Va. Code § 46.2-692.2
The fee for the exchange of license plates shall be the greater of the total of any statutory fees required for the requested license plates, as calculated under the provisions of subsection B of § 46.2-694, or $10.
As used in this section, an "exchange of license plates" means a transaction that occurs within the registration period of a vehicle in which the vehicle owner voluntarily returns the license plates assigned to the vehicle and requests for the same vehicle new license plates with a different design or alphanumeric combination or both.
A request for new license plates made as part of the vehicle registration renewal process shall not be considered an exchange of license plates for purposes of this section.
The provisions of this section shall apply to a replacement request made under the provisions of § 46.2-607 for license plates that are not duplicates or otherwise equivalent to the lost, mutilated, or illegible plates required to be replaced under that section. Such a request shall be considered both a replacement for purposes of §§ 46.2-607 and 46.2-692 and an exchange for purposes of this section.
Va. Code § 46.2-692.2