(1) The owner of a vehicle of special interest may apply to the Department of Transportation for permission to use special interest registration plates. To receive permission to use special interest registration plates the person must:

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(a) Maintain the vehicle of special interest as a collectors’ item and use the vehicle only for exhibitions, parades, club activities and similar uses but not use the vehicle primarily for the transportation of persons or property;

(b) Supply the special interest registration plates which the person desires to use; and

(c) Include the plates with the application for permission to use them.

(2) The department shall determine which special interest plates are available for issuance under this section.

(3) The department, prior to approval of an application under this section, shall determine that the special interest registration plates meet the following requirements:

(a) The plates shall be issued by the State of Oregon for use on vehicles in this state.

(b) The numbers and characters on the plate shall be distinctive.

(c) The plates shall be legible, durable and otherwise of a size, shape, color and design that will serve the purposes of safety and identification.

(d) If the plates are from a series of plates in current use, the plates shall be from the same year or period of issue in which the vehicle was manufactured.

(4) If the special interest registration plate offered for approval was issued in a year in which single registration plates only were required, the department shall grant permission for use of that registration plate alone if it is otherwise acceptable.

(5) If the special interest registration plates offered for approval are from a series of plates in current use, as described in subsection (3)(d) of this section, the department may affix a distinctive sticker to each plate at the time of approval. Stickers shall be of a size, color and design determined by the department and shall be displayed on plates in the manner determined by the department.

(6) The department may approve plates issued by the state that have been restored to their original color and design provided that if the plate was reflectorized when originally issued, it must be fully reflectorized when restored. [1983 c.338 § 264; 1985 c.570 § 1; 1991 c.896 § 1; 1993 c.741 § 130; 2003 c.122 § 5; 2023 c.400 § 20]