GOVERNMENT & POLICY

Blackout license-plate sales net Indiana BMV about $12.9M for five-year modernization plan

Indiana Capital Chronicle reports the state sold more than 380,000 optional “blackout” license plates since August 2025, generating $12.9 million earmarked for a five-year Bureau of Motor Vehicles (BMV) modernization plan and pay raises for many customer-facing employees.

BUSINESSINDY BRIEFBy BusinessIndy Editorial StaffCommentsPublished October 5, 2026 at 12:33 PM EDTLiving story · 2 sources

AI-generated illustration of the topic: Blackout license-plate sales net Indiana BMV about $12.9M for five-year modernization plan — AI illustration · Not a photograph of the reported event.

Reporting by the Indiana Capital Chronicle: The Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles began offering an optional “blackout” plate in August 2025. The agency has sold more than 380,000 of the all-black plates with white numerals and letters in the year since the design launched, and those sales generated $12.9 million toward a five-year BMV modernization plan, the Chronicle reported on Oct. 5, 2026.

The optional design adds $45 to initial registration and annual renewal fees; the reported sales figure includes renewals and plate transfers. Gov. Mike Braun issued a 2025 executive order directing a five-year modernization of the agency’s two-decade-old tracking and record-support software, and BMV leaders said some of the blackout-plate revenue will fund technology upgrades, more 24/7 kiosks, new payment machines and pay raises for many customer-facing employees.

WHY IT MATTERS

This development matters because Indiana is using a voluntary, fee-based specialty plate to fund upgrades and staff pay at the state motor-vehicle agency. The Bureau of Motor Vehicles (BMV) handles vehicle registration and driver services; an optional blackout plate costs $45 extra at purchase and each renewal, and the state reported those added fees produced $12.9 million tied to a modernization effort.

Why that matters to a driver: when a government agency sets aside a specific fee for modernization, those dollars can fund faster or more convenient ways to do business with the BMV — for example, new payment terminals that accept tap-to-pay and digital payments, and more 24/7 kiosks. The agency also said some revenue will go toward pay raises for front-line employees, which could affect in-person service quality.

What to watch next: the BMV’s five-year modernization schedule and announced milestones for software replacements, kiosk rollouts and staffing changes, as well as any formal timeline the agency publishes for completing the governor’s 2025 modernization directive.

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