AUGUSTA — Beginning Thursday, May 1, 2025, Mainers will have the option to choose either a “Pine Tree” design as the standard license plate offering or “No Tree” – a classic plain plate with text and numbers in blue and green and no image. The new offerings will replace the retiring “Chickadee” license plates, a popular staple in Maine for the past 25 years. 

The Pine Tree license plate will replace all standard issue license plate classes, while the classic plain plate is only available to the passenger car (PC) class license plates. Other license plate designs are also available as specialty plates for an additional fee, providing Mainers with an opportunity to support causes and organizations from wildlife to lighthouses. 

The standard license plates featuring a chickadee have been in circulation for more than 25 years, resulting in many that are weathered and worn and therefore cannot be accurately identified. In 2023, the law was amended requiring the Bureau of Motor Vehicles (BMV) to issue a replacement design. 

“License plates need to be easily visible by other drivers, toll authorities, and law enforcement,” said Secretary of State Shenna Bellows, in a news release. “As anyone driving on Maine roads can see, some of the older Chickadee plates are becoming worn, faded, and difficult or impossible to read, and that presents a real safety issue. But it also presents an opportunity for something fresh and new, and we’re looking forward to the new plates.” 

While the new license plates will begin hitting the road tomorrow, Mainers with chickadee plates do not need to rush to their local town hall to get theirs. They will receive a new plate when it is time to re-register their vehicle over the next year. All plates featuring the chickadee will be removed from service by May 2026. 

"This is the first new standard license plate design in 25 years,” said Cathie Curtis, Deputy Secretary of State for the Bureau of Motor Vehicles. “The pine tree with the North Star design is classic Maine – we are the Pine Tree State after all – while the plain text version is similar to the clean and simple design without any graphics some Mainers will remember from decades ago. I’m excited to see the new plates start hitting the roads tomorrow.” 

Vehicle owners will receive new plates, which will include a brand-new plate number, at no charge. If they would like to keep their current plate number, they can reserve it for $25. Forms to retain plate numbers can be picked up at your local town office or can be printed from or completed online on the BMV website. 

More information about the conversion to the new plates can be found online: https://www.maine.gov/sos/bmv/vehicles/pine-tree-plate