GOVERNMENT & POLICY

Blackout license-plate sales net $12.9M for Indiana, funding five-year BMV modernization

The Indiana Capital Chronicle reports the state has sold more than 380,000 optional “blackout” license plates since their August 2025 launch, generating $12.9 million to support a five-year Bureau of Motor Vehicles (BMV) modernization plan and related employee pay measures. The plate carries a $45 optional fee at registration and renewal.

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 $12.9M for Indiana, funding five-year BMV modernization — AI illustration · Not a photograph of the reported event.

The Indiana Capital Chronicle reported on Oct. 5, 2026, that Indiana’s Bureau of Motor Vehicles has sold more than 380,000 optional “blackout” license plates since the design launched in August 2025, producing $12.9 million toward a five-year BMV modernization plan. The blackout plate features white letters and numbers on an all-black background and adds $45 to initial registration and to annual renewals.

The article says nearly 22,000 blackout plates were sold in the first month and more than 90,000 by the end of 2025; BMV spokesman Greg Dunn told the outlet the sales figure includes renewals, leaving about 314,000 blackout plates on the road. Gov. Mike Braun directed a five-year modernization of the agency’s systems via executive order last year; the BMV says the revenue is funding investments including new payment machines (accepting tap-to-pay and digital currency) and more 24/7 BMV Connect kiosks, and that pay raises are coming for many customer-facing employees.

WHY IT MATTERS

What changed: Indiana is using a voluntary, $45 add-on license plate option to raise money for an agency overhaul. The blackout plate is an optional style choice — not a regulatory change — and each sale or renewal that includes it contributes the $45 fee to the pool of funds the BMV is applying to modernization.

Who this affects and how: Vehicle owners decide whether to pay the extra $45 at initial registration or on annual renewals to get the blackout plate design (white numbers and letters on a black background). According to the report, those fees have built a $12.9 million pot the BMV says it will use for people and technology. The agency has already bought new payment machines that accept tap-to-pay and digital currency and expanded 24/7 kiosk access; the report also says pay raises are coming for many customer-facing staff.

How the mechanism works in practice: the optional plate adds a fixed fee to registration transactions. That fee is collected at sale or renewal and then allocated toward the five-year modernization plan the governor directed. For example: if you choose the blackout plate when you register, the transaction includes the $45 optional fee, which the BMV reports is counted toward the modernization funding total.

What to watch next: follow BMV announcements for specific modernization project timelines, formal details about the reported pay raises for staff, and any public reporting on how the $12.9 million is being spent across the five-year plan.

Report a correction · Editorial standards · Our source directory

BusinessIndy examines this development and its implications for Indiana businesses and communities using the linked sources.

Related coverage

Explore the topic

Politics & Policy

Reader discussion

Join the discussion. Every comment is checked before publication. Community rules and appeals