Delaware allows preservation license plates once 200 applications are received

Eligible vehicle owners may apply to the Division of Motor Vehicles for a Preservation Delaware, Inc. license plate. Private passenger vehicles qualify. Other vehicles, including trucks and trailers, qualify with a manufacturer's maximum loaded weight rating of 26,000 pounds or less. These other vehicles may belong to people or organizations. The Division must issue plates only if it receives at least 200 applications. Vehicles eligible for the International Registration Plan, a separate vehicle registration system, are excluded whether alone or in a combination of vehicles. Preservation Delaware must submit the design for the Division's approval. Plates cannot be solely black and white, and the Division may reject designs it believes would cause public safety enforcement problems.

Applicants pay a one-time $50 fee, and money remaining after plate program costs is set aside for Preservation Delaware, Inc. All applicants owe the initial fee, including nonprofit members who are exempt from vehicle registration fees. The $50 fee includes a $15 administrative fee and is charged in addition to any required annual vehicle registration fee. The Division of Motor Vehicles uses collected fees to promote the plates and run the program. It deposits the remaining money with the State Treasurer in the Preservation Delaware, Inc. Fund. Replacement plates carry a separate fee set by the Division that must cover the plate's cost. The one-time $50 fee is due with the initial application.