Alabama

The Alabama Department of Revenue – Motor Vehicle Division oversees the issuance of personalized vanity license plates in the state of Alabama. Alabama allows personalized vanity license plates to be reserved online. Up to 4 choices of personalized tag reservations requests are allowed. Once approved, you have 5 business days to visit the county license plate office and pay the required fees.

• Types of Vehicles:  Alabama allows for personalized vanity license plates on passenger cars, trucks and motorcycles.  To be granted an Alabama personalized license plate, an automobile and pickup truck may not exceed 12,000 lbs.
• Fee:   To reserve a personalized message online, the fee is $2.00.  The fee for a personalized vanity license plate in Alabama is $50.00.  This fee is in addition to the other fees for license plates that Alabama charges.  A listing of these fees can be found by going to the Alabama Registration (Tag) Fee Schedule.

• Number of Characters:  The number of characters for Alabama personalized license plates is dependent on the type of vehicle and the type of license plate chosen.  For a standard passenger cars, trucks and motorcycles, Alabama allows 7 characters, which include letters, numbers and spaces.  Some specialized license plates (like “Take A Kid Fishing”) only allow for 5 characters.  Go to the Reservation for Personalized License Plate page for more information.
• Limitations:  The Alabama Department of Revenue – Motor Vehicle Division must first approve your online reservation before you purchase it.
• Is My Plate Available?:  Yes – you can look your preferred license plate up online!   The process outlined below in the “How to Order Online” section will allow you to look your preferred Alabama license plate up online.
• How to Order Online:  To order your personalized Alabama vanity license plate, follow these steps:

1. First, search the Alabama Reservation for Personalized License Plate website to determine if your personalized message is available for issuance.  The fee for reserving your message is $2.00 and is payable by credit card.
2. Once approved by the Alabama Department of Revenue – Motor Vehicles, you have 5 business days to visit the county license plate issuing official’s office to place an order and pay all required fees.
3. A receipt, 60 day temporary license plate will be issued and month and year decals will be issued.
4. The personalized license plate will be shipped from the manufacturing facility within 4 to 6 weeks.

• Additional Information:  For more information on personalized license plates in Alabama, visit the Alabama Department of Revenue official website or email tags@revenue.alabama.gov.