CASPER — The race is on to be the top veteran in Wyomingat least when it comes to specialized license plates.
“Everybody wants to get the low number,” said Debbie Lopez, manager of the state Department of Transportation’s vehicle services office.
Among motorists in many states, having any type of license plate with the lowest number is a symbol of prestige.
The Wyoming Legislature approved the specialty plates last winter, and the application period for the plates opened Monday through county treasurer offices. The plates will become available next year.
To be eligible for the veteran plates, a vehicle owner must have completed at least one term of honorable service in the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, Coast Guard or Merchant Marine. The Wyoming Veterans Commission will confirm the applicant’s eligibility.
The embossed plates will be the first since 2001, when the Wyoming State Penitentiary shut down its plate plant. The Department of Transportation now uses a digital flat plate manufacturing system that doesn’t make embossed plates.
The agency has contracted with the state of Colorado to make the plates.
