New Hampshire sells a specialty plate that pays for conservation and heritage work, and drivers know it as the Moose plate. The state paperwork calls it the Conservation and Heritage plate. Money from every set funds habitat protection, historic building repair and local arts projects. A small stacked C/H marker sits beside the serial, and the letter that opens that serial shows which fund your yearly charge supports. This page covers the cost, the letter codes and the steps at the counter.
You can order the plate at a town or city clerk counter, at a DMV registration office, or by mail to Concord. The conservation charge is the yearly figure in the table below, and the total for the first year there adds the plate fee charged once. That charge stays on your registration each year you keep the plate. More than 12,000 sets run on New Hampshire vehicles today, which makes this the most popular specialty plate in the state.
How to Get a Moose Plate in New Hampshire
A Moose plate is not a separate registration. It replaces the standard passenger plate on a vehicle you already have registered in New Hampshire. The clerk swaps the plate on your record, collects the charges and hands you a set. Bring your current registration or your renewal notice, your driver license and a payment method. Most town offices take a check or a card, and a few take cash only, so ask before you join the line.
- Confirm the vehicle carries a current New Hampshire registration with no unpaid fees on the record.
- Ask the town or city clerk for the Conservation and Heritage plate, and say Moose plate if the clerk looks puzzled.
- Pick the C or the H series when you are offered a choice, since each letter points at a different fund.
- Pay the one-time plate fee and the yearly conservation charge, and check the fee table for how the two add up in year one.
- Take the plates with you if the office stocks a set, or accept a mailing date if the serial must be printed.
- Hand back the old passenger plates if the clerk asks, so the record shows the new set and nothing else.
- Read the serial before you leave: the stacked C/H mark sits beside the digits and the first character is a letter.
- Keep the registration receipt, since it carries the plate number the clerk tied to your vehicle record.
Some offices print specialty plates on demand and others keep a small stock behind the counter. If the office has none on hand, you leave with your old plates and a receipt, and the new set arrives by mail. The town clerk, a DMV registration office and the mail route to Concord all write to the same record. Call the DMV main line at 603-227-4000 if you need to check the status of an order before you drive anywhere.
https://www.mooseplate.com/get-a-plate/What the Moose Plate Costs
Four charges can appear on a Moose plate order, and only one of them repeats. The conservation charge is the recurring part. The plate fee lands once. A personalized serial adds the vanity charge. The State Parks combination carries a higher yearly amount since it feeds two programs from a single plate.
| Moose plate charge | Amount | When it applies |
|---|---|---|
| Conservation charge | $30 | Every year, with your registration |
| Metal plate fee, added to the conservation charge | $8 | One time, when the set is issued |
| First-year total for a standard set | $38 | Year one only |
| Vanity string on a moose plate | $60 | Yearly, prorated on a first order |
| Personalized set, first year | $98 | Year one only |
| Personalized set, later years | $90 | Every year |
The annual conservation fee
The conservation charge on the Conservation and Heritage plate is one of the NH license plate fees, and the yearly amount is in the fee table above. It renews with your registration. The figure is the same whether you hold the C series or the H series, and the state does not trim it for a partial year. A driver who registers in October pays the full yearly charge, and the next charge lands in the usual renewal month. Town clerks collect it along with the rest of the registration money and pass it to Concord, and the state keeps no separate billing date for a specialty plate. Every set on the road pays the same amount for the same twelve months.
The plate fee in year one
New Hampshire charges the one-time metal plate fee for a set of plates. Your first year adds that one-time plate fee to the conservation charge, which is the first-year total in the fee table above. From the second year onward you pay the yearly charge alone. The plate fee does not come back when you hand the plates in, and the state does not refund it if you later move the plate to another vehicle. If you order a second set after a move between two cars, that order carries its own plate fee.
What a personalized Moose Plate adds
A personalized Moose plate adds the vanity charge in the fee table, billed for 12 months and prorated by month on a first order, plus the one-time plate fee. The fee table above shows the first-year and later-year totals for a personalized set. The Conservation and Heritage plate allows six characters, so a short word, a pair of initials or a name fits inside the serial. The conservation charge still applies on top, and it stays on the record every year you keep the plate. A personalized set takes longer to arrive since the state prints it to order, so order early if your current registration expires in the same month.
The State Parks combination charge
One Moose plate option pairs the conservation programs with the State Parks fund. That combination carries the combination rate in the comparison table below each year, and the state builds it with a four-digit serial only, so no letters fit in the number. The plate fee applies in year one the same way it applies to any other set. The combination figure is a yearly amount, and it does not fall after the first twelve months. A driver who wants the parks money on the same plate accepts the shorter serial, and a driver who wants letters in the number picks the Moose plate on its own at the lower yearly charge in the fee table.
What the Plate Looks Like and What the C/H Means
The plate is a 12 in by 6 in sheet of reflective aluminium with a pale blue sky graphic laid behind the serial. LIVE FREE OR DIE runs across the top, and the state name sits along the bottom with a cursive New above a serif HAMPSHIRE. The Old Man of the Mountain and Cannon Mountain fill the background. A moose head silhouette stands on the left edge. Serial characters print in dark green.
The Moose (Conservation and Heritage) plate.
- Sky graphic: pale blue bands with the Old Man of the Mountain and Cannon Mountain behind the serial.
- Motto line: LIVE FREE OR DIE in dark green capitals across the top of the plate.
- State name: New in cursive above HAMPSHIRE in serif capitals along the bottom edge.
- Moose mark: a head silhouette with antlers on the left side of the plate.
- Serial: one letter code followed by digits, with the stacked C/H mark set beside the number.
- Size: 12 in wide and 6 in tall, reflective aluminium, one rear plate on a motorcycle or trailer.
Front and rear plates mount on cars, trucks and commercial vehicles. A motorcycle or a trailer carries one rear plate only. The base design has not changed since the state introduced it in January 1999, and the Old Man of the Mountain stays on the plate as a state symbol though the cliff profile collapsed in May 2003.
The Letter Codes C, H, P, M and W
Every Conservation and Heritage plate carries a letter inside the serial, and that letter decides which pot of money the conservation charge feeds. Clerks use the letter to route the yearly amount, and the DMV uses it to tell the plate families apart on the record. Five letters are in use today. Four of them are long standing, and the fifth arrived in early 2026.
| Letter | What it stands for | Note |
|---|---|---|
| C | Conservation | The oldest series on the plate. Money supports habitat, wetland and conservation land work. |
| H | Heritage | Funds historic buildings, covered bridges and landmark repair across the state. |
| P | Preservation | Backs preservation projects that keep older structures and open land in use. |
| M | Moose | The series drivers ask for by name, tied to the moose head on the plate design. |
| W | Wildlife | Added in early 2026 as the newest letter in the Conservation and Heritage family. |
Look at the first character of the serial and match it to the table. The stacked C/H mark stays in the same spot on every Conservation and Heritage plate, so the letter is the only part that changes between the five families. A plate marked W is the newest of the group, and it entered circulation in early 2026 as the wildlife series. A clerk can confirm the letter and the digits on your record if the serial is hard to read on a worn plate. The letter does not change when you renew, and it does not change when you move the plate to another vehicle in your own name.
Where the Money Goes
The annual conservation charge in the table does not go to the highway fund or the general treasury. It lands in dedicated accounts and is paid out by grant. Boards review applications each year, and projects receive money for land work, building repairs and community arts programming. Two state divisions handle the largest shares, and a third partner reviews the arts portion.
Wildlife habitat and conservation land
Conservation money buys habitat, restores wetlands, plants streamside buffers and pays for easements that keep parcels out of subdivision. Grants favor projects with a public benefit, such as a town forest with a walking trail or a riverbank that feeds a trout stream. Land trusts, towns and state programs can apply for the funds.
Historic landmark restoration
Heritage money repairs buildings and structures listed as historic. Grants cover roofs, windows, masonry, foundations and structural framing on town halls, meeting houses, covered bridges, museums and old libraries. The work must follow preservation standards so a building keeps its original fabric and stays in public use.
Local arts grants
A share of the money supports community arts projects. Grantees run concerts, theater productions, murals, arts education and town festivals that a single municipality could not fund alone. Small organizations and municipal arts committees are typical applicants, and awards stay modest so more towns can take part each year.
Which agencies receive the funds
The New Hampshire Department of Natural and Cultural Resources runs the programs behind the plate. The Division of Forests and Lands and the Division of Parks and Recreation handle the conservation side. The Division of Historical Resources and the State Council on the Arts handle the heritage and arts side. Each division publishes its own grant round and its own application dates, so the timing differs by program. Each division posts the projects it funds, which lets a driver trace the yearly charge to a specific trail, roof or concert.
How popular the plate is
More than 12,000 Conservation and Heritage plates are in active use, which makes the Moose plate the most popular specialty plate in New Hampshire. Volume matters here since the conservation charge repeats every year on every set. A small fee spread across twelve thousand vehicles produces a steady pool of grant money that does not rise and fall with the state budget cycle. Each letter routes the yearly charge to a different account inside the program, so the fund split tracks the serials drivers hold.
- Habitat acquisition and wetland restoration on conservation land.
- Easements that keep working forest and river frontage intact.
- Roof, masonry and window repair on historic buildings.
- Structural work on covered bridges, meeting houses and old town halls.
- Arts programming, concerts and murals run by local groups.
- Grant administration at the Department of Natural and Cultural Resources.
Moose Plate or State Parks Plate
The Moose plate is not the only specialty plate that carries a yearly charge. Drivers weigh it against the NH State Parks plate and against the combination that holds both funds on one set. The three options differ in price, in what the money supports and in how many characters a personalized serial can hold.
| Item | Moose plate | State Parks plate | $115 combination |
|---|---|---|---|
| What the money supports | Conservation, heritage, preservation, moose and wildlife grant programs | The state parks system and its facilities | Both the conservation programs and the state parks system |
| Character limit on a personalized serial | 6 characters | 6 characters | 4 characters, digits only |
| Proration of the yearly charge | None; the yearly charge is fixed | None; the yearly charge is fixed | None; the yearly charge is fixed |
Read the table by what you want to fund. A driver who cares about land, old buildings and local arts picks the Moose plate. A driver who wants money in the state parks system picks the State Parks plate at the parks rate in the table. A driver who wants both pays the combination rate in the table, and gives up letters in the serial since the four-digit rule applies. Every option charges the one-time plate fee in year one, and none of the three prorates the yearly amount.
Keeping the Plate on Your Vehicle
A specialty plate stays with the vehicle record until you release it or the record closes, a point that the New Hampshire License Plate rules make clear at the counter. Renewal happens with your registration, not on a separate date. Three situations cause most of the questions at the counter: the yearly renewal, the missing proration and a move between vehicles.
Renewing the plate
Your conservation charge renews with the registration. The town clerk or the DMV adds the yearly charge to the renewal total each year, and you pay it along with the rest of the registration fees. The plates themselves do not need to be replaced except when they are damaged or lost. If a renewal notice arrives without the conservation line and you still hold the plate, ask the clerk to check the record and add the charge.
No proration, explained
The conservation charge is not prorated. A driver who registers in November pays the same yearly amount as a driver who registers in January, and the charge runs to the next renewal month. That rule works differently from the vanity charge, which is prorated by month on a first order. The state does not credit part of the conservation charge back to you if you release the plate before the year ends.
Moving the plate to another car
You can move a Conservation and Heritage plate from one vehicle to another, and the conservation charge follows the plate. The clerk charges a separate amount to change the set on a registration, and the town confirms that amount at the counter. Bring the registrations for both vehicles to the clerk, hand in the plates from the old vehicle if that record closes, and ask the clerk to confirm that the serial stays tied to your account. The plates travel with you through a move, so keep the set and do not turn it in at the counter if you plan to keep using it.
- Pay the yearly conservation charge with each registration renewal.
- Replace a damaged or lost plate rather than repainting it yourself.
- Expect a separate charge to move plates between vehicles, on top of the yearly conservation charge.
- Ask the clerk to confirm the serial and the letter code after any change to the record.
- Keep the plate on a vehicle that carries a current New Hampshire registration.
A plate you no longer want comes off the record when you turn it in at the counter. The conservation charge stops at the next renewal once the specialty set leaves your registration, and the plate fee from year one is not returned. Ask for a receipt that shows the serial you surrendered if you plan to order a different special plate later. A lost set is a separate errand: report it to the DMV and ask for a replacement so your record stays whole.
Frequently Asked Questions
Five questions come up most often at the counter when a driver asks about the Moose plate.
How much does a Moose plate cost in New Hampshire each year?
The conservation charge is $30 a year, and it renews with your registration. Your first year comes to $38 since the one-time plate fee of $8 lands on that first order. A personalized serial adds the $60 vanity charge, which puts a personalized set at $98 in year one and $90 in later years. The State Parks combination is a separate choice at $115 a year.
What does the C/H on a New Hampshire plate mean?
The stacked C/H is the mark for the Conservation and Heritage plate, the one drivers call the Moose plate. The C stands for conservation and the H stands for heritage, and the small bar between the letters holds the two parts together as one mark. The letter that opens the serial tells you which of the five families your set belongs to. The stacked mark appears on every set in the family, and it never tells you which letter you hold.
Can I order a personalized Moose plate?
Yes. The Conservation and Heritage plate allows six characters. The vanity charge is $60 for 12 months, prorated by month on a first order, and the $8 plate fee and the $30 conservation charge apply on top. The clerk or the DMV office adds the vanity charge to the order, and the personalized set is printed and mailed to the address on your registration.
Does the $30 conservation charge ever drop off?
No. The charge repeats every year you keep the Moose plate, and the state does not prorate it. A driver who registers in the last quarter of the year still pays the full $30, and the next charge falls in the usual renewal month. The charge leaves the record only when the specialty plate no longer sits on a registered vehicle in your name. Town clerks apply it again on every renewal that carries the specialty set.
What happens to the plate when I sell the car?
The plate belongs to the vehicle record, and it moves with your account rather than with the buyer. Keep the set, register the next vehicle and ask the clerk to move the plate, which costs $28: the $8 plate fee plus $20 for a certified registration. If you turn the plate in instead, the conservation charge stops at the next renewal and the $8 does not come back. Ask the clerk for a receipt that lists the serial you surrendered.