Q. In January I ordered vanity plates online from the R.I. DMV. I also put in an order to Save The Bay for new osprey environmental plates, which are now available. How do I make sure only the osprey plates are made up with my new registration? Since my vanity plate order is new, I don’t have the registration paperwork to send in for the osprey plates. I’m afraid the new paperwork will come only after the wave plates have been made up, and that would be a waste.

A. The proper procedure for ordering the new “Conservation Through Education” plates, with the likeness of an osprey, is as follows: The customer must submit a copy of their current registration and a payment of $40 for the manufacture of the plate to either the Audubon Society or to Save the Bay. The paid orders are then transmitted to the DMV. The DMV arranges for the Department of Corrections to stamp the plates ordered. Once the plates are returned to the DMV, a post card will be mailed to the customer as notification that the plate is ready to be picked up.

The DMV will order only currently existing plates, which is why we ask that a copy of the customer’s current registration be submitted with the application. If you requested a plate you do not yet have in the osprey design, we will not be able to fill that order. Also, a caveat — if the vanity plate that you ordered has six characters, you will not be allowed to order that plate in the osprey design. One of the restrictions on that design is that no more than five characters can be stamped on that plate, due to issues with visibility of the numbers and letters on the plate.

You will have to wait for your vanity plate to come in and then order your osprey plate.

More about veteran plates

A couple of weeks ago, I answered another question regarding veteran plates, which triggered a flurry of additional questions. I’d like to attempt to answer all those folks at once.

Carl from East Greenwich wrote: “There was a comment in today’s Sunday Journal about visiting the DMV Web site and filling out a short application to replace a war veteran plate. I’ve tried and tried but cannot pull it up on my computer. Can you help me?”

Apologies, Carl — I looked back at that column and did omit the web address — it is https:// www.ri.gov/DMV/ veteran/

Or, if you are on the DMV homepage, look to the top right corner. Under the heading “Find It Fast!”, it is the second link.

R.L. wrote: “I read in The Sunday Providence Journal about veteran plates. My veteran plate expires in July 2008. How can I get a new veteran plate with my service decal attached when I send in my registration forms and fee?”

A veteran plate must be applied for separately, R.L. If you follow the instructions above, your plate request will be entered and you will be able to choose the branch where you would like to pick up your plate. When July comes, you will only have to mail in your renewal, or use the online application.

John W. asks, “Will ‘war veteran’ plates still be available to combat veterans? If not, why not?”

John, the legislation for the new veteran plate was originally passed without any reference to combat vets such as you. However, early in the new session of the General Assembly, an amendment to that legislation was passed to allow those who served in specific conflicts involving the United States, such as World War II, the Korean Conflict, the Vietnam War and the current Iraq mission, will be issued a decal identifying them as a “War Veteran.” This decal will be placed on the right-hand side of the plate, just above the registration decal but below the branch of service sticker. To obtain the decal you must be able to present an honorable discharge from the service (Form DD-214), showing the dates of service, so that it may be ascertained that you served during the predetermined dates of service to qualify for the war veteran designation.

The DMV must meet with members of the various veterans’ associations and the state Division of Veterans Affairs to determine a method for distributing these stickers. As soon as that is confirmed, you will read about it here.

Please remember that although you have two choices of how to order your vet plate — and there is no fee for a remake of ANY current vet plate — ordering the plate through the online system is by far the faster and more accurate method. You are able to download and fill out a paper form, or complete a paper form at a DMV branch office, but that information must then be entered into our system before the plate can be produced. Using the Web site and entering the information yourself ensures that we will get the correct address, branch of service and DMV location where you wish to pick up your plate.

Gina Antonucci Zanni, chief of communications for the State Division of Motor Vehicles, has agreed to answer questions of general interest posed by Journal readers about state motor vehicle laws and procedures. To ask a question that would also be of interest to other readers, send a letter to Ask projoCars, Features Department, The Providence Journal, 75 Fountain St., Providence, RI, 02902. You can e-mail your question to projocars@projo.com. Please put “Ask projoCars” in the subject field. Questions or complaints of a specific nature should be posed to the DMV directly and will not be answered in this column.

Confused about road rules? Or looking for a low-number license plate? You’ll find an archive of official answers to past driving questions posed by Journal readers at projocars.com