Question: How did we run out of the new license plates so fast? Didn’t they just start adding the okina this year?
Answer: An Oregon-based vendor faced unforeseen trouble making the updated license plate that spells “Hawai‘i” with the diacritical mark and isn’t expected to catch up until May, said Harold Nedd, a spokesperson for Honolulu’s Department of Customer Services, which administers license plate issuance statewide. In the meantime the department has stopgap plans to ensure that everyone who needs a new license plate can get one, he said.
One alternative involves issuing organization decal license plates, which means that we’ll likely see a lot more America United 9/11 decal license plates on the road — it’s the only one of 15 organization decal license plates that costs the same as a standard license plate ($5.50) and carries no additional annual fee. The red, white and blue license plate decal was first issued in October 2001, to honor the victims of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and to declare solidarity as Americans, according to a news release issued at the time.
The 14 other organization decal plates, supporting various nonprofit groups, cost $30.50 for the initial plate and carry a $25 annual renewal fee, $20 of which goes to the nonprofit featured on the decal. Organizations include the University of Hawaii Foundation, Hawaiian Humane Society, Project Shaka and several others. The annual fee would continue until the vehicle owner turns in the organization decal plate and replaces it with a standard plate, which won’t be possible until normal production of the okina plate resumes.
A state law approved in 2024 required license plates issued after Jan. 1, 2025, to spell “Hawai‘i” with the okina. The vendor, Portland-based Irwin Hodson Co., provided a first batch of 12,000 okina plates but then faced production delays that inspired the city to come up with alternatives as the initial supply dwindled, Nedd said Tuesday in an interview.
“We’re disappointed about the unforeseen delay in the delivery of the new license plates, but our focus at the moment is working closely with the vendor to continue to meet customer needs,” and “we want to highlight the fact that we do have these organization plates as an alternative to avoid disruption in issuing plates,” and ensuring that vehicles are street legal, Nedd said.
Electric vehicle owners who need a new license plate might face greater inconvenience than vehicle owners needing a new standard plate. EV owners who initially purchase an organization plate would return to the satellite city hall when EV plates are available. The Honolulu Police Department and the state Department of Transportation have been informed that EV plates are not currently available, Nedd said; those plates entitle the driver to use the high-occupancy lane and park at charging stations.
The city will announce when the supply of okina plates is restocked, which is expected to be in May, Nedd said. Officials are working on waiving the $5.50 replacement fee for EV owners who could not initially get an EV plate, Nedd said, although that has not been finalized. Owners of standard vehicles who want the okina plate when it becomes available would not have the replacement fee waived, Nedd said, because the America United decal plate is available now at the same price as a standard plate.
About 350,000 new license plates are issued each year in Hawaii, Nedd said, and there is no Hawaii company that can produce them.
Nedd emphasized that existing, valid license plates without the okina do not need to be replaced.
Write to Kokua Line at Honolulu Star-Advertiser, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., Suite 2-200, Honolulu, HI 96813; call 808-529-4773; or email kokualine@staradvertiser.com.
