NC DMV will no longer issue Confederate flag license plates, officials say

North Carolina DMV officials will no longer issue or renew license plates bearing the Confederate battle flag or any variation of it.

The Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) said in a statement that it determined plates bearing the Confederate flag "have the potential to offend those who view them" and concluded the flag was inappropriate to display on specialty plates, which remain property of the state.

To stay consistent with the ruling of North Carolina Division of the Sons of Confederate Veterans v. Faulkner, the DMV will still recognize SCV as a civic organization entitled to the issuance of a specialty plate, however, the classification does not entitle SCV to dictate contents of the government speech on the plate.

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"Efforts were made, and will continue to be made, to work with the SCV to develop artwork for these specialty plates that does not contain the Confederate battle flag," said NCDOT officials. "Since these efforts have proven unsuccessful so far, the DMV determined the agency would no longer issue or renew these specialty plates."

The DMV said it remains open to considering alternative artwork for review and resuming the issuance of specialty plates for members of SCV.

Until such agreement can be reached, the DMV said it will either issue SCV members standard plates and refund any specialty-plate fees

This became effective on Jan. 1, 2021.