December 10, 2025

By Lane Kimble

When you’re hangin’ out… down the street… doing the same old thing… you did last week… you just might notice a blast from the past driving by (or from the 1970s, to be specific).

Wisconsin reintroduced its retro yellow license plates this week alongside a new “blackout” option, which could pump millions of dollars into the Transportation Fund.

Once a mainstay of automobiles across America’s Dairyland, Wisconsin began phasing out the yellow plates in the late-1980s. The blackout plates (white letters on a black background), meanwhile, have become popular in recent years in neighboring Iowa and Minnesota.

Both versions cost $25 per year beyond the standard registration fee, plus a one-time $15 issuance fee.

The 2025-27 state budget included the plates as a way to drive revenue for the Transportation Fund. The Legislative Fiscal Bureau estimated the plates would generate about $4.6 million in gross revenue in FY2026 and another $12 million in FY2027.

The governor’s office said Wednesday that revenue estimates for the first three years now surpass $25 million, helping build and maintain more roads, bridges, and highways.

The yellow and blackout plates will both be available beginning in January 2026