The North Carolina Department of Motor Vehicles is no longer issuing or renewing license plates featuring the Confederate battle flag.
“Effective January 1, 2021, the Division of Motor Vehicles will no longer issue or renew specialty license plates bearing the Confederate battle flag or any variation of that flag,” a department statement read. “The Division of Motor Vehicles (DMV) has determined that license plates bearing the Confederate battle flag have the potential to offend those who view them. We have therefore concluded that display of the Confederate battle flag is inappropriate for display on specialty license plates, which remain property of the state.”
The policy announcement came six months after StarNews Online questioned the department on the specialty license plates.
The plates, according to the news outlet, incorporate a specific design for the Sons of Confederate Veterans (SCV), an organization founded in 1896 by the United Confederate Veterans, who were men that fought in the Civil War and wanted to pass on the South’s heritage to their descendants.
Last summer, the state, according to StarNews, said it had more than 2,500 active license plates that bore the Confederate flag emblem. On Monday, department spokesman Steve Abbott said that number had increased to 3,015. However, on Tuesday, he retracted that figure and said it still remained at 2,527.
Frank Powell, spokesman for the North Carolina chapter of the SCV, said members were not given advance warning of the discontinuation and only found out when they went in for renewals at the start of the year.
Among the nearly 200 specialty plates available in the state, the SCV plate cost drivers a $30 personalization fee and a required $10 plate fee.
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