Washington Lighthouses
Special License Plate
Help lighthouses and Puget Sound
with Washington Lighthouses plate
June 2007 -- Washington drivers are showing their colors.
More and more drivers are asking for the Washington Lighthouses special license plate for their cars, trucks, motorcycles, trailers and RVs. It is their way of showing their love of our state’s maritime heritage, its elegant lighthouses and the Puget Sound environment.
Drivers are buying nearly 200 Washington Lighthouses plates a month – more than 2,500 since it debuted in January of 2006. With each new sale or annual renewal, $28 goes into a fund to support education and restoration projects at 13 Washington lighthouses kept open to the public by non-profit groups. It also supports the environmental programs of Washington State University (WSU) Extension, headquartered at Admiralty Head Lighthouse on Whidbey Island.
With plate proceeds accumulating, the sponsoring group, Lighthouse Environmental Programs (LEP), expects in January of 2008 to begin reviewing the first applications from lighthouses statewide for grants to support their restoration and education projects.
The DOL offers Washington Lighthouses as an alternative to the state's regular vehicle plate. It is issued to those who ask for it and voluntarily pay the additional fee. The cost to purchase is $40 plus any applicable licensing fees. When the vehicle registration becomes due, owners pay an additional $30 to keep Washington Lighthouses on their vehicle even if they have not had the plate for a full year.
Of the additional fee, $28 is a tax-deductible charitable contribution for both the original purchase and renewal. Remainder of the fee is dedicated to the DOL’s costs for creating the plates and administering the program.
Lighthouses eligible to benefit from the plate's sale are those kept open to the public by non-profit, 501c(3) volunteer groups. Please click on the links for posters of the eligible lighthouses: Admiralty Head, Alki Point, Browns Point, Grays Harbor, Mukilteo, New Dungeness, Point Robinson, Cape Disappointment, North Head, Point Wilson, Swiftsure Lightship, Turn Point, and West Point lighthouses.
The plates are possible under a state law that allows non-profit groups to sponsor and receive proceeds from the sale of license plates containing an illustration chosen by the group and approved by the DOL and the Special Licensing Plate Review Board. Gloria Wahlin, coordinator of Admiralty Head Lighthouse, explained: "Our non-profit 501c (3), Lighthouse Environmental Programs, focuses on three major efforts -- environmental education and restoration to keep Puget Sound clean, waste reduction and recycling, and keeping Admiralty Head Lighthouse open to the public in partnership with state parks. These funds support all those functions."
Admiralty Head Lighthouse is open to the public through a cooperative agreement between Fort Casey State Park and the WSU/Island County Beach Watchers, Waste Wise Volunteers and Keepers of Admiralty Head Lighthouse.
For more information:
Department of Licensing (includes printable order form):
http://www.dol.wa.gov/vehicleregistration/specialdesign.html.
Vehicle registration offices: http://www.dol.wa.gov/officelocations.html.
"Washington Lighthouses" License Plate FAQ
