(a) Any motor vehicle designed to carry passengers, owned or leased by the State of West Virginia, or any of its departments, bureaus, commissions, or institutions, except vehicles used by the Governor, Treasurer, not to exceed eight vehicles operated by investigators of the Office of the Attorney General, three vehicles per elected office of the Board of Public Works not otherwise specified, vehicles operated by the State Police, not to exceed five vehicles operated by the office of the Secretary of Military Affairs and Public Safety, not to exceed five vehicles operated by the Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management, vehicles operated by natural resources police officers of the Division of Natural Resources, not to exceed 10 vehicles operated by the arson investigators of the Office of State Fire Marshal, not to exceed two vehicles operated by the Division of Protective Services, not to exceed 16 vehicles operated by inspectors of the Office of the Alcohol Beverage Control Commissioner, vehicles operated by the West Virginia Wing of the Civil Air Patrol, and vehicles operated by probation officers employed under the Supreme Court of Appeals may not be operated or driven by any person unless it has displayed and attached to the front thereof, in the same manner as regular motor vehicle registration plates are attached, a plate of the same size as the regular registration plate, with white lettering on a green background bearing the words “West Virginia” in one line and the words “State Car” in another line, and the lettering for the words “State Car” shall be of sufficient size to be plainly readable from a distance of 100 feet during daylight: Provided, That beginning January 1, 2019, state vehicle license plates shall be gold with blue lettering.
The vehicle shall also have attached to the rear a plate bearing a number and any other words and figures as the Commissioner of Motor Vehicles shall prescribe. The rear plate shall also be green with the number in white: Provided, That beginning January 1, 2019, state vehicle license plates shall be gold with blue lettering.
(b) Registration plates issued to vehicles owned by counties shall be white on red with the word “County” on top of the plate and the words “West Virginia” on the bottom.
(c) Registration plates issued to a city or municipality shall be white on blue with the word “City” on top and the words “West Virginia” on the bottom.
(d) Registration plates issued to a city or municipality law-enforcement department shall include blue lettering on a white background with the words “West Virginia” on top of the plate and shall be further designed by the commissioner to include a law-enforcement shield together with other insignia or lettering sufficient to identify the motor vehicle as a municipal law-enforcement department motor vehicle. The colors may not be reversed and shall be of reflectorized material. The registration plates issued to counties, municipalities, and other governmental agencies authorized to receive colored plates hereunder shall be affixed to both the front and rear of the vehicles.
(e) (1) Registration plates issued to vehicles operated by county sheriffs shall be designed by the commissioner in cooperation with the sheriffs’ association with the word “Sheriff” on top of the plate and the words “West Virginia” on the bottom. The plate shall contain a gold shield representing the sheriff’s star and a number assigned to that plate by the commissioner. Every county sheriff shall provide the commissioner with a list of vehicles operated by the sheriff, unless otherwise provided in this section, and a fee of $10 for each vehicle submitted by July 1, 2002.
(2) Registration plates issued to vehicles operated by the West Virginia Wing of the Civil Air Patrol shall be designed by the commissioner in cooperation with the Civil Air Patrol and include the words “Civil Air Patrol” on the plate. The Civil Air Patrol shall provide the commissioner with a list of vehicles operated by the Civil Air Patrol, unless otherwise provided in this section, and a fee of $10 for each new vehicle for which a Civil Air Patrol license plate is requested.