MET awards grants to organizations working to protect and conserve marine animals, aquatic life, and river and estuarine habitats through the sales of the whale tail, trout, striped bass & Blackstone Valley plates. FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS (FAQs)
Congratulations on choosing an Environmental Specialty Plate from the Mass Environmental Trust (MET/Trust)! Proceeds from these four license plates benefit the Massachusetts Environmental Trust’s grantmaking program and have since 1994. A thank you to everyone who has purchased a plate for your generosity and assistance in supporting local charities and important environmental initiatives. Visit WHALEPLATE.ORG or STRIPERPLATE.ORG and click on the RED Get Started button to order your specialty plate online through the MASS RMV - When ordering online, there are no shipping fees
2. Choose Order A Special/Vanity Plate
3. Fill out the required form on the RMV site
4. Select the vehicle you want and press next
5. From the Vehicle Registration Plate Order page scroll down to the next button
6. Choose Charitable Plate from drop-down menu
7. Choose Blackstone Valley, Fish & Wildlife, Right Whale, or Striped Bass plate from the drop-down menu
8. Go through the motions and pay. Your new plates, registration, and decal will be mailed to you within 10 business days
You can also visit any Mass full service RMV. Before you go, contact your car insurance provider and ask them to send you a signed RMV-3 Form for a plate swap. As long as your registration is in good standing, you will leave with a new plate in hand! WHAT IS THE MASS ENVIRONMENTAL TRUST? The Massachusetts Environmental Trust (MET/Trust) was formed in 1988 as a grantmaking organization housed within the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs (EOEEA). The Trust operates as an independent entity without tax dollars or legislative appropriations and is governed by a board of influential private citizens — many of whom are former public sector leaders and committed business executives. HOW MUCH WILL THE PLATE COST ME INITIALLY? RMV registration fee: $60
The special plate fee is: $40 (tax-deductible contribution)
Total first time fee: $100
Renewal fee every 2 years: $100
Plate swap-out fee: $20
HOW OFTEN ARE SPECIAL PLATES RENEWED? The special plates are renewed every two years. WHERE DOES MY MONEY GO? For $20 a year, you are providing grants for protecting endangered species, for research teams to disentangle whales and sea turtles, for research on marine, freshwater animals and fish, for the development of safer technologies of fishing gear, and so much more. All of the Trust’s revenue comes from the sale of environmental license plates with the “whale plate” generating a larger percentage of our total annual income. IS THE SPECIAL PLATE FEE TAX-DEDUCTIBLE? Yes, $28 is tax-deductible with your first-time order ($12 goes to the RMV for production costs) and the entire $40 specialty plate fee is a tax-deductible donation upon every renewal. DOES THE COST OF A NEW SPECIALTY PLATE INCLUDE MY VEHICLE REGISTRATION FEES? No, your registration fees are not included during the new plate development process. You must renew your current vehicle registration bi-annually at a fee of $100.00. Of this fee, $40.00 goes to MET and $60 is the RMV’s registration
renewal fee. IS THE $40 A ONE-TIME PAYMENT? No. The $40 is paid every two years with your standard RMV renewal fee of $60. So, the total is $100 every two years. IF I AM PURCHASING THE PLATE AS A GIFT, WHOSE NAME DO I ENTER ON THE FORM? The gift recipient. If you are purchasing a license plate as a gift, make sure all the recipient’s registration information is the same on the completed form. CAN I PUT A MET ENVIRONMENTAL SPECIALTY PLATE ON MY LEASED VEHICLE? Yes. You will need a Power of Attorney letter from your leasing agent. In addition, you will need an RMV-3 form signed by your car insurance provider. Make sure you tell your car dealer you want a right whale, trout, Striped Bass or Blackstone Valley Mill license plate! CAN I PERSONALIZE THIS NEW SPECIALTY PLATE? Unlike vanity plates, all Massachusetts environmental specialty license plates begin with two letters followed by four digits. Special plates are randomly assigned. If you are interested in participating in a low number auction, sign up for our mailing list at https://www.mass.gov/forms/sign-up-for-notifications-from-met. CAN I GET THIS NEW SPECIAL PLATE FOR MY MOTORCYCLE? Not at this time. There is legislation being proposed that would allow motorcycles to be able to have a specialty plate. CAN I GET THIS SPECIALTY PLATE ON MY COMMERCIAL VEHICLE? There is legislation being proposed that would allow commercial vehicles to be able to have a specialty plate. DO YOU HAVE TO BE A MASSACHUSETTS RESIDENT TO PURCHASE THE PLATE? Anyone with a car registered in the state of Massachusetts may purchase a MET Specialty Plate. IF I AM APPLYING FOR A MET ENVIRONMENTAL SPECIALTY PLATE FOR MORE THAN ONE VEHICLE, DO I NEED TO FILL OUT AN APPLICATION FOR EACH VEHICLE? MassDOT requires a separate application and check for each specialty plate requested. IF I AM NOT IN MASSACHUSETTS TO SWAP MY PLATE WHEN IT’S READY, CAN I HAVE SOMEONE DO IT ON MY BEHALF? As long none of the information on the originally submitted application has changed. WHAT DO I NEED TO BRING TO THE RMV? You will need to bring a completed RMV-3 form signed by your car insurance provider. To obtain this form, call you provider and ask them to send you a signed RMV-3 form for a plate swap. Bring this form with you to the RMV. As long as your current registration is in good standing (no outstanding excise taxes, fines, tickets, etc.), you will be able to leave with plates in hand that day. WHERE DO I PICK UP MY SPECIALTY PLATE AND WHAT DO I DO WITH MY OLD PLATES? At the service center you indicated on your initial application. When your plates have been shipped to the RMV Service Center, you will be notified by mail. Bring your registration and current plates (if applicable) to the RMV Service Center
at that time. There is a $20 swap-out plate fee plus any applicable registration fees due at the time of pick-up. These fees will depend on your current plate number and expiration year. The old license plates can be returned the RMV or destroyed. CAN I ORDER PLATES ONLINE? YES. It is easy and your new plates will be mailed to your home, you do not need to go to the RMV. HOW DO I UPDATE MY E-Z PASS INFORMATION? To update your E-Z Pass vehicle information with a new MET environmental license plate, the process is as follows:
1) Go to the login page here: ezdrivema.com/ezpassmalogin and log into your account
2) In your account overview section, go to number of vehicles and click on review/edit
3) For the specific vehicle, click on edit and choose your plate type from the drop-down list
4) Fill in your new plate number and save
HOW CAN I GET MORE INFORMATION? You can contact the RMV’s Specialty Plate Department at: 857-368-8031 or the Mass Environmental Trust 617-626-168 or [email protected]
