Indiana drivers are now clambering to get a specific type of license plate
Published on Oct 16, 2025 at 4:10 AM (UTC+4)
by Molly Davidson
Last updated on Oct 16, 2025 at 1:52 PM (UTC+4)
Edited by
Mason Jones
Indiana drivers are suddenly scrambling for a specific kind of license plate.
Orders are piling up across the state and supply can barely keep pace.
It’s not a special edition car or a vanity tag, but rather a small change that’s struck a chord with tens of thousands of people.
And in only a few weeks, it’s become the most talked-about plate Indiana’s ever released.
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The license plate everyone suddenly wants
When Indiana’s Bureau of Motor Vehicles (BMV) quietly released its new blackout plates earlier this year, no one expected what would happen next.
The new look flips the standard formula.
Instead of dark text on white, it’s white text on solid black – clean, sharp, and a little stealthy.
Drivers can order one for $45 with a new registration or pay just $9.50 to replace their current plate.
In only two months, that simple change has brought in more than $1.3 million for the BMV, with 40,000 plates already sold.
That’s revenue now being used to fund digital upgrades and faster self-service tools – which, if you’ve ever survived a DMV or BMV queue, sounds like a miracle worth paying for.
Governor Mike Braun called the blackout license plate a ‘creative, entrepreneurial’ success.
And he’s right – it’s a rare win that looks good and pays off.
BMV Commissioner Kevin Garney says Hoosiers ‘are very excited about it.’
And it seems that enthusiasm’s contagious.
Other states from Texas to New York are already looking to copy the idea.
Speaking of sought-after license plates…
Indiana’s blackout design isn’t the only plate people are chasing.
Around the world, collectors spend eye-watering sums to claim the rarest combinations.
In Australia, a single tag – NSW 1 – hadn’t been available for more than a century.
When it finally went to auction it sold for $7.5 million, making it one of the priciest plates ever recorded.
Over in Hong Kong, a simple ‘S’ plate fetched $2 million at a Lunar New Year auction, thanks to its Superman connection and pure one-letter rarity.
And in Dubai, influencer Daniel Mac filmed a fleet of multimillion-dollar cars only to spot one Mercedes wearing a plate worth more than the cars themselves.
A single-digit tag modeled on those owned by Dubai’s royal family.
From a $9.50 blackout license plate in Indiana to multimillion-dollar collector pieces abroad, it turns out everyone wants the same thing: a little exclusivity stamped in metal.
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Molly Davidson is a Junior Content Writer at Supercar Blondie. Based in Melbourne, she holds a double Bachelor’s degree in Arts/Law from Swinburne University and a Master’s of Writing and Publishing from RMIT. Molly has contributed to a range of magazines and journals, developing a strong interest in lifestyle and car news content. When she’s not writing, she’s spending quality time with her rescue English staffy, Boof.
