Florida License Plates

The State of Florida started the sole manufacture and issue of Florida license plates in 1918. Prior to 1918, license plates were issued by both the state of Florida and each county. Between 1911 and 1915 most vehicles in Florida had two license plates, and to complicate this situation further some cities issued license plates. To avoid jurisdictional issues the State of Florida became the sole issuer of license plates in 1918, when a porcelain flat printed plate was issued. The Florida license plates were at least 6” x 14” in the early years, but in 1956 the state adopted the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) J686 license plate standard of 6” x 12” for motor vehicles and 4” x 7” for motor cycles.

In 1949, Florida first embossed "SUNSHINE STATE" on the top of license plates, and this continued until 1976 with the exception of 1951 and 1965. In 1951, Florida license plates were embossed with "KEEP FLORIDA GREEN" and in 1965 "400TH ANNIVERSARY" was embossed on the top of license plates to commemorate the discovery of Florida.

The first graphics on Florida's license plates appeared in 1923 through 1926 with an embossing of the map of Florida on the right side. The 1935 issue Florida license plate had grapefruits embossed on the upper corners. Florida introduced 3M retro-reflective license plates in 1972, and this is now standard as per the United States of Department of Transportation recommendations. In 1976 the county name replaced "SUNSHINE STATE". The green or orange Florida map centered on plates was introduced in 1978 and ended in 1993.  Like many states Florida now issues a multitude of different graphics on its plates, with fifty so far and the number just keeps rising.