RALEIGH ó The North Carolina Division of Motor Vehicles today announced that once the current inventory of red-letter plates is depleted, vehicle license plate letters and numbers will once again be printed in blue.

The red letters have been used on the stateís plates for the past two years in an effort to assist with the recall of old and worn plates. No red-letter plates currently in stock will be destroyed prior to the changeover. About 1.1 million remaining red-letter plates are expected to be distributed between now and mid-October 2009.

Regular personalized and specialty personalized plates are now printed using blue ink when they are ordered. The change was made without additional cost to DMV or to Correction Enterprises, which manufactures the plates.

The return to blue plates was made at the request of motor vehicle customers and law enforcement personnel who found the blue plates easier to read at a distance.