New Yorkers can choose the state’s next license-plate design by voting for one of five candidates at the Governor's website.

Three of the designs feature the Statue of Liberty — her face, her full body, her torch. Another depicts two small-scale scenes: Liberty along with the New York City skyline, and a woodland scene with a waterfall. And a fifth depicts the new Mario M. Cuomo Bridge.

Plate 1

Plate 2

Plate 3

Plate 4

Plate 5

The voting runs through Monday, Sept. 2, and the design with the most votes will become the state’s official license plate and will be available to customers beginning April 2020.

The new plates will replace the Empire Blue & White plates, most of which are more than 10 years old. Once the new plates become available, the Department of Motor Vehicles will also stop issuing the Empire Gold plates and begin fully transitioning to the new design.

The contest kicks off a new 10-year license plate replacement program to ensure all New York license plates on the roadways are reflective and easy to read, according to a release from the governor’s office. Currently, over 3 million vehicles in New York State have plates that are 10 years old or older. Because of their age, many of them are damaged, oxidized and peeling, making it difficult or impossible to read the license plate number.

Replacing aging plates will eliminate legibility issues that hinder License Plate Readers, which are used by law enforcement, red-light cameras and cashless tolling systems, from correctly identifying the registered vehicle owner.

Beginning in April 2020, through the plate replacement program, as customers renew their vehicle registrations over the next two years, those with license plates that are 10 years old or older will be issued new plates.

The current $25 license-plate replacement fee will be added to the cost of the vehicle owner's registration renewal. Customers may also keep their current license plate number for an additional $20 fee. Plate issuance begins for both original issuance and renewals on April 1, 2020.

In addition to the state’s official license plate, the DMV offers more than 200 custom license plates, many of which support charitable causes. A complete list of available custom plates can be found online at https://dmv.ny.gov/plates/plates.