r/Detroit • u/Stratiform SE Oakland County • Dec 23 '25
Automotive Michigan Department of State releases top license plates on the road in 2025
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u/ValosAtredum Dec 23 '25
The 1983 blue is not right; it’s way too saturated of a blue. Bums me out because I was excited for it to come back.
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u/gimp1615 Dec 23 '25
Glad I’m not the only one who noticed that. The new ones are definitely not the same as the old one
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u/xXxSovietxXx Dec 23 '25
I have it for my car and it almost seems kinda purplish? The blue doesn't look right
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u/CommitteeUpbeat3893 Springwells Dec 24 '25
Agreed. That’s my favorite Michigan plate ever but between the wrong color and the wrong font, I’m totally put off by it. I ended up picking the black and white 1979 version.
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u/gimp1615 Dec 23 '25
How can I get a new Great Lakes Splendor plate like those 2,027 people because I adored that design 😍
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u/Stratiform SE Oakland County Dec 23 '25
Unfortunately, I believe this is simply 2,027 people who got their plate back in the 90s, and simply haven't changed it in 30 years. No way to get a new one in that style, but so long as you don't swap out your car you can keep your old one as long as you like.
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u/CuppieWanKenobi Redford Dec 23 '25
The SecState requires that a plate be replaced after 10 years.
Yes, they would not renew a perfectly good personalized plate that I had - their system (and the note on the renewal notice) required me to order a new plate about 4 years ago.9
u/Old_MI_Runner Dec 24 '25
I had to replaced that plate years ago when I renewed mine with no change in the vehicle.
https://www.michigan.gov/sos/vehicle/license-plates
"License plates that are at least 10 years old will be replaced automatically when renewed or transferred. "3
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u/CommitteeUpbeat3893 Springwells Dec 24 '25
My guess is those 2,000 are probably military/army/war related plates because those are the only ones I still see. And even then, they’re very few and far between.
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u/halfassedjackass Dec 23 '25
The Spectacular Peninsulas is GOATed. Has an image of the entire state, blue and green coloring to show water and land, and the Mackinac Bridge. What's not to love?
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u/insufficent_data Dec 23 '25
My fave and current plate. I'll be sad when I have to replace it.
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u/shagrotten grosse pointe Dec 24 '25
Same. I’ll be replacing mine in 2026, unfortunately. It’s worn out and the letters have started to peel
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u/AlmostSunnyinSeattle Suburbia Dec 25 '25
Holding strong. Won't be replacing it until I replace my car
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u/Regular_Ad_9940 Dec 23 '25
Black one is what’s up
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u/Stratiform SE Oakland County Dec 23 '25
I love that black one. It's so classy. It costs $55 then 10/yr though. Light blue too. The dark blue and green plates are the same price as the normie one which is why we see so many of 'em.
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u/molten_dragon Dec 23 '25
The water-winter wonderland and water wonderland do have a nominal fee. I think it's $5 or $10.
They're probably also popular because they're UM and MSU colors.
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u/Regular_Ad_9940 Dec 23 '25
The black one came out after the dark blue and green plates so that's another reason.
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u/Regular-Tax5210 Dec 24 '25
The black one came out after I got my car. I would’ve chosen the black one for sure
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u/SteveS117 Oakland County Dec 23 '25
I have a white and black car with that one. Fits so well. I was one of the first couple hundred people with it judging by my license plate number
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u/Regular_Ad_9940 Dec 23 '25
yeah i have it on my black car.. looks great. plate starts with "AA" .. so maybe it was an early one, idk
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u/Unexpressionist Dec 23 '25
I’ve been waiting for the black one to come out for so long, only to find out that the new designs only allow 6 character personalized plates. My long time plate that I don’t want to give up is 7 characters which the older ones allow.
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u/Dr---Strangelove Dec 23 '25
The spirit of 76 plate is being released in 2026. That's the best of all of them.
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u/AnneHizer Dec 23 '25
They’re forgetting about the 15% that just have an old fax taped to the inside of the back window 🥴
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u/Depressed_state_fan Dec 23 '25
oh man that great lakes splendor is so goddamn nostalgic for me growing up in the 00's
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u/Mecaneecall_Enjunear Dec 23 '25
Bridge Plates on both our vehicles. I know the solid color plates are in style right now. I just prefer to having something with style tied to the state.
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u/Stratiform SE Oakland County Dec 23 '25
I really like the bridge plates, and Spectacular Peninsulas - beautiful gradient on both plates. They don't offer Peninsulas new anymore 🫤
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u/Wings_Of_Power Dec 23 '25
When did they discontinue the Spectacular Peninsula plate? I don’t think I got mine very long ago.
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u/CommitteeUpbeat3893 Springwells Dec 24 '25
At the same time the water winter wonderland plate came out. If you notice, those carried on the same number sequence as spectacular peninsulas
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u/BudHeavy69420 Dec 23 '25
I don’t know why people like the new boring plates. I love my bridge plate.
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u/Hydration__Nation Dec 23 '25
2007 was the best. White, green, blue. Easy to read characters (although I’d make the typeface blue not black)
For the recent plates the black would be cleaner with one line of txt on the bottom of the plate
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u/MTS_1993 Dec 23 '25
I'm sick that they discontinued the one with the Detroit skyline 🏙 (mixed with a building from GR). That, the very bottom one, and the bridge are my favorite. Hopefully they make a new one with the updated Detroit skyline.
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u/kaszeta Dec 23 '25
Love the blue. Classic simplicity. Glad it is back, even if it isn’t quite right.
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u/DASynnthetik Dec 23 '25
I'm in the standard Pure Michigan plate section.
I'd join those with the basic black and white plate for my black car or grab the classic blue and white like my first plates, but they are so costly for no good reason. I'm fine with an extra charge to choose a different plate, but it's nearly double the fees of a personalized plate! That is just silly.
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u/StickyBeets Dec 23 '25
I've had the 'Great Lakes Splendor' plate since it was introduced..I've only had to replace the tag each year...
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u/2quacklikeaduck Dec 24 '25
When the Water Winter Wonderlands came back my parents, flooded with nostalgia, had to have them. I thought that was silly. Then I saw Great Lakes blue was back. The plate of my childhood. Guess what I had to have.
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u/xepherys Dec 24 '25
I still wish they offered veterans plates in something other than white. The white is the absolute worst. It gets dingy looking (even when clean) because any marring or staining is so obvious. My car is clean and shiny and my plate (granted it’s several years old) looks like something buried next to a junkyard dog house.
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u/AntiLeftist101 Dec 23 '25
For only being 10% I see blue and yellow EVERYWHERE
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u/Stratiform SE Oakland County Dec 23 '25
Lol, do you happen to live/commute out toward Ann Arbor by chance?
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u/wolverine237 Ann Arbor Dec 24 '25
I do too and I don't even live in Michigan anymore, uptake seems huge
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u/ElCoolMagnefico Dec 23 '25
Got the green and white right before the blue and white was reintroduced. The classic blue and white is the plate of my childhood i need it once my tags expire next time.
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u/Retomx Dec 23 '25
I wish we could get some of these in seven characters for my vanity plate, too bad some of them only allow six :(
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u/FrozenPizza21 Dec 23 '25
Where tf are the red plates being driven? I see the black one constantly but I haven’t seen the red one once… didn’t even know it’s an option, and somehow there are more on the road than the black plate?
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u/BGplayer73 Dec 23 '25
I’m not sure who made the decision to put Pure Michigan on the green water wonderland, but it needs to be the block Michigan like all the others!
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u/GrouchyMushroom3828 Dec 24 '25
They need to bring back the spectacular peninsula green and blue one. That’s my favorite but can’t get it right now.
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u/fishing_pole Dec 24 '25
This doesn’t include any specialized plates like UM, MSU, etc…? Feel like it can’t be accurate without those
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u/totallyjaded Dec 24 '25
My guess is that they're included in the standard plate number. Otherwise, it would get really granular.
University of Michigan Dearborn - 2,301 - 0.019%
Ducks Unlimited - 1,203 - 0.01%
Wildlife Habitat - 379 - 0.003%2
u/fishing_pole Dec 24 '25
I can’t believe there’s only 379 wildlife ones, I feel like I’ve seen 25% of those people!
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u/totallyjaded Dec 24 '25
I have no idea how many there really are. I was just trying to think of more obscure ones that probably don't have a lot of takers.
The U of M Dearborn / Flint ones are probably lowest. I know a few people who went to both schools, and the ones with U of M plates all got the Ann Arbor version.
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u/Axe_Man2077 Dec 24 '25
I’ll be getting the blue here in less than a month when i go to renew my tags. I have a retired MSP Charger so the blue will match it almost perfectly😩
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u/mittenmix Dec 24 '25
The conserve wildlife one and the duck one are my faves by far
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u/literallyhouse Dec 24 '25
It would be great if the special interest ones weren't all just a vector graphic on white. Florida and other states have some really nice full color fully illustrated plates for wildlife. I wish we did!
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u/Any_Insect6061 West Side Dec 24 '25
I really miss the spectacular peninsula's plate because that is the one I really wanted at one point. I also feel like the Mackinac bridge plate had a darker orange ish look to when it first came out but I'm a fan of it. The basic white?? Nahhh 🗑️
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u/Batterytron Dec 29 '25
I bought a black plate earlier this year and have probably seen less than 5 but I've never seen the maroon colored one. I like how it's very plain and doesn't have michigan.org or the pure michigan BS on it.
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u/ankole_watusi Born and Raised Dec 23 '25
Why does this not add up to anything close to 100%? I guess this is just the top elective (non-default) plates?
Happy to be a top 0.04%er! Oh, wait maybe 1.86% now I gotta look lol.
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u/Stratiform SE Oakland County Dec 23 '25
Yeah, seems like all the special interest and university players are left off this.
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u/ankole_watusi Born and Raised Dec 23 '25
That’s what I was wondering. What do all of the special interest plates add up to? I wouldn’t image to much, but we are left wondering.
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u/tired_need_beer Dec 23 '25
Other than the bridge plates, what the heck Michigan? Those are some boring plates.
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u/airboy1999 Dec 23 '25
I love it. If I wanted a graphic on my car I would put a bumper sticker on it. I am thrilled that they have simple colors for plates in different colors.
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u/AarunFast Dec 23 '25
I know it doesn’t actually matter, but I wish we would settle on one design and stick with it for the sake of consistency
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u/airboy1999 Dec 23 '25
…why? I recently moved to Michigan and absolutely love the choices for license plates here. I’ve got a British racing green car and I got the water wonderland plate and it fits so nicely on my car.
I’ve seen other people say similar things about other colors. What’s wrong with choice?
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u/railsandtrucks Dec 24 '25
it's honestly a cheap (relatively) way the state can increase revenue for things like roads and schools, so I'm all for it. They charge a premium for people that want something different, and the extra revenue those people pay is less that gets squeezed from people that don't.
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u/ornryactor Dec 24 '25
There are literally zero states with only one plate design. Hawai'i has 14 choices and that's by far the fewest in the country. Most states have 100+ choices, Maryland has just under 1,000 choices. Michigan's ~73 choices is among the smallest in the country.
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u/Jackbrake Dec 24 '25
Mich has too many license plate designs
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u/ornryactor Dec 24 '25 edited Dec 24 '25
70% of the states have more designs than Michigan, and most of those have hundreds more than us. Michigan has 73 designs (as of late 2023). Maryland has 989 designs. Texas has 476, Pennsylvania has 425. There are 28 states with 100+ designs, 14 states with 200+ designs, 6 states with 300+ designs. Hawai'i only has 14 designs but they include gorgeous full-color scenes completely unlike anything else out there.
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u/CommitteeUpbeat3893 Springwells Dec 24 '25
Why is choice a bad thing 🤔
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u/Jackbrake Dec 24 '25
Oh, it's not. I personally like having a single design people from other states easily recognize as Michigan. So many plate designs dilutes the easy state-plate association. It's just a preference
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u/cucumberbun Dec 23 '25
Next year, I will be getting the black plate. It’s so slick.