This transportation law creates 21 new charity specialty license plates and new Bronze Star and Silver Star plates, lets marked blood transport vehicles use carpool lanes alone, stretches the license photo update period from 12 to 16 years, lets the state label some roads "primitive roads" with limited state liability, and makes several other changes to motor vehicle, license and notice rules.
Official title: ADOT; revisions.
- September 12, 2026
- Only if someone pays $32,000 by December 31, 2026: Each of the 21 new charity specialty plates
- From and after December 31, 2026: Bronze Star and Silver Star medal license plates
What changes
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Now21 new charity specialty plates are created, including skin cancer prevention, diabetes awareness, Grand Canyon National Park, search and rescue, and police service dogs. Each is issued only if someone pays ADOT $32,000 by December 31, 2026. The plate fee is $25 a year: $8 goes to the state highway fund and $17 is a donation to a named type of nonprofit.
BeforeMedal of Honor recipients could get distinctive plates at no additional cost. The text does not show earlier Bronze Star or Silver Star plates. Honorary consular official special plates existed.
NowMedal of Honor recipients can get up to 3 plates for personal motor vehicles, and ADOT may not collect a registration fee for them. Starting after December 31, 2026, veterans who received the Bronze Star or Silver Star, and their immediate family members, can get those plates for $25 plus a $5 renewal fee. Honorary consular plates are repealed, and ADOT must recall them and issue standard plates instead.
BeforeOnly listed vehicles, such as motorcycles, tow trucks on duty and emergency vehicles, could use high occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes with only the driver.
NowA nonprofit blood bank vehicle carrying blood or blood products may also use HOV lanes with only the driver, if it shows a removable decal or sign on each side and the rear. These vehicles are also added last on the priority list for when an HOV lane is degraded (when traffic in it is too slow).
BeforeADOT had to require license holders to update their photo, or send a vision report, if the license had not been updated in 12 years.
NowADOT must require a photo update if the license has not been updated in 16 years. The vision report option is removed from this notice.
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NowThe ADOT director or a designee may label a state highway or route a "primitive road". Signs must warn that the road is not regularly maintained and is used at your own risk. The state and its employees are not liable for damage or injury from using it, except for intentional injuries or gross negligence (serious carelessness) by an employee on the job.
Who it affects
- Drivers and vehicle owners in Arizona
- People who buy specialty license plates
- Veterans who received the Medal of Honor, Bronze Star or Silver Star, and their family members
- Holders of honorary consular official special plates
- Nonprofit blood banks
- Drivers under 18 who commit moving traffic violations
- People ordered into DUI treatment programs
- Aircraft owners
- Law enforcement agencies and businesses that run vehicle-identifying camera systems
- Arizona Department of Transportation
What you need to do
Nothing for most people. Holders of honorary consular official plates will have them recalled and replaced with standard plates. Veterans who want the new Bronze Star or Silver Star plates must give ADOT satisfactory proof of the medal.
What the law doesn't answer
- When honorary consular official plates will be recalled, and whether holders must do anything
- Who counts as an "immediate family member" for the Bronze Star and Silver Star plates
- What standards ADOT will use to choose which roads become primitive roads
- Whether the camera data rule applies to contracts signed before this law, and what happens if a contract breaks it
- Which specific nonprofits will receive money from each new plate fund
- How the license photo update notice will handle vision testing in the future
This summary describes the law as enacted. Later laws, court rulings or referendum petitions can change the picture. Check the official text for the current wording.