COLORADO NEWS

Should Colorado make the black license plate the official one? It’s by far the most popular

Jan 15, 2026, 5:12 PM | Updated: Jan 16, 2026, 4:46 pm

Chances are you or someone you knows has paid a little extra to get the black Colorado license plate, because a ton of people now have them.

As a matter of fact, the black specialty license plate has become the most popular special license plate in the state, more popular than every other group special plate combined. As of Dec. 31, more than 486,000 vehicles were registered with the black plate, accounting for 7.69 percent of all license plates in Colorado.

Each black license plate carries a $25 annual fee. That money goes directly to the Colorado Disability Funding Committee, which distributes grants to organizations serving people with disabilities.

In 2025, the black license plate brought in $12.15 million. Combined with the blue and red disability-support plates, the total annual revenue reached more than $13 million.

Top 15 most popular group special license plates as of Dec. 31, 2025:

  1. Black: 486,075
  2. 150th plate (under 13): 68,687
  3. Columbine: 65,547
  4. Wildlife sporting: 36,364
  5. Pioneer: 27,519
  6. Ski Country USA: 27,121
  7. 150th plate (over 13): 26,588
  8. Adopt a Shelter Pet: 25,594
  9. Born to Be Wild (wolf): 23,324
  10. Breast cancer: 22,524
  11. Firefighter: 18,652
  12. Blue: 17,990
  13. Red: 17,207
  14. Broncos Charities: 13,865
  15. Rocky Mountain National Park: 13,238

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Should Colorado make the black license plate the official one? It’s by far the most popular