A. Motor vehicles, trailers, and semitrailers owned by the Commonwealth, political subdivisions of the Commonwealth, and regional jail authorities created pursuant to Article 3.1 (§ 53.1-95.2 et seq.) of Chapter 3 of Title 53.1 and used solely for governmental purposes shall be registered and shall display license plates as provided in this section. The fee for such license plates shall be equal to the cost incurred by the Department in the purchase or manufacture of such license plates. The fees received by the Commissioner under this section shall be paid into the state treasury and shall be set aside as a special fund to be used to meet the expenses of the Department of Motor Vehicles.

License plates issued for vehicles owned by the Commonwealth, except plates issued to be used on vehicles (i) devoted solely to police work, (ii) used by the Virginia Economic Development Partnership to the extent approved by the Governor, (iii) used by an institution of higher education solely for purposes of vehicle technology research, or (iv) used by the Governor and the Attorney General, shall have conspicuously and legibly inscribed, stamped, or printed thereon words stating that the vehicle is for official state use only. The Commissioner shall reserve a unique series of numbers for use on such license plates and shall provide for a design and combination of colors which distinguish such license plates from those issued for vehicles owned by the political subdivisions of the Commonwealth.

License plates issued for vehicles owned by political subdivisions of the Commonwealth and regional jail authorities, except such plates issued to be used (i) on vehicles used by any local or regional economic development authority, agency, instrumentality, or organization, upon the request of the chief administrative officer of the affected locality (or, in the case of regional organizations, the chief administrative officer of any of the affected localities) or (ii) on vehicles devoted solely to police work, shall have conspicuously and legibly inscribed, stamped, or printed thereon words stating that the vehicle is for official local government use only. The Commissioner shall reserve a unique series of numbers for use on such license plates and shall provide for a design and combination of colors which distinguish such license plates from those issued for vehicles owned by the Commonwealth.

No other license plates shall be used on vehicles for which official use plates have been issued, except for vehicles used solely for police work and as provided in subsection B of this section.

B. In addition to any other license plate authorized by this section, the Commissioner may issue permanent or temporary license plates for use on vehicles owned by the Commonwealth or any of its departments, institutions, boards, or agencies and used for security or transportation purposes in conjunction with conferences, meetings, or other events involving the Governor or members of the General Assembly. No state agency shall use government funds to cover the costs of any license plates issued under this subsection. The design of these license plates shall be at the discretion of the Commissioner. These license plates shall be issued under the following conditions:

1. For each set of permanent license plates issued, the Commissioner shall charge a fee of $100. The Commissioner shall limit the validity of any set of license plates issued under this subdivision to no more than 30 consecutive days. The Commissioner's written authorization for use of any set of license plates issued under this subdivision shall be kept in the vehicle on which the license plates are displayed until expiration of the authorization.

2. The Commissioner shall limit the validity of each set of temporary license plates to no more than 14 consecutive days. For each set of temporary license plates, the Commissioner shall charge a fee of $25 for the first set and $2 for each additional set. The Commissioner's written authorization for use of any set of license plates issued under this subdivision shall be kept in the vehicle on which the license plates are displayed until expiration of the authorization.

Code 1950, § 46-48; 1958, c. 541, § 46.1-49; 1970, c. 66; 1974, c. 129; 1982, c. 317; 1989, cc. 110, 727; 1994, 1st Sp. Sess., c. 6; 1995, cc. 432, 747; 1996, cc. 590, 598, 1026; 2004, c. 721; 2016, cc. 302, 707.