For additional information see our Plates and Placards page and our FAQ page.

Some special plates are available both as numbered and as personalized (letter/number combination of your choice).

Many special plates are available online. Some are available at any MVD or authorized Third Party office. Other plates must be special ordered, by mail or an office. If not ordered online, you must complete a Special Plate Application. Please allow four to six weeks for processing for personalized and special order plates.

Every year a special plate renewal fee is due at the same time as the vehicle registration. The first payment is due when your vehicle registration is next renewed, even if it has been less than 12 months since the plate was initially purchased.

If your registration expires within the next three months, you may wish to renew your registration early, before submitting the plate application, in order to avoid the first annual renewal special plate fee.

Plates may only be issued to the owner or lessee of a currently registered vehicle. If leased, but not registered in your name, a document showing you as a lessee is required.

Some plates may not be issued to large commercial vehicles (with a declared gross vehicle weight of 26,001 lbs or more). Some special plates may be issued to trailers, motorcycles and golf carts.

A lost or mutilated plate may be replaced for $5 (plus postage/handling, if mailed; see below).

Some plates are issued in pairs (front and back of the vehicle) and some are issued as a single plate, depending on the plate type. See our Plates and Placards page.

Fees shown for each plate on the Plates and Placards page are in addition to regular registration fees.

For plates that are mailed there is a postage and handling charge: $2.49 for one full size plate (6” x 12”), $3.00 for two plates, $2.15 for small-size plate (4” x 7”), $5.45 for two full-size copper plates (Classic Car, Historic Vehicle and Horseless Carriage) and $2.49 for a small-size Historic Vehicle plate.

All personalized plate letter/number combination choices must be approved. We may refuse to issue or may suspend any plate that suggests a meaning that is offensive, misleading or that duplicates any existing plate or plate series.

• Use only capital letters and numbers. No punctuation or other symbols. Use I for i, L for l, 1 for one, and V (underlined) for v.
• Choices with the maximum number of characters may not have spaces. Choices will automatically be centered on the plate.
• Choices with less than the maximum characters may have half spaces (indicate with single slash "/" ) or full spaces.
• If you order a plate with a disability symbol, that symbol replaces the first character of the plate and so reduces the maximum of characters available for the plate.

  Each single slash / = half space	Blank = full space	Disability symbol replaces 1st character

• You may check on the availability of your choice online, before you order your plate.

Please review your selection carefully. Any changes to your plate choice and/or request for refund cannot be made once we have placed the order to manufacture your plate.

The fee for a remake of a plate already ordered or issued is $5.00 plus postage/handling.

If you sell, trade or otherwise transfer ownership of your vehicle, or if you terminate your lease, you must contact us and take one of three actions:

• Release the plate to the new owner – You must complete a Plate Notice. The new owner must complete a new Special Plate Application and pay the initial application fee.
• Transfer the plate to another vehicle you own or lease – If you transfer ownership of your vehicle and intend to use the plate on another vehicle at a later date, you may retain the plate for one year after the registration expiration date. If after one year you have not transferred the plate to another vehicle, the plate will be canceled and become available for reissue to another person.
• Release the plate back to us – You must complete a Plate Notice.

Many plate types are available with a disability symbol. The disability symbol provides the disabled applicant the privilege of parking in specially marked parking spaces provided for the exclusive use of physically disabled persons. The disabled applicant must be the driver or a passenger in the vehicle when the disability parking space is used.

You must complete a Disability-Hearing Impaired Plate/Placard Application or have one on file. Available to individuals and organizations.

Disability plates may not be issued to trailers.

If the applicant is under the age of 18 and not capable of signing, a legal guardian may sign and indicate relationship to the applicant. If the applicant is over the age of 18 and not capable of signing, a copy of a power of attorney form is required before the application can be accepted.

Plates may only be displayed on a vehicle registered or leased in your name. If leased, but not registered in your name, a document showing you as a lessee is required.

Placards are issued to the applicant and may not be transferred to, or used by, another person. Plates are assigned to a vehicle. You must notify us prior to transfer of the plate to any other vehicle that you own or lease. Only one valid placard is issued per person. The placard may not be duplicated.

Disability plates are valid for as long as the medical certification remains valid.

Permanent disability placards are valid for five years (provided the medical certification remains valid). At the end of the five years, a renewal certification (Placard Renewal/Replacement Request) must be completed and signed in the presence of a notary or MVD agent.

Temporary disability placards are valid for six months (provided the medical certification remains valid). At the end of the six months, if the medical condition continues, a new application/certification is required.

A lost, stolen or mutilated plate or placard may be replaced. A $5.00 fee is charged for replacement plates. There is no fee for replacement placards. You must submit a Placard Renewal/Replacement Request form.

For placard replacements, if the current record cannot be located and the original application is unavailable for verification, a new application will be required. A temporary disability placard will be issued with the same expiration date that appeared on the lost, stolen or mutilated placard. A new temporary placard with a full six-month use period may be issued upon completion of a new application.

Most other states and the provinces of Canada have agreed to honor Arizona disability plates and placards. When traveling by vehicle in other states, provinces or foreign countries, it is a good idea to contact the appropriate motor vehicle authorities.

Use of plates or placards in violation of Arizona law may result in fines and penalties charged to the operator, person in-charge or to the owner of the vehicle, and the plate or placard may be recalled.

The Medical Certification section on the application must be completed by an authorized physician (doctor of medicine, osteopathy, podiatry or chiropractic, licensed to practice medicine in the United States), a registered nurse practitioner or by a hospital administrator. Applicant must have one or more of the following conditions.

• Unable to walk 200 feet without stopping to rest
• Unable to walk without help from another person or a brace, cane, crutch, wheelchair or other prosthetic or assistive device
• Lung disease with forced respiratory, expiratory volume for one second, if measured by spirometry, is less than one liter, or the arterial oxygen tension is less than 60 mm/hg on room air at rest
• Uses portable oxygen
• Cardiac condition with Class 3 or 4 functional limitations as by American Heart Association standards
• Severely limited in ability to walk due to an arthritic, neurological or orthopedic condition

The Hearing Impaired plate and placard alert law enforcement, emergency services and others approaching the vehicle, that the driver is hearing impaired. The plate is not for special parking privileges.

The Hearing Impaired plate is in a special, reserved number format beginning with the letter "H".

The Medical Certification section on the application must be completed by a person licensed to practice medicine in the United States or an audiologist certified by the American Speech, Language and Hearing Association. Applicant must be unable to hear or understand normal speech, with or without a hearing aid, in optimal conditions.

Hearing Impaired plates may not be personalized. Hearing Impaired plates are also available for trailers.

Hearing Impaired plates and placards are valid for as long as the medical certification remains valid.

If the applicant is under the age of 18 and not capable of signing, a legal guardian may sign and indicate relationship to the applicant. If the applicant is over the age of 18 and not capable of signing, a copy of a power of attorney form is required before the application can be accepted.

Plates may only be displayed on a vehicle registered or leased in your name. If leased, but not registered in your name, a document showing you as a lessee is required.

Placards are issued to the applicant and may not be transferred to, or used by, another person. Plates are assigned to a vehicle. You must notify us prior to transfer of the plate to any other vehicle that you own or lease. Only one valid placard is issued per person. The placard may not be duplicated.

A lost, stolen or mutilated plate or placard may be replaced. A $5.00 fee is charged for replacement plates. There is no fee for replacement placards. You must submit a Placard Renewal/Replacement Request form.

For placard replacements, if the current record cannot be located and the original application is unavailable for verification, a new application will be required.

Use of plates or placards in violation of Arizona law may result in fines and penalties charged to the operator, person in-charge or to the owner of the vehicle, and the plate or placard may be recalled.