Special UK License Tag on Sale Dec. 1

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Nov. 28, 2016) — Alumni, fans and advocates of the University of Kentucky love to express their pride in Kentucky’s flagship university. If they live in Kentucky, Tennessee, North Carolina or Georgia, they can now display that pride on their vehicles’ license plates.

The new Wildcat blue specialty license plate, featuring “Go Big Blue!” with the new UK logo, goes on sale Dec. 1.

For each Big Blue specialty plate sold in Kentucky, the UK Provost’s Office receives $10 committed to student scholarships. More than $290,000 for the scholarship fund is generated annually in this manner. The Academic Scholarship Office combines the funds into packages for deserving students. Recipients of these special scholarships, collectively called the UK Collegiate Plate Scholars, are recognized each year at the UK Alumni Association’s scholarship banquet.

The UK specialty license plates are a little unusual compared to other plates; their renewal date is in December, instead of the owner’s birth month like a normal Kentucky plate. The nearly 30,000 current owners of the older UK specialty plate can obtain the new plate on Dec. 1.

After Dec. 1, a first time purchaser can obtain the new plate in their birth month, when their existing plate is subject to renewal. The rate is prorated for the rest of the year. Then, in December 2017, they may renew their plates and be added to the December cycle going forward, like the rest of the specialty plates’ owners. The old plate must be surrendered to the local county clerk.

Any owner of a non-commercial motor vehicle required to be registered for use on Kentucky highways can purchase a UK tag. The initial cost of the specialty tag and the cost each time a new plate is issued is $56. The annual renewal cost is $31. The UK plate is also available for personalization with an additional $25 annual application fee. Application for personalization must be made at the purchaser’s local county clerk's office. 

UK fans living in Tennessee, Georgia and North Carolina can also purchase their state’s version of the UK collegiate specialty plate. For more information, visit www.ukalumni.net/cartagprogram. The purchase price of these plates varies by state and does not include a donation to the UK scholarship fund.