Next year, the Green River series license plate will be phased out and replaced by a Wyoming flag design -- a project which has kept WYDOT's tag plant busy as they prepare more than two million plates for Wyoming counties to distribute to customers.

Before 2001, the Wyoming State Penitentiary produced all the plates, but when the license plate plant shut down, WYDOT took over. According to manager Steven Lund, WYDOT makes ALL the plates at their facility, including specialty ones.

In a recent press release he explains that the plates are printed onto special adhesive-back stock with security features, then affixed to aluminum backing. Next they come through a press, which chops the corners, punches holes, and puts a rim around it.

All plates must be renewed and feature the new designs by the end of next year. 

Wyoming license plates are required by law to change designs every eight years, and it takes more than half that time to prepare for the changeover. It takes a lot of time to make them, but also to package and deliver them.

On average, Lund says they average between 375,000 to 425,000 new plates a year. They gear up for four to five years before they have to be issued out.

Production for the new plates is just about done. They've got all the smaller counties finished, but are still working on Natrona and Laramie County.

"And we still haven't done any exempt plates, I've still got to work on those. Or sepcialty plates -- I haven't done any veteran plates or UW plates," says Lund.