From Iowa to Minnesota, Now Wisconsin: The Blackout Plate Trend Takes Over the Midwest

The latest trend for license plates in the Midwest is "Blackout" plates, Iowa was the first, followed by Minnesota and now Wisconsin looks to offer its residents the trendy plate.

The new bill was introduced by Senator Dan Knodl of Germantown and if passed will give Wisconsin residents the option to get a blackout plate, the new plate would "have a black background and white lettering displaying the word “Wisconsin" and the registration number assigned to the vehicle."

The new plate design would come with an additional fee, the proposed bill says that anyone that wants a blackout plate would have to pay the required fee for the registration plates, plus an extra $25. The Wisconsin Department of Transportation will keep the initial cost of production and design, which is estimated to be $23,700, after that, the money raised from the blackout plates will go to the transportation fund.

The new blackout plate could be a big source of revenue for Wisconsin, Iowa has generated over $30 million by selling the plates, Minnesota went nuts for the new blackout plates, selling more than 1,600 in the first two days. Colorado and Mississippi have also recent started offering the blackout plates.

If you live in Wisconsin and can't wait to get a potential new blackout plate on your ride, there is an option already available. The Elkhart Lake's Road America plate is offered by Wisconsin and while it's not what any future blackout plate would look like, it's black with white font, and it's only $15 versus the proposed $25 for the new design.