NJ’s Vintage 1980s License Plates Could Make An 'Awesome' Return

NEW JERSEY — What’s old can be new again, with New Jersey’s 80s-style blue and yellow license plate potentially making a comeback, thanks to legislation now taking a spin through the State Senate.

The idea for the throwback plates was sparked with State Senator Kristin Corrado, R-40th Dist., who said a constituent of hers suggested it.

“It turns out that many New Jerseyans, especially classic car enthusiasts, favor the vintage license plate design that gained popularity in the '80s,” said Corrado.

The trend to bring back retro-style license plates wasn’t born in New Jersey, with Corrado saying, “Many states have already done this and they have found there to be great demand for them.”

Corrado’s legislation has a companion bill in the Assembly that has stalled since its introduction. The one introduced in the Senate and referred to the Transportation Committee in November 2020, has however, recently picked up some speed. It moved into gear from the Senate Committee on Dec. 6 by 6-0 vote, before making its way into the hands of the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee on Dec. 9.

With it, anyone who would like to buy a plate - which were considered an everyday thing between 1979 and 1991 when they were used, but are now considered “classic” - will need to apply for them and pay a $50 fee.

Each year, according to the bill, there will be an additional $10 estimated cost to keep and annually renew the plates.

The startup monies needed to get the license plate revival going, is expected to be $25,000. New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission’s chief administrator will then review the costs each year for “producing, issuing, renewing and publicizing the availability of the speciality license plates,” the bill states. If on the average, it will run more than $50 per plate for two fiscal years in a row to produce them, the program could be discontinued.

Funds collected for the retro plates are expected to be earmarked for the “Special Transportation Fund,” for New Jersey road projects.

Corrado said that custom license plates now, typically have the state’s familiar yellow plate background.

“My legislation will actually give drivers the opportunity to purchase something that is truly different and unique,” she said.

The blue and yellow-lettered plates were discontinued in 1991 after then-Gov. Tom Kean signed into law in 1989 for the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission to begin issuing “reflectorized motor vehicle registration plates.” Through that law the “Reflectorized License Plate Selection Commission” was created, to pick out the color and plate styles.

In 1990, that Plate Selection Commission met, chaired by Assemblyman Robert E. Littell of Sussex County and decided that the plates New Jersey has currently, would start with a Goldfinch yellow color that graded to a paler hue toward the plate bottom, with the state’s silhouette in the center, between the plate's characters.

The commission picked that color theme and design with reflective qualities “while considering the needs of law enforcement and highway safety, aesthetics, cost and the ability of the corrections system to produce the new plate.”

After going through several sample plates, the commission came up with the current-style plate, according to a report about the process the group wrote, following field tests at night to ensure what was best for police to see.

“The plate with the black alphanumeric sequence on a background of goldfinch yellow fading to pale yellow,” they wrote, “was deemed to be superior for the purposes of highway safety, vehicle identification and law enforcement.”

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