A license plate that protects wildlife

The Watch for Wildlife license plate is available for purchase at all DMV locations in Oregon.

For more information about Oregon specialty license plates and how to get your own Watch for Wildlife plate, please visit DMV2U - Login (oregon.gov)

How does it work? Watch for Wildlife license plate Wildlife, big and small, move year-round throughout their natural habitats for food, shelter, and to find mates. The roads and highways crisscrossing Oregon make that a dangerous and sometimes fatal

About the Plate

​As wildlife moves throughout their habitat for food, shelter, and to find mates, the roads and highways crisscrossing Oregon make that a dangerous and sometimes fatal journey. Almost 6,000 drivers in Oregon alone are involved in a collision with a deer, elk, bear, or other wildlife species each year.

Among Oregon Wildlife Foundation’s (OWF) priorities is reducing wildlife-vehicle collisions on our highways and roads. OWF is working with the Departments of Transportation and Fish & Wildlife to implement wildlife crossing projects throughout Oregon. Funding for these efforts comes partly from the sale of our Watch for Wildlife specialty license plate. To get yours, visit your local DMV or order online. 

Plate Design

The Watch for Wildlife specialty license plate features an icon of the American West, a mule deer, and Mt. Hood, synonymous with Oregon. A species already in decline, mule deer are further threatened by collisions with cars and trucks on busy Highways 97 and 20 as they migrate to and from their winter range in central Oregon.

Plate Concept Idea: Cidney Bowman

Graphic Designer: Shelley Crick

Mule deer Photo credit: Ryan Franklin

Cidney, Shelley, and Ryan all helped make the Watch for Wildlife license plate a reality. We greatly appreciate their contributions and support of this project!


Voucher Information

We greatly appreciate our voucher purchasers who have helped us get the W4W license plate approved for production. If you purchased a voucher (2019-2021) but have not yet redeemed it for your plate, see below for a few tips to make your trip to the DMV a little easier.

Before taking your voucher to the DMV please read the following:

  • Check the DMV website, ahead of your visit, for the information you will need to redeem your license plate voucher.

  • Wednesday is busier than usual at DMV offices because they have limited business hours on that day of the week - if your schedule permits, consider going on a different day.

  • You can “skip the trip” to your local DMV office by  mailing in  your voucher, paperwork, and a check for any remaining fees, to the DMV. They, in turn, will mail you your new license plates.

  • The phone number for DMV customer service is (503) 945-5000. They will provide you with an estimate of your remaining registration fees. Visit dmv2u.oregon.gov/eServices/_/ for more information.

A small number of vouchers included misprinted numbers or were missing signatures. We attempted to correct this by mailing updated copies to those affected, but some were not delivered by USPS or received at the address we had on record.

Please contact us at watchforwildlife@myowf.org or 503-255-6059 for a replacement voucher if:

  • The 4-digit voucher number in the top right-hand corner doesn’t begin with the letter “D”, or

  • The voucher isn’t signed by an OWF representative. An original voucher will have been signed in the “Signature Of Organization Representative” section. A replacement copy will have an additional signature and date at the bottom. If either signature is missing, let us know and we will send you a corrected replacement voucher.

If you are not sure that your voucher has all of the necessary information, send a picture of it to us at watchforwildlife@myowf.org. We want to ensure that your voucher is valid. If it’s not, we will send you a corrected copy by mail or email.

Watch for Wildlife Frequently Asked Questions

  • Your purchase of the Watch for Wildlife (W4W) license plate voucher is a transaction between you and Oregon Wildlife Foundation (OWF). To qualify the plate for production OWF needed to sell a minimum of 3,000 vouchers and submit them to DMV with payment. That process was completed in the Fall of 2022.

    If your voucher is lost, stolen, or damaged, you must contact OWF for a replacement.

    Your purchase of the voucher is at your own risk and does not guarantee you to receive a Watch for Wildlife license plate.

  • Please refer to the DMV's different plate guide here.

  • Voucher purchasers will have already received a physical copy of their voucher from OWF in the mail. If you have not received it or have misplaced your voucher, please email us at watchforwildlife@myowf.org for a replacement. The W4W license plate has been available to voucher holders through DMV offices since May 2022.

  • Yes! Like most other Oregon license plates, the W4W plate may be customized for an additional fee. Applications for custom plates are currently being accepted by DMV. For more information please refer to the Oregon DMV website.

  • Yes! You are able to maintain your current custom configuration on a W4W plate for an additional fee. Applications for replacement custom plates are currently being accepted by DMV.

  • W4W plates are only available for passenger vehicles registered in the State of Oregon. Souvenir or sample plates are not available.

  • OWF has established the Watch for Wildlife Fund to receive monies from plate sale and renewal fees. After we’ve recovered the expenses associated with the operation of the voucher campaign, the Fund will support projects that help wildlife move safely around busy roads and between habitat patches.

    Here’s a breakdown of how a plate sale or renewal fee is allocated:

    $40 DMV plate fee surcharge to purchaser

    -$5 DMV fee

    =$35 to the Watch for Wildlife Fund

    -$3.50 OWF Fund administration fee

    =$31.50 for wildlife passage and habitat connectivity projects

  • We have a long-established grantmaking program and a Projects committee that reviews requests for funding. The Projects committee will determine how Watch for Wildlife Fund monies are awarded to potential projects using our grantmaking process.

  • The Foundation publishes its grant awards on its website. Go to www.myowf.org/grants for more information. With respect to the Watch for Wildlife Fund, we will publish on our grants page, an accounting of the funds we’ve received from license plate sale and renewal fees and how they were distributed to eligible projects.

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