Frequently Asked Questions

You can purchase a Conservation License Plate at any time - for your new car, for a car that's already registered, or even for a friend or family member to use when they register their car!

Visit your municipal office in person to make your purchase, whether you're registering your car for the first time or renewing your registration and changing your plate to a Conservation License Plate.

You can also purchase a gift certificate for someone you know who doesn't yet have a Conservation License Plate but would love one.

All funds raised through the purchase of Conservation License Plates are used for the promotion, protection and investment in New Hampshire's natural, cultural and historic resources.

Purchasing the Conservation License Plate for the first time costs $38: $8 for the standard "reflective plate fee" that you would normally pay to purchase license plates and $30 toward supporting the Conservation License Plate's conservation and heritage programs. You will also have to pay the annual vehicle registration fee set by your town or city (this fee varies and is based on your vehicle's weight and the number of months for which you are registering the vehicle) and the standard state registration fee - just as you would for any vehicle registered in New Hampshire.

Every year that you keep the Conservation License Plate, you will be charged $30 in addition to the annual vehicle registration fee set by your town or city and the standard state registration fee.

All funds raised through the purchase of Conservation License Plates are used for the promotion, protection and investment in New Hampshire's natural, cultural and historic resources.

All funds raised through the purchase of Conservation License Plates are used for the promotion, protection and investment in New Hampshire's natural, cultural and historic resources.

It depends on whether you get a standard issue Conservation License Plate or a vanity ("initial") Conservation License Plate.

All standard issue Conservation License Plates have up to five digits, one of which is a "C" (for "Conservation") or an "H" (for "Heritage"). These plates also have a small vertical "CH" at the beginning of the individual plate number.

The vanity ("initial") Conservation License Plate can have up to six numbers, letters or symbols in any combination that is currently not being used for any New Hampshire license plate and that fulfills New Hampshire Division of Motor Vehicle standards. An "Application for Vanity Plates" form is available at all New Hampshire Division of Motor Vehicles offices and at many town offices.

You can change your standard issue plate to a Conservation License Plate when you reregister your vehicle. Just go to your municipal office as you normally do to register or reregister your car and fill out the"Application for Vanity Plates" form. This form will provide you with the option to buy a new Conservation License Plate as a vanity ("initial") plate. You will be able to put down several combinations for the vanity ("initial") plate you want and the New Hampshire Division of Motor Vehicles will search its database to see if any of those combinations already exist on a currently registered New Hampshire license plate. If your vanity ("initial") plate combination is available, you will receive a new vanity ("initial") Conservation License Plate within 2-3 weeks. You may receive a temporary paper license plate in the meantime.

All vanity ("initial") Conservation License Plates are charged both the $30 Conservation License Plate fee and the $40 vanity ("initial") plate fee each year. That means that a Conservation License Plate that's a vanity ("initial") plate will cost you $70 a year. (When you first purchase the plate you will also be charged the standard $8 reflectorized license plate fee, for a total of $78.) This is in addition to the annual vehicle registration fee set by your town or city (this fee varies and is based on your vehicle's weight and the number of months for which you are registering the vehicle), and the standard state registration fee.

Please note that the fees for a vanity plate are now prorated. Please see the chart below for the monthly vanity fee.

1 month: $3.33
2 months: $6.66
3 months: $10.00
4 months: $13.33
5 months: $16.66
6 months: $20.00
7 months: $23.33
8 months: $26.66


9 months: $30.00
10 months: $33.33
11 months: $36.66
12 months: $40.00
13 months: $43.33
14 months: $46.66
15 months: $50.00
16 months: $53.33


All funds raised through the purchase of Conservation License Plates are used for the promotion, protection and investment in New Hampshire's natural, cultural and historic resources.

Next to the moose on the Conservation License Plate, there is a small vertical "CH." What does it mean?
The "CH" stands for "Conservation" and "Heritage," two aspects of New Hampshire's natural and historic environment that benefit from the revenues generated by the moose plate.

All funds raised through the purchase of Conservation License Plates are used for the promotion, protection and investment in New Hampshire's natural, cultural and historic resources.

No. Vanity ("initial") Conservation License Plates do not have the "CH" designation because they are designed to have up to six digits on them. The regular Conservation License Plate has the "CH" designation plus room for five digits, one of which is either a "C" or an "H."

Passenger motor vehicles and recreation vehicle