By MIKE COURSON
Great Bend Post
Anticipation for the new To the Stars Kansas license plate has grown since the Kansas Department of Revenue (KDOR) put several designs up for a public vote last year. Last week, KDOR announced the new designs have been available as of Aug. 12. Paige Volkel, deputy treasurer at the Barton County Treasurer's Office, said that does not mean new tags with the previous blue Ad Astra design can be replaced with the new design.
"To receive these new To the Stars plates, those are only issued during renewal time and if you've purchased a new vehicle and you're not transferring a plate," she said.
Kansas switched to its new license plates at the beginning of the year. Those plates still featured the old Ad Astra design but included a different format of letters and numbers on the plate and no longer have raised letters. The old embossed plates had deteriorated significantly over the years, posing challenges for law enforcement.
"The reflective coating that's on the plates is only good for five years," said Volkel." A lot of people don't know that, and that is a big reason why these plates are changing. These embossed plates that have the raised letter texts, those are the ones that are getting replaced."
The treasurer's office is asking the public to not come in asking for the new tag design except during tag renewals or title work on a new vehicle. Damaged tags may also be replaced at any time.
"Just a quick reminder that the treasurer's office, for tags and taxes, is now located on the first floor of the Barton County Courthouse, room 107," said Volkel. "The doors are shut but please come on in. If we are busy with customers and there is no room to sit inside the office, we do have chairs outside in the lobby for people to sit."
Other information from the Kansas Dept. of Revenue:
Kansas is replacing some types of license plates that have aged out. These are embossed (raised plate text) plates on the standard Kansas Capitol (Dome) and the light blue Ad Astra backgrounds. Your plate qualifies. This means for you:
- A new plate with new and different plate text has been issued to your vehicle and a paper 30-Day Temporary plate is provided.
- The Division of Vehicles has come to an agreement with Kansas law enforcement that the paper plate does not have to be put on the vehicle for this license plate reissuance. The temporary paper plate should be folded with the registration and carried in the vehicle while waiting for the new metal plate.
- The registration receipt with the yellow 2025 expiration decal is enclosed. That yellow 2025 decal must be applied to the upper right hand corner of the new metal plate when it arrives in the mail within 30 days of your transaction. The number on the decal should match the number of the plate.
- Put the new metal plate on your vehicle after applying the decal.
- Your old plate must be destroyed or securely disposed of after removal. Warning - fraudulent plate use can happen if the plate is simply tossed in the trash or not securely stored. Someone could take it, and use it illegally, causing problems for you.
En Espanol
Kansas está cambiando algunos tipos de placas de matrícula que han envejecido. Estas son placas con relieve (texto elevado en la placa) en el estándar Capitolio de Kansas (Cúpula) y los fondos Ad Astra azul claro. Su placa califica. Esto significa para usted:
- Se ha emitido una placa nueva con un texto de placa nuevo y diferente para su vehículo, y se proporciona una placa temporal de papel de 30 días.
( La División de Vehículos llegó a un acuerdo con la policía de Kansas de que la placa de papel no tiene que colocarse en el vehículo para este cambio de placa. La placa temporal de papel debe doblarse con el registro y llevarse en el vehículo mientras espera la nueva placa de metal.)
- Se incluye el recibo de registro con la etiqueta de vencimiento amarilla de 2025. Esa etiqueta amarilla de 2025 debe aplicarse en la esquina superior derecha de la nueva placa de metal cuando llegue por correo dentro de los 30 días de su transacción. El número en la etiqueta debe coincidir con el número de la placa.
- Coloque la nueva placa de metal en su vehículo después de aplicar la etiqueta.
- Su placa antigua debe ser destruida o eliminada de manera segura después de quitarla. Advertencia: el uso fraudulento de la placa puede ocurrir si la placa simplemente se tira a la basura o no se almacena de manera segura. Alguien podría tomarla y usarla ilegalmente, causándole