Illinois has both vanity plates and personalized plates
Vanity plates are a type of special license plate. A vanity plate allows the owner to choose the letters or numbers on their license plate, if they are not already in use. There is a fee of $27 per year and the regular registration fee.

Vanity Plates
Vanity plate availability varies by county and plate type: some counties have one-year waiting lists, while others immediately offer them to those who qualify. Some plates are not available in all counties; others may be ordered through the mail or online at no extra cost.
Personalized plates
Personalized plate availability varies by county as well—some counties have longer waiting periods than others due to an increased number of requests. For example, Springfield’s personalized plate supply has been exhausted since 2006. However, it is possible to order personalized plates from other regions via the Illinois Secretary of State website (while supplies last).
The number of characters allowed on a vanity or personalized license plate depends on its size: more minor registrations allow six characters maximum; larger ones allow seven characters maximum (eight for commercial vehicles).
Difference between vanity plates and personalized plates in Illinois
Vanity Plates
Vanity plates are for standard vehicles. They have up to seven characters that may be letters, numbers, spaces (but only one space) or dashes (-), with no profane language allowed. There’s nothing that says you can’t get a vanity plate for electric vehicles. However, you will need to call your local DMV office and ask them if they offer them. Some offices don’t offer them at all, while others sell them but rarely issue them (one example is Colorado).
And when it comes to electric vehicle vanity plates around the country? They vary from state to state: some states allow vanity plates on EVs while others don’t. Some states have specific rules about what kind of decals can be added to an EV; other states don’t even allow non-standard license plates at all.
Personalized plates
Personalized plates have six characters (letters and numbers). The person registering must prove that the vehicle has been converted to operate solely on electric power when applying for an Electric Vehicle (EV) personalized license plate.
Cost of personalized and vanity plates for five years

Special single-letter plates
Every year, single-letter plates are made available to applicants who get the most votes from the Department of Registration and Vehicle Services.
Illinois is one of many states that makes single-letter plates available to the public. Every year, the Department of Registration and Vehicle Services offers these plates to bring in revenue while allowing residents to express themselves.
For example, if you wanted “Q” on your car or truck but only if another driver does not already take it. You could apply for the plate once every five years. Each time the Illinois State Police receives your application form, they will check their database to see whether someone else has requested Q in that period.
If no one else has applied for it yet (and there are no other qualifying criteria), you’ll receive Q for one year. However, this does not mean you can get Q every year from now on! After each annual lottery process is complete and new winners are selected based on popularity alone (with zero consideration given towards safety or environmental factors).
All previous applicants must start over again from scratch with new letters until all available spaces have been filled via lottery-style selection process again next December when new applications become available online (or whenever those occur).
The standard plates are being used in Illinois
The standard plates being used in Illinois are black on white or white on blue. You can also apply for a personalized plate with your custom design.
You may be eligible for one of the following particular license plate types:
- Vanity Plates – Vanity Plates have seven characters or less and begin with a letter or number matching your last name’s first letter. You can apply for vanity plates if you have proof of identity and residency in Illinois. Such as an original birth certificate, valid driver’s license or state ID card, and current utility bill with an address at least 30 days old (dated within 60 days), or bank statement dated within 90 days past the due date. The fees vary depending on the type of vehicle and whether it is new or used.
- Personalized Plates – Personalized plates are also a particular type of license plate. With a personalized plate, you can choose the letters and numbers on your license plate, as long as they aren’t already in use. This plate type is $34 per year and the regular registration fee.
You can apply for whatever type of plate you want when you pass your test in Illinois
You can apply for a vanity plate or personalized plates when you pass your test in Illinois. Unfortunately, if you’re looking for an electric vehicle-specific plate, they are not available. You’ll have to settle for “ELECTRIC” or something similar instead.
You can also order a regular license plate with any design that meets the DMV’s guidelines as long as it doesn’t contain obscene images or text.
Illinois is one of only two states that offer special plates for electric cars
Illinois is one of only two states that offer special plates for electric cars. The other state is California, offering its E-ZPass plates since 2000.
The Illinois Department of Natural Resources (DNR) also offers particular “clean vehicle” license plates for hybrid and alternative-fuel vehicles, such as those powered by biodiesel fuel or electricity. All three types of clean vehicle license plates are available to anyone who wants them not just car owners but also motorcyclists and even commercial trucks!
Is money given for owning an electric vehicle in Illinois?
For driving EVs in Illinois, incentives are provided by the government. The government’s goal is to cut off the ICE vehicles causing environmental pollution throughout the state. The governor’s goal is to have one million electric cars on the road by 2030.
Illinois is providing 4,000$ incentives to electric vehicle owners to motivate them toward buying electric vehicles. Visit the yale climate connections for updates on the Bidden point of view about electric cars and incentives.
The incentives, together with federal tax credits, can help lower the price of electric vehicles lower than 10,000$. The state also supports the establishment of the electric car by giving grants and rebates to the new charging stations.
In Illinois, electric car owners qualify for certain exemptions from state sales tax on their vehicles
As an electric car owner in Illinois, you’re exempt from paying sales tax on your vehicle. A few other perks come along with this exemption as well. Electric cars are all-electric cars, plug-in hybrid-electric cars, and full hybrids (which have both an electric motor and a gasoline engine).
If you buy any of these types of vehicles, new or used in Illinois, they’ll be exempt from paying sales tax—they’re also eligible for income tax credits up to $1,500 per vehicle purchase!
Comparison between Illinois and other states regarding electric vehicle plates
In addition, with incentives and rebates given to the electric vehicle owners by the state, there is also some tax on registering electric vehicle plates. Illinois has joined the group of other states that charge extra on an annual basis from the electric vehicle owners on registration.
The annual fee for registering electric vehicles, including licensing and vanity plate fees in different states, are


For more information regarding Electric Vehicles, Please visit Vehicles Ambassador