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View All Personalized License Plate, Registration FAQs

How do I obtain a personalized license plate?

The requestor may search and reserve a personalized message on our website or visit the license plate issuing offices to determine if the requested letters and/or numbers are available for issuance. If available, the issuing official will collect the appropriate registration fees and taxes and issue a registration receipt, a sixty (60) day temporary license plate, and month and year decals to be placed on the new license plate. The license plate will be shipped from the manufacturing facility to the registrant (usually within 2-4 weeks).

Once the message has been approved by the Department, the requestor has five (5) business days to visit the license plate issuing official’s office to place an order and pay all required fees. If the requestor fails to register the message within the prescribed timeframe, the message becomes available to the general public.

The requestor may search and reserve a personalized message on MyDMV or visit the license plate issuing office to determine if the requested letters and/or numbers are available for issuance. If available, the issuing official will collect the appropriate registration fees and taxes and issue a registration receipt, a 60-day temporary license plate, and month and year decal to be placed on the new license plate. The license plate will be shipped from the manufacturing facility to the registrant (usually within 6-8 weeks).

If the requestor reserves a plate message online, once the message has been approved by ALDOR, the requestor has five calendar days to visit the license plate issuing official’s office to place an order and pay all required fees. If the requestor fails to register the message within the prescribed time frame, the message becomes available to the general public.

Related FAQs in Personalized License Plate, Registration

No. Some plates are available only to members of a particular organization. Select a distinctive license plate on the Motor Vehicle Division’s License Plates web page to determine the availability of a license plate. The message under each plate image indicates whether the plate can be personalized, how many alphanumeric characters are permitted, and who is permitted to obtain the plates.

The requestor may search and reserve a personalized message on MyDMV or visit the license plate issuing office to determine if the requested letters and/or numbers are available for issuance. If available, the issuing official will collect the appropriate registration fees and taxes and issue a registration receipt, a 60-day temporary license plate, and month and year decal to be placed on the new license plate. The license plate will be shipped from the manufacturing facility to the registrant (usually within 6-8 weeks).

If the requestor reserves a plate message online, once the message has been approved by ALDOR, the requestor has five calendar days to visit the license plate issuing official’s office to place an order and pay all required fees. If the requestor fails to register the message within the prescribed time frame, the message becomes available to the general public.

The registrant is subject to payment of the standard registration fees based on the vehicle type, plus an annual additional fee. To view registration fees for the various Alabama license plates, visit the License Plates webpage.

Alabama law authorizes the issuance of distinctive and personalized license plates to automobiles and pickup trucks with a gross vehicle weight not to exceed 12,000 pounds, and, in many cases, motor homes. It is important to note that military plates and license plates with the International Symbol of Access are restricted to pickup trucks with a gross vehicle weight not to exceed 8,000 pounds.

To determine what types of vehicles a license plate may be displayed on, visit the License Plates webpage .