. There are plates for those who claim to be “Texas Tough,” filled with “Lone Star Pride,” are “Red, White and True,” or drive a vintage car.

The My Plates’ Web site includes a link to the Texas Department of Transportation’s Web site where you may order charity plates. These license plates honor sports teams, disabled veterans, universities and many other groups and organizations.

Take a basic plate, add your own Texas creativity and ingenuity, and you will have a license plate that is expressly you. At the same time, you will be helping out the state budget. Now that is a 2 4 1 Texas deal.

Texas State Sen. Jeff Wentworth (R-San Antonio) represents District 25, which includes part of Bexar County. He can be reached via e-mail at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it