Dolly Parton Imagination Library License Plate Hits Alabama Roads Nov. 1

BALDWIN COUNTY, Ala. — Alabama drivers who want to put early childhood literacy on their bumpers will be able to do so starting Nov. 1. The Baldwin County Judge of Probate’s office announced Wednesday that it has received confirmation that the Dolly Parton Imagination Library license plate will begin issuing on Nov. 1, 2026.

“New Plate Alert!” the probate office wrote in a social media post. “We’ve had a lot of inquiries about this one. Today we received confirmation that issuances will begin on November 1, 2026! The Dolly Parton Imagination Library tag (has) arrived!”

The specialty tag, promoted as the “Drive with Dolly” plate, supports Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library of Alabama, the statewide program that mails a free, age-appropriate book each month to enrolled children from birth until they turn 5.

How the plate supports local readers

Money from each plate stays close to home. About $50 from every Imagination Library plate sold goes to the local Imagination Library partner in the county where the vehicle is registered, according to program organizers. They have said the proceeds from a single plate are enough to provide nearly two children with a full year of monthly books mailed to their homes.

“Every plate helps raise awareness for early childhood literacy and supports getting books into the hands of children across the state,” the organization said.

Like other specialty tags, the plate carries an additional annual fee on top of standard registration costs. Drivers can contact their county license office for the exact cost and to request the tag when they renew or register a vehicle.

From pre-commitments to production

Alabama specialty plates must collect 1,000 pre-commitments from drivers before they can go into production. The Imagination Library plate had been working toward that number when interest suddenly took off in late August.

Dolly Parton died Aug. 25 at age 80 after a brief battle with cancer. In the days that followed, Kaelyn Christian, state director of Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library of Alabama, said commitments jumped from about 40 at the start of one week to more than 550 by midweek. By Aug. 28, the count had reached 783, and by early September the plate had cleared the threshold and was approved for production.

“It’s exploded over the last 24 hours really,” Christian said at the time. “The full point of the program is to inspire a love of reading.”

Christian has described the county-level partners who enroll families and help fund the books as the program’s “boots on the ground.”

Alabama’s statewide Imagination Library

Gov. Kay Ivey announced the statewide expansion of the Imagination Library in 2023, and the program reached all 67 Alabama counties in early 2025. It is administered by the Alabama Department of Early Childhood Education in partnership with local organizations, with the state covering half of the cost for participating children.

More than 116,000 Alabama children now receive a free book each month, and more than 3 million books have been mailed to children across the state since the statewide program launched. A child enrolled at birth can receive as many as 60 books by their fifth birthday.

After Parton’s death, Ivey said the state would continue the work.

“Dolly Parton was a true American treasure,” Ivey said, adding that “Dolly understood that putting a book in the hands of a young child can open a world of possibilities” and that “Alabama is honored to be part of that legacy.”

A program born from a father’s story

Parton launched the Imagination Library in 1995 in her home of Sevier County, Tennessee, in honor of her father, who never had the opportunity to learn to read or write. The program has since grown far beyond East Tennessee, sharing more than 300 million books worldwide and reaching more than 3 million children each month, according to the organization.

Early literacy advocates point to the program’s simple model: a book arrives in the mail with the child’s name on it every month, at no cost to the family. The steady stream of books is meant to build home libraries and encourage parents and caregivers to read aloud with young children during the years when language skills develop most rapidly.

What children receive

Books are chosen by a panel of early childhood experts and arrive monthly addressed to the child, so each enrolled youngster builds a personal home library over time. Traditionally, a newly enrolled child’s first book is the classic “The Little Engine That Could,” and the final book, sent as a child nears 5, is “Look Out Kindergarten, Here I Come!” Families pay nothing, and there is no income requirement to enroll.

For a county like Baldwin, where many families have moved in recent years, the plate offers drivers a simple way to support that program every time they renew a tag, with the money staying in the community where their car is registered.

How to get the plate or enroll a child

• Get the plate: Issuance begins Nov. 1, 2026. Baldwin County residents can request the tag through the Baldwin County Judge of Probate’s license offices; residents of other counties should contact their local license issuing office.
• Enroll a child: Families with children from birth to age 5 can sign up for free books at imaginationlibrary.com/alabama.
• Support locally: Each plate’s proceeds benefit the Imagination Library partner in the county where the car is registered.