Maine’s standard license plate featuring its state bird, the chickadee, may be flying the coop, as a new design featuring the Maine state flag of 1901 was revealed Tuesday.

The new design features a buff background of the 1901 flag, with a navy blue star and dark green pine tree on the left side of the plate. 

The design, which contains the standard “Vacationland” slogan, will go before the Legislature’s  Transportation Committee before being considered by the full Legislature.

“The BMV developed this plan with input from municipal officials, who do much of the license plate issuance in Maine, and our plan is to issue the new plates as Mainers register their cars between March 2025 and the end of February 2026,” Deputy Secretary of State for the Bureau of Motor Vehicles Cathie Curtis said in a news release. “Mainers across the state have embraced the 1901 flag and we think they’ll love the new plate design as much as we do.

“License plates serve not only to identify vehicles, but are a way of expressing our love for our state,” said Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows in the release. “We’re excited to present this new design proposal for the coming license plate reissuance.”

The standard plate design featuring the chickadee was issued in 1999. According to the release, plates have since “significantly deteriorated, many beyond identification.”

“Many plates cannot be read accurately creating safety and compliance concerns,” the release states. “Law enforcement may not be as effective as many crimes are prevented or solved through the identification of license plates. Automated toll collection may also be reduced when plates cannot be read. Additionally, vehicle visibility at night and in adverse weather conditions are reduced when the plates lose their retro-reflectivity.”