PSU License Plates
Dear North Carolina Nittany Lions:
In 2008, we began the process of obtaining an official Penn State license plate in North Carolina. There was an initial flurry of applications that gave us great optimism that we would meet the minimum of 300 paid applications for the state to establish the Penn State license plate. When scandal and uncertainty faced our alma mater, the number of applications slowed down. As the University, and our football program, persevered, so has our desire to make an official Penn State license plate in North Carolina a reality!
Now, we are resuming our efforts with full force to reach our goal by this summer. We are currently over halfway to our goal of 300 paid applications. While we are optimistic that we will complete this project by this summer, should we fail to reach our goal by the end of this year, all monies will be refunded in full, and the effort will be abandoned for the near future. In other words, 2014 will be the year we finally do or finally don’t have an official license plate. I am confident that the Penn State Pride we all feel will make this a “do” year!
On that note, a big “thank you” to those alumni and fans that submitted applications already and have been patiently waiting for their plates. Your dedication and patience are much appreciated!
As an added incentive to stimulate applications, the Triangle Chapter has agreed to randomly pay the application fee for two standard plates ($25 each). But the real prize is an authentic Joe Paterno signed football that will be raffled off to one of the first 300 applicants! Now that’s an incentive!!!
With more than 8,000 Nittany Lion alumni statewide in North Carolina, there is no reason we can’t reach our goal quickly. Remember, fans and family can purchase the plate as well, and alumni can request different plates for multiple vehicles. Currently, there are 147 specialty plates available in North Carolina, with 34 colleges represented. Ten of those colleges are out-of-state, with Purdue and, most recently, Michigan already representing the Big Ten here in North Carolina. It’s time Penn State reinforced its presence in our state!
You currently pay $28 to $33 per year for your N.C. license plate registration. The Penn State license plate will be an extra $25 a year, which will be distributed to the National Heritage Trust Fund and the Special Registration Plate Fund (part of the Highway Fund, which among other things beautifies N.C. highways). These charges are established by legislative action in the state of North Carolina and, like all laws, are subject to change.
Personalizing your Penn State license plate is $30 per year in addition to the standard registration fee and the collegiate license fee.
The Triangle Chapter of the Penn State Alumni Association has volunteered to help coordinate the Penn State University efforts to establish the specialized PSU plate, with the assistance of all the other local Chapters in the state.
To register for the Penn State University license plate, please complete the application which can be found online at http://www.tripsu.org/LicensePlateApplication2014.pdf . For the first time, you can pay through PayPal at http://www.tripsu.org/payments. Here, you will simply pay the extra $25 to cover the cost of the specialized plate, plus $1.25 to cover the administrative costs. Should you choose to personalize your plate, you would pay the extra $55, plus $2 to cover the administrative costs. You also have the option to submit your application electronically by sending it to License Plate Committee Chairperson Don Torino at dontorino@psualum.com.
You may also pay by check and avoid the administrative fees by mailing your check for $25 (or $55 for personalized plates) per vehicle [made payable to the “Triangle Penn State Chapter”] and completed application form to:
Triangle Penn State Chapter – License Plate
P.O. Box 1215
Morrisville, NC 27560-1215
All applications will be collected and the monies held in a special Penn State license plate account by the Triangle Chapter of the Penn State Alumni Association. Please include your email address and phone number along with your application so that we can contact you if necessary. An email will be sent to you to confirm that your form and money have been received. Email will also be used for follow up communication if necessary.
Once we have 300 paid applications, we will submit your application and fee to NC DMV, who will handle the necessary registration. Subsequent registrations will be handled directly through DMV. Also, it is DMV who determines who gets which personalized plate, which is why the application requests more than one choice. For instance, “WE_R”, “LION”, and “PSU1” have all been requested many times. So be original!
If your information changes before we submit the forms and money to the NC DMV, please send an email to Don Torino at dontorino@psualum.com with your new information and it will be changed on your form(s). Also, if you move out of state before the application is processed by the DMV, simply request a refund of your Penn State license plate fee and we will refund your payment minus a $5 processing fee.
We would like you to keep in mind the accompanying artwork is proposed until verified as official by the NC DMV. However, the artwork as shown conforms to guidelines the NC DMV has given to us, and to the guidelines the university has for use of their logo.
We have included the original Authorization letter from the Penn State licensing department sent to the NC DMV, and the image of the proposed plate: HERE.
We hope you will support Penn State and support this license plate endeavor and make Penn State University the first university from the commonwealth of PA to establish a collegiate license plate in North Carolina.
For the glory,
Don Torino [dontorino@psualum.com]
License Plate Committee Chairperson
P.S. To get the most recent updates as quickly as possible, join our “License Plates in North Carolina” Facebook page at:
Application form: http://tripsu.org/LicensePlateApplication2014.pdf