A Brief History of the Florida License Tag

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The Florida License Tag - A Brief History from the
Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles

Florida’s First State Motor Vehicle Tag Law

Leather Tag for the 5th Vehicle Registered in Florida

Chapter 5437, Act No. 66, Laws of Florida, May 11, 1905 required all resident owners to pay a $2.00 fee, to register their motor vehicles with the Secretary of State, and to provide make, description, serial number and horsepower of their autos. In return, The Secretary of State issued a paper certificate, the number of which was to be displayed prominently on the rear of the vehicle. The owner was required to provide his own tag, a practice common to many states and localities prior to about 1910. A “FLA” state designation was not required but some tags carried such. Tags of wood, leather and metal are known, some being homemade while others were made by local sign smiths or purchased from a mail-order firm. These permanent numbers were required until September 30, 1915.

Early City Tag Ordinances
(1905 – December 31, 1917)

Florida cities exercised local option during the pioneer motoring era by imposing licensing requirements similar to the state’s. Jacksonville, Pensacola, Palatka, Ocala, Orlando, Miami, Tampa and even little Brooksville are just a few municipalities known to have required motor vehicle registration and number displays.

County-Issued Annual Tags
(October 1, 1911 to December 31, 1917)

Leon County 1911 Plate

State motorists displayed the permanent state numbers, and in some cases, permanent and/or annual city numbers. In 1911 the state mandated that they display annual county numbers as well (Chapter 6212, Act No. 93, Laws of Florida, June 5, 1911). Imagine having to display state, county and city tags on one vehicle! The county plates were issued by each county tax collector for the fiscal year period October 1 through September 30. Fees were based on horsepower rating and ranged from $3.00 (less than 10hp) to $50.00 (over 70hp). “For Hire” vehicles were charged a slightly higher fee than “owner” vehicles. County-issued plates were not standardized state-wide (each county being responsible for supplying it’s own plates), which accounts for the bewildering array of size, shape, color and format of these plates. Typically, they ordered porcelain steel platesfrom northern sign manufacturers.

State-Issued Annual Plates (January 1, 1918 to Present)

Chapter 7275, Act 17, Laws of Florida, May 28, 1917 created the Sunshine State’s first uniform state-wide annual tag. Florida was the last of the old 48 states to issue motor vehicle plates, South Carolina and Texas having done so in 1917. The new law repealed city and county registration by mandating registration with the comptroller of the State of Florida. The comptroller retained this function until 1927 when the office of motor vehicle commissioner was created. The motor vehicle commissioner became the Department of Motor Vehicles in 1965. The 1917 Act provided for annual issuance of the paper certificate of registration and a pair of numbered plates per car. Matched pairs continued to be issued through 1921 and single plates were issued from 1922 to present.

The following summaries highlight Florida's motor vehicle licensing since 1918:

1918

First state-issued license plates appear (front and rear plates). Fees based on vehicle type, horsepower and capacity.

1922

Single tags issued. Gross weight and capacity tabs affixed to tags 1922 through 1925.

1923 – 26

An outline of the state was embossed on tags. State enacted first title law (Act 39, Laws of Florida).

1930 – 33

33 Large tags were reduced in size to 5”x 12.”

1934 – 35

“Theft Proof” or locking plates were issued.

1938 – 75

County prefix code numbers appeared. Numbers were based on the rank order of counties by population, as revealed by 1937 tag sales.

1940

Act 556 created the State Department of Public Safety consisting of the Division of the Florida Highway Patrol and Division of State Motor Vehicle Drivers Licenses. Drivers Licenses were required.

1943

World War II steel shortages mandated issuance of the metal tab in lieu of a full size tag. The 1943 tab was affixed over the date of the 1942 tag.

1949

“Sunshine State” logo appeared on tags through 1975, except in 1951, when “Keep Florida Green” was promoted, and in 1965, when “400^thAnniversary” was celebrated.

1967 – 71

Plates bore double-date format: 1967/68, 1968/69 etc. This was done to shift Florida’s tag issuance from a calendar year (expiring December 31^st ) to a fiscal year (expiring June 30^th ). The single date format reappeared in 1972.

1976

Renewal decals or “stickers” appeared on the 1975 base plate. Decals became a nationwide device to economize on the annual production of license plates.

1977

Increased vehicle population required the use of Alpha-Numeric coding of vehicle tags.

1986

Alpha-Numeric-Alpha coding system was adopted to allow coverage of the expanding vehicle population.

1987

Challenger Plate

January 1, 1987, the Challenger license plate program was implemented for a specific time period; on September 30th, 1991, this time period was extended indefinitely. This plate was issued to commemorate the astronauts who died when the space shuttle Challenger exploded.

October 1, 1987, the Collegiate license plate was established to raisefunds for scholarships for the nine state universities; also authorized for private universities if sufficient demand.

October 1, 1987, the “Authenticated” license plate program began. By sending the antique license plate to the Division of Motor Vehicles, the plate can be examined and authenticated if both the engine of the vehicle and the license plates are 35 years of age. These plates became permanent on issuance.

October 1, 1987, the Florida Salutes the Veteran plate was established to create a fund for the construction, operation and to maintain domicile for nursing home veterans.

1989

October 1, 1989, thru December 31, 1992, the Super Bowl plate was established to raise funds to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Super Bowl.

1990

January 1, 1990 thru December 31, 1994, the Manatee license plate was incorporated to honor the official state marine mammal. Fifty percent of the funds raised are deposited in the Save the Manatee Trust Fund and may only be used for Manatee research.

1991

October 1, 1991, the Florida Panther or communities trust license plate was implemented to raise funds for the protection of, and education concerning, the Panther.

Current State Statistics on the Hottest Selling Specialty License Plate