Hello and welcome to another installment of what might be our favorite series here on the eTags blog. Okay, so we don’t really play favorites, but we do love this series. And for good reason. If you’re a returning reader, welcome back! You know all about this already. But if you’re joining us for the first time, here’s what the Florida Specialty Plate Spotlight Series is all about.
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The Florida DMV, otherwise known as the FLHSMV (Florida Highway Safety and Motor Vehicle), offers a really cool program surrounding the license plates available to Florida drivers. Normally, when you go to register a vehicle for the first time, you will be issued a standard Florida tag. This is the plate with a white background, a silhouette of the state of Florida, and an image of two bright oranges with their blossoms. The two standard options look like:
These are the conventional plates, and they can be personalized, so many folks opt for this when registering a new car, truck, or SUV. That said, however, the FLHSMV also offers the option of choosing from over one hundred Specialty Plates. What is a Specialty Plate? We’re glad you asked.
A Specialty Plate is a tag with a unique design that represents a certain subject.
With over two million (yep, two million) Specialty Plates in circulation as of this month (March 2025), you can elect for a tag that features your favorite sports team (Miami Heat, Tampa Bay), your dearest animal (Save the Manatees, Helping Sea Turtles Survive), a health champion (End Breast Cancer, Support Autism), your alma mater (Florida State University, University of Miami), nature conservation (Save our Seas, Conserve Wildlife), and many, many more. Like we said, there are over one hundred motifs to choose from.
And while having a cute plate is cool – you get to show the world who you support, what you stand for, what you believe in, which topics you know need attention – there is more the the Florida Specialty Plate than what meets the eye. We like to say:
The Florida Specialty Plate is more than just a pretty face.
We’ll give you a specific example with today’s featured plate: Florida Sheriffs Association (FSA).
You see, behind every fancy tag lies a cause. That means that no matter which Specialty Plate you choose, regardless of whether it’s Endless Summer or Golf Capital of the World, behind the plate there is a foundation, an organization, a charity that is giving back. And for every purchase of these awesome tags, either all or most of the proceeds are directed to the fund associated with that plate.
Yes, it looks good to be driving around with a big police star on your license plate, we know! But more to it than that. The money collected from the sale of this Specialty Plate goes directly to support law enforcement. How, you ask? By way of using the funds to develop and continue to provide essential training for both local sheriffs and deputies throughout the state of Florida.
So, what happens when you “Ride with the Star,” as the Association calls it?
Well, you are supporting the following initiatives put into place by the Association:
- Providing support, training, and information sharing for Florida’s sheriffs
- Fostering top notch law enforcement, crime prevention, criminal apprehension, and protection of Florida’s citizens and their property
- Promoting public awareness of law enforcement developments, crime prevention and public safety
- Protecting Florida’s future via public youth service programs across the state
- Effectively managing the Association’s resources
The Florida Sheriffs Association’s vision is to unite the state’s sheriffs into a voice of protection for Florida’s citizens and visitors. It is their mission, as a self-sustained, charitable organization is to “foster the effectiveness of the Office of the Sheriff through leadership, education, and training, innovative practices, and legislative initiatives.”
The core values of the Association are: integrity, fairness, commitment, and accountability. Since 1983, the Florida Sheriffs Association has been working to uphold its values, ethics, initiatives, and goals, all while adhering to its set of core values. As a not-for-profit corporation, the FSA remains neutral in politics.
Now, if this is the sort of cause, the kind of mission that speaks to you, if you cannot wait to “ride with the star,” then the FSA Specialty Plate is the one for you. And before you start to fret about not being in your registration renewal time frame, we assure you: there is no need to worry.
Another really cool feature of the Specialty Plate Program is that you can upgrade to a worthy and fun tag at any time during your registration period. Yep, you don’t have to wait until your renewal is up, and you don’t have to buy a new vehicle to get one of these tags.
A Specialty Plate is up for grabs whenever the mood strikes you.
And there’s more. If you happened to be dreaming of a personalized plate…well, you can have that too. That’s correct: you can indeed personalize a Specialty Plate if your heart so desires. As long as the FLHSMV approves of your alphanumeric combo, you are good to go.
So, you wonder how to make this all happen? Very easily, we are happy to report. At eTags, we can provide any Specialty Plate that is offered in the state of Florida, as well as have it personalized, should that rev your engine. The process is simple, straightforward, and you can complete the whole transaction from the convenience of any web-enabled device.
Simply head over to our nifty site, choose Florida as your state from our drop-down menu, and choose the Specialty Plate service that best suits you. From there, we will guide you step by step, no muss, no fuss. And of course, if you have any questions or need a hand with anything, we got your back. Because as always, at eTags, we’re here to help!
