MassRMV Special Low Plate Lottery

07:55AM / Sunday, February 22, 2026Print Story | Email Story

BOSTON— The Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles (RMV) is celebrating President's Day by announcing a special?low number lottery featuring the state's new 250th Anniversary Plate.

Residents can apply starting today, Feb. 16, at 9:00 a.m. and have until 5:00 p.m. on Friday, April 17, 2026. Further information is available at Mass.Gov/MA250Plate.

The "Massachusetts 250 Years of Independence" plate is emblematic red, white, and blue and is now the most popular specialty plate in the Commonwealth with?more than 57,000 issued in just over seven months, said a press release.

The plate features a blue background, with the year "1776" surrounded by 13 stars and the phrase "250 Years of Independence" at the bottom. There are 1000 plates available through the lottery, numbered from 1-999 and including the symbolic 1776.

"Massachusetts is a state of many firsts, and it is only appropriate that we celebrate the nation's 250th anniversary honoring our shared history with the opportunity to celebrate civic pride with a commemorative low number license plate through a lottery. This is a fun but meaningful and visible tribute to the historic occasion, allowing residents to participate in this once in a lifetime event," said Interim MassDOT Secretary and MBTA General Manager Phillip Eng.

"Since last May, the RMV has offered the patriotic-themed higher number plates (online) as part of the Massachusetts 250 festivities. We are so excited to continue this celebration of American and state history by enabling all qualified Massachusetts residents a chance to win a coveted low number on the popular commemorative plate. The RMV is thrilled to partner with the Massachusetts State Lottery and benefit from their lottery expertise. And thank you to the RMV team for their incredible efforts in planning this event," shared Registry of Motor Vehicles Registrar Colleen Ogilvie.

"This event represents a unique opportunity to combine historical recognition with public engagement in a way that aligns with the Lottery's mission. A commemorative low lottery plate is likely to generate strong interest from residents across the state while honoring an extraordinary milestone in our state's history," said Massachusetts State Lottery Executive Director Mark William Bracken.

Applications for the special 250th Anniversary Plate low number lottery will be available at myRMVOnline Service Center(located under the Plates button) beginning at 9:0 a.m. on Monday, February 16, 2026. To be eligible for the low number lottery applicants must apply by 5:00 p.m. on Friday, April 17, 2026. Requests for specific plate numbers will not be honored. Plates will be awarded using an electronic random number generator system.

Applicants should note that there is no fee to apply for the lottery. All specialty plates have a biennial $40.00 special plate fee, along with a registration fee of $60.00. The initial registration fee may vary depending upon the applicant's current plate expiration date and the expiration date of the winning plate number.

Customers are encouraged to visit the RMV's website or follow @MassRMV on X (formerly Twitter) for additional details about the lottery. In addition, lottery plate applicants will be sent a notification from the RMV to the email address they provided with lottery event details. The lottery winners will be announced on May 7, and residents will be able to watch the event online via the RMV website. Following the event, results will be available on the RMV website.

RMV Low Plate Lottery Rules and Eligibility Requirements

A person (known as "applicant") who applies for the Massachusetts 250 Low Number License Plate Lottery must be a Massachusetts resident with a current active, Massachusetts registered, and insured passenger motor vehicle.
As a condition of the application process, applicants consent to their name, zip code, and any other information that is required be released in accordance with the Massachusetts Public Records law.
Only one entry per applicant will be accepted, regardless of the number of active passenger motor vehicle registrations the applicant has on file with the RMV.
The following are ineligible to participate:
- Companies and corporations
- Commercial vehicles and motorcycles
- Any employee of MassDOT, including but not limited to executive level employees, RMV, Highway, MBTA, Rail and Transit, Aeronautics, all shared services within MassDOT, and contract employees
- Any employee of Mass Lottery, including but not limited to executive level employees and contract employees
- Immediate family members of any MassDOT employees (as described above) and Mass Lottery. This includes parents, spouses, children, and siblings.
- An applicant whose Massachusetts registration is not in an active status (i.e., in a non-renewal, suspended, or revoked status) at the time of entry, at the time of the lottery, or at the time of the plate swap.
- An applicant with outstanding violations or obligations reported to the RMV
Requests for specific plate numbers will not be honored. Plates will be awarded using an electronic random number generator system.
Submission deadline: Online entries will be accepted beginning at 9:00 a.m. on Monday, February 16, 2026, and must be submitted by 5:00 p.m. on Friday, April 17, 2026.
Lottery results, such as winner's name, place of residence, and winning plate number, will be available on the RMV website (Mass.Gov/RMV) within 5 business days of the lottery event, which will occur in May.
All winners will be notified by mail with instructions on how to transfer their current registration to their new lottery plate. Winners will have until Friday, August 28, 2026, to pay for and swap their plates.
Unclaimed plates by the deadline are considered forfeited by the initial winners, and those plates will be awarded to the pre-selected alternate winners after Friday, August 28, 2026.
Plates will be registered only to the winning applicant specifically named on the application and cannot be transferred to anyone else.
All plates remain the property of the RMV, including after registration.

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BRPC Exec Search Panel Picks Brennan

By Breanna SteeleiBerkshires Staff
05:11AM / Thursday, March 12, 2026

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The Executive Director Search Committee voted Wednesday to move both finalists to the full Berkshire Regional Planning Commission, with a recommendation that Laura Brennan was the preferred candidate.

Brennan, BRPC's assistant director, and Jason Zogg were interviewed by the committee on Saturday.

Brennan is also the economic development program manager for the BRPC. She has been in the role since July 2023 but has been with BRPC since 2017, first serving as the senior planner of economic development.

She earned her bachelor's degree from Franklin & Marshall College in Pennsylvania and earned a graduate-level certificate in local government leadership and management from Suffolk University.

Zogg is vice president of place and transportation for Tysons Community Alliance, a nonprofit that is committed to transforming Tysons, Va., into a more attractive urban center.

He previously was the director of planning, design, and construction at Georgetown Heritage in Virginia, where he directed the reimagining of Georgetown's C&O Canal National Historic Park.

They each had 45 minutes to answer a series of questions on Saturday, and the search committee said they were both great candidates. Meeting virtually on Wednesday, the members discussed which they preferred.

"In my own personal opinion, I think both candidates could do the job and actually had different skills. But I do favor Laura, because she can hit the ground running and with the time we have now, I think she is very familiar with the organization and its strengths and weaknesses and where we go from here," said Malcolm Fick.

"I would concur with Malcolm, especially because she was the only candidate who could speak directly to what's currently going on in the Berkshires, and really had a handle on every aspect of what BRPC does, could use examples, and showed that she actually understood the demographic information when that information was clearly available on the BRPC website, and through other means, and she was the only candidate who was able to integrate our regional data, our regional demographics, into her answers, and so I find her more highly qualified," said Marybeth Mitts.

Brennan was able to discus the comprehensive regional strategy the BRPC has worked on for Berkshire County and said she made sure they included voices from all over the region instead of what she referred to as the "usual suspects."

"That was an enormous priority of ours to make sure that the outreach that we did and the input that we gathered was not from only the usual suspects, but community groups that were emerging in a lot of different corners of the region and with a lot of different missions of their own, and try to encompass and embrace as many voices as we could in that," Brennan said in her interview.

Member Sheila Irvin said she liked Brennan’s knowledge of Berkshires Tomorrow Inc.

"I think that her knowledge of the BTI, for example, was important, because that's going to play a role in the questioning that we did on funding. And she had some interesting insights, I think on how to use that," said Irvin. "And in addition, I just thought her style was important.

"She didn't need to rush into an answer. She was willing to take a minute to think about how she wanted to move on and she did."

In her interview, Brennan was asked her plans to help expand funding opportunities since the financial structure is mainly grants and the government has recently been withdrawing some interest.

"With Berkshires Tomorrow already established, I would like to see us take a closer look at that and find ways to refine its statement of purpose, to develop a mission statement, to look at ways that that mechanism can help to diversify revenue," she said. "I think, that we have over the last several years, particularly with pandemic response efforts, had our movement to the potential of Berkshire's Tomorrow as a tool that we should be using more, and so I would like to see that be a big part of how we handle the volatility of government funding."

Member John Duval said she has excelled in her role over the years.

"Laura just rose above every other candidate through her preliminary interview and her final interview, she's been the assistant executive director for maybe a couple of years and definitely had that experience, and also being part of this BRPC, over several years, have seen what she's capable of doing, what she's accomplished, and embedded in meetings and settings where I've seen how she's responded to questions, presented information, and also had to deal with some tough customers sometimes when she came up to Adams," said Duval.

"She's done an excellent job, and then in the interviews she's just calm and thought through her answers and just rose above everyone else."

Buck Donovan said he respected all those who applied and said Zogg is a strong candidate.

"I think both and all candidates were very strong, two we ended up were extremely strong," he said. "Jason, I liked his charisma and his way. I really could tell that there was some goals and targets and that's kind of my life."

The full commission will meet on Thursday, March 19, to vote on the replacement of retiring Executive Director Thomas Matuszko.

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