New York is famous for its iconic imagery, from the city’s skyline to steam rising from the roads and plenty more. Even the state’s license plates are easy to spot, especially the ones with the word “Excelsior” across the bottom. Marvel Comics Chairman Emeritus Stan Lee made the word famous as his catchphrase, but it landed on New York plates thanks to a 2019 design competition.
All five finalist designs featured the word Excelsior, and New Yorkers voted on those plates. Of the 325,000 votes cast, the winning design took about half. Along with the word, the plate shows some of the state’s best-known landmarks: the Statue of Liberty, Niagara Falls, a Long Island lighthouse, a mountain range, and Manhattan’s skyline. The design looks nothing like the old yellow-and-blue plate, which the Excelsior version replaced.
Excelsior shows up on more than license plates, though. It’s also the state motto and part of the state’s Great Seal. The word is Latin for “Ever Upward,” and it appears on a banner beneath the two female figures of Liberty and Justice. Between them sits a shield with a rising sun over a mountain range and two ships on the water, while an eagle spreads its wings over a globe at the very top.
Excelsior plates are not required in New York
New York’s new Excelsior plates, introduced in 2019, didn’t last long before the state recalled them. The problem came down to the plates’ reflective elements, which kept the E-ZPass system from scanning them properly. E-ZPass is an electronic toll payment system that lets drivers pay tolls automatically as they pass through equipped toll lanes. Officials traced the issue to a manufacturing defect, though drivers hadn’t received the affected plates yet when it was discovered.
Around the same time, another controversy hit New York plates. The state considered making drivers with license plates older than 10 years replace them. The replacement would cost drivers up to $45, a fee many people thought was too high, and the proposal drew a backlash. Then-Governor Andrew Cuomo stopped the replacement program before it began, so drivers kept their existing plates.
As of this writing, New York drivers don’t have to switch to an Excelsior plate when they renew their vehicle registration. Drivers who want the new plate can make the change, either during the renewal window or outside of it, depending on the situation. The state does require the Excelsior plate in certain cases, though, including when a driver orders a new personalized plate or applies for a replacement for a lost or stolen one.
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