• There are options for Kansas vehicle owners who want to personalize their plates.Jupiterimages/Photos.com/Getty Images
  
  Vehicle registration plates go back a long way; even the Romans numbered their chariots as a means of identification. The first U.S. motor vehicle registration plates appeared in New York in 1901, and Kansas began issuing metal tags in 1913. As in all states, registration plates have undergone many changes over the decades. Today, Kansas residents registering their vehicles in that state have a wide variety of designs and symbolic messages from which to choose.
  
  

Standard Plates

• The Kansas Department of Revenue has three standard license plates for registered vehicles, one featuring a buffalo, one with the state capitol building and one with the state seal. As of October 2010, these plates cost $5.50 each. Those who have a permanent disabling condition that interferes with their ability to walk may be qualified for disabled parking plates, which cost an extra 50 cents. Those with a temporary disabling condition will be issued placards only, which are valid for six months.
  
  

Personalized Plates

• Kansas law allows seven letters, numbers and/or spaces to be displayed on personalized automobile license plates and five letters, numbers and/or spaces for motorcycle plates. Any combination deemed by the Director of Vehicles to have "profane, vulgar, lewd or indecent meaning or connotation" is disallowed. Personalized plates need to be ordered and paid for at least four months before a vehicle owner's registration renewal is due. Only one plate style, depicting the Kansas state seal, is available for personalized plates. As of October 2010, the cost of such plates was a one-time fee of $40, in addition to standard yearly registration fees, though the personalization must be renewed every five years.
  
  

Specialty Plates

• Vehicle owners in Kansas can choose from a long list of specialty plates that display artwork or a logo that symbolizes a cause of organization. This list includes Agriculture in the Classroom, Amateur Radio Operator (with radio call letters), Children's Trust Fund, Kansas Firefighter, Kansas Breast Cancer Research and Outreach, and Gold Star Mother, along with plates representing military designations, local shrines and Kansas universities. Each plate is priced separately and must be obtained from the organizations involved.
  
  

Antique Plates

• There are several types of plates available for older vehicles driven in Kansas. For cars at least 35 years old, owners may opt for the original model-year Kansas plate, as long as it is in good condition. As of October 2010, the one-time plate fee was $40, in addition to annual registration fees. The plates are available at the vehicle owner's local county treasurer's office. Owners of a street rod vehicle (manufactured in 1948 or earlier and modernized) or special interest vehicle (manufactured in low volume and identified as a collector's item) can purchase street rod or special interest plates, which in October 2010 cost $26. However owners of such vehicles must own another vehicle that they use for everyday transportation and that has a standard registration.