The Maine Bureau of Motor Vehicles unveiled the new license plate designs today that will replace the standard chickadee plate on Maine vehicles starting next spring.
The new plate’s image includes a simple pine tree and the north star over a clean white background. The concept was inspired by the state flag design created in 1901, according to Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows.
Mary Catus, executive assistant to the secretary of state, is the artist behind the new design, though she didn’t know it at first. Calling it a “random act of artistry,” Catus said she had done the design for fun and happened to be displaying it on her screen in the office at just the right time.
“The secretary was walking by my desk and said, ‘Hey, this is amazing! What if we took this and revamped it?’ and it ended up being the design that the transportation committee came to full consensus on,” she said.
Another design consists of a plain plate with blue identification number and letter combinations.
The plate depicting the chickadee, a standard on normal license plates, was last issued between July 1999 and December of 2000.
“We love the chickadee plate, but after almost 25 years on the road, it’s starting to show a lot of wear and tear,” Bellows said.
The new plates will replace current license plates mounted on an estimated 900,000 vehicles statewide. Bellows stressed that the real reason for the replacement was not aesthetics, but to phase out aging, faded plates that can be difficult to read.
Bellows said Cathie Curtis, deputy secretary of state for the bureau of motor vehicles, suggested the idea of replacing the aging plates upon being appointed to her position in 2020. Curtis said Monday that older plates can be dangerous because they have lost the reflective “shine” they give off.
“The ability of law enforcement, towing authorities and the citizens to identify license plates quickly and easily is essential, especially in crashes or serious crimes,” Curtis said.
Bellows said that, starting in the spring of 2025, holders of standard license plates will be issued new plates upon renewing their registration, and there will be no charge for the new plates. Old plates, she said, may be turned over to the state for recycling.
Those with specialty plates -- such as the Agriculture and Conservation plates, among others – won't be impacted by the change to the Pine Tree Plate.
