North Carolina DMV finally removed the Confederate battle flag option for license plates

• The North Carolina DMV won't issue or renew Confederate flag license plates.
• The plates used to be available to members of "Sons of Confederate Veterans," a group who claim Confederate ancestry.
• The agency said it has tried to work with the group on new artwork for the plates, but efforts have been unsuccessful.

North Carolinians will no longer have the option to brand their license plate with the Confederate flag.

The state has been one of several that has offered the license plates honoring the Old South to members of the Sons of Confederate Veterans - a male-only group of members who claim their ancestors were Confederate veterans.

There are 2,527 active license plates bearing the Confederate flag in North Carolina, according to the Wilmington Star News.

However, the Division of Motor Vehicles told Insider that as of January 1, 2021, the option was no longer available.

"The Division of Motor Vehicles has determined that license plates bearing the Confederate battle flag have the potential to offend those who view them," the agency said in a statement to Insider. "We have therefore concluded that display of the Confederate battle flag is inappropriate for display on specialty license plates, which remain property of the state."

The move by the agency comes as states take a closer look at how the flag - a symbol of southern pride to some and racism to many - is displayed.

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In the statement, the DMV acknowledged the Sons of Confederate Veterans had won a 1998 court case against the state to be recognized as a civic organization. The agency said it will continue to recognize the group, but will do so without making the plates available.

The DMV said that it remains open to working with the group on different artwork for their specialty plates, but it hasn't been working out so far.

"Efforts were made, and will continue to be made, to work with the SCV to develop artwork for these specialty plates that does not contain the Confederate battle flag," the statement said. "Since these efforts have proven unsuccessful so far, the DMV determined the agency would no longer issue or renew these specialty plates."

The DMV plans to either issue members of the organization standard plates, and refund any specialty-plate fees they paid, or provide them with different specialty plates.

The North Carolina Sons of Confederate Veterans chapter spokesman Frank Powell told WRAL that he believes the change is illegal.

"The DMV doesn't get to choose what logo we use," Powell told the station.