Specialty license plates a hit for Nevada motorists
Whether you want to show your affinity for your favorite outdoors area like Lake Tahoe or Mount Charleston, support your state alma mater like UNLV or UNR or profess your love for your favorite local sports teams like the Raiders or Golden Knights, as a Nevada motorist you have plenty of choices for specialty license plates.
As of June 30, there were 390,007 specialty plates actively registered in the state, according to Nevada Department of Motor Vehicle data.
The two most popular plates in the state, by registration volume, are the Las Vegas Commemorative plate and the Veterans plate. The two plates account for 34 percent of all specialty license plates.
The Las Vegas Commemorative plate is registered to 80,458 vehicles, while the Veterans plate is registered to 53,341.
Here’s a breakdown of some of the other plate registration totals:
Professional sports plates have boomed in Nevada as fast as the teams they represent. The Golden Knights are the most popular pro sports plate with 62,372 plates issued. The Raiders are next with 31,165 plates.
Combined, the two teams account for 24 percent of all specialty plates in Nevada.
UNR plates more than double the amount of registrations of their rival to the south. UNR can claim 10,678 plates while UNLV has just 5,003 plates.
Specialty license plates are a huge revenue driver for the state as well as the charities and causes tied to the plates, generating $95 million for charities and causes as of June 30.
The majority of specialty plates generate funds for a specific cause or charity. For example, the Raiders plate generates money for the team’s Raiders Foundation.
The Forever Strong plate raises money to aid those impacted by the Route 91 Harvest festival shooting. That plate generates $25 from the initial registration and $20 annually from renewals with the money going to the Vegas Strong Resiliency Center. Through June, the 3,169 plate registrations had raised $173,310 for the center and its efforts.
Those funds are vital to the center, allowing it to assist anyone who has experienced financial hardship brought on as a result of the Oct. 1, 2017, shooting that left 60 people dead and more than 800 injured.
Resiliency center Director Tennile Pereira said in September that those funds are important and go directly to those in need of assistance.
“We get the quarterly payments, they’re generally around $16,000 or $17,000 lately. Those have gone up as more people have gotten the plates,” Pereira said. “That money allows us to fund our emergency financial assistance program for the survivors of Route 91. It has been incredibly helpful to plug those small emergency issues they encounter, which can then connect them to longer-term resources.”
Contact Mick Akers at makers@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2920. Follow @mickakers on Twitter. Send questions and comments to roadwarrior@reviewjournal.com.