Wire Report

JACKSON (AP) — Mississippi has a new standard license plate that includes the state seal with the phrase, “In God We Trust.”

The new design is being phased in during 2019, replacing one featured the guitar of blues legend B.B. King.

The standard Mississippi license plate is redesigned every few years, partly as a way of catching people who fail to pay the annual renewal fees. Drivers receive the new plate when their old one expires and they pay the fees.

Drivers are reminded they will need to take their expired tag to their courthouse to receive a new tag because of the change in design.

For extra fees, the state also sells a variety of specialty car tags .

Some critics say the new license plate design is unbalanced, with three letters on the left, then the off-center state seal, then four numbers on the right.