31-2-230. Tribal license plates.

(a) Any person required to register a vehicle in Wyoming pursuant to this article may apply for distinctive Eastern Shoshone Indian tribe license plates for any motor vehicle that is not a commercial vehicle or multipurpose vehicle owned or leased by the applicant upon registration of the vehicle. The department, in consultation with the business council of the Eastern Shoshone Indian tribe, shall prescribe the design of the Eastern Shoshone license plate, which shall include an image of the bucking horse and rider as described in W.S. 8-3-117, and need not include Arabic numerals for the county. The design of the plate shall comply with any applicable federal or state law.

(b) Any person required to register a vehicle in Wyoming pursuant to this article may apply for distinctive Northern Arapaho Indian tribe license plates for any motor vehicle that is not a commercial vehicle or multipurpose vehicle owned or leased by the applicant upon registration of the vehicle. The department, in consultation with the business council of the Northern Arapaho Indian tribe, shall prescribe the design of the Northern Arapaho license plate, which shall include an image of the bucking horse and rider as described in W.S. 8-3-117, and need not include Arabic numerals for the county. The design of the plate shall comply with any applicable federal or state law.

(c) The department shall arrange for production of the license plates authorized by this section. The county treasurer of each county shall issue the license plates.

(d) The applicant shall pay an application fee of seventy dollars ($70.00) to the University of Wyoming, whereupon the university shall issue a written statement of eligibility for license plates under this section. Any fees collected under this subsection shall be deposited in equal amounts to the Chief Washakie memorial endowment fund and the Northern Arapaho endowment fund and are continuously appropriated for the purpose of funding scholarships for students at the University of Wyoming.

(e) Applicants shall apply at least thirty (30) days before registration is required for the vehicle for which the plates are intended. Except as provided in this section, application for, issuance and renewal of license plates under this section shall be subject to the same requirements and fees as provided in this article in addition to the application fee in subsection (d). The license plate fee required under W.S. 31-3-102(a)(viii) shall accompany each application.

(f) License plates issued under this section shall be displayed only upon the vehicle for which they are issued.

(g) The department may prepare any special forms and issue any rules and regulations necessary to carry out this section.

(h) Unless five hundred (500) sets of license plates are issued under this section before December 31, 2025, the plates authorized under this section shall be eliminated from production, and the department shall report the cessation of production to the legislature not later than January 15, 2027.