Florida License Plate Stickers: Renewal, Costs, and Late Penalties

To complete a Florida license plate sticker renewal, use the MyDMV Portal, the MyFlorida mobile app, a Florida MV Express kiosk at a Publix or tax collector office, your county tax collector in person, or the mail. Your renewal window opens three months before your birthday, and the fee is based on your vehicle’s weight, not its value.¹ No inspection or emissions test is required.

When Your Sticker Expires

For a vehicle registered to an individual, the registration period runs from the first day of your birth month through the day before your next birthday, and expires at midnight on your birthday. If more than one person is listed on the registration, the first-named owner’s birth month controls.²

Vehicles registered to a business run on a January 1 to December 31 calendar. Rental vehicles and certain other categories follow a June 1 to May 31 cycle.²

You can renew up to three months early.¹ A two-year renewal is available; it doubles the registration tax but spares you the process next year. Most residents get a mailed reminder about a month out, but not receiving one does not extend your deadline.

How to Renew

Florida verifies your insurance electronically during renewal. If the system cannot confirm active PIP and property damage liability coverage, the renewal will not go through, and unpaid toll violations will also block it.¹

Online

The MyDMV Portal at mydmvportal.flhsmv.gov handles one- and two-year renewals. You need your plate number or VIN. The convenience fee is $2.00 per transaction, with no cap on vehicles per transaction.³ A printed digital receipt serves as temporary proof while the physical decal is mailed, which takes 7 to 10 business days.⁴

Mobile App

The MyFlorida app does what the portal does and adds a few extras, including renewing up to five vehicles at once and requesting a duplicate registration. Fees run a bit higher: $4.00 per transaction by credit card or $3.75 by checking account.¹ You get a digital document to carry until the sticker arrives.

Kiosk

Florida MV Express kiosks, located in Publix stores and tax collector offices across dozens of counties, print your new decal and registration on the spot in about two minutes.⁵ The kiosk fee is up to $4.50 plus a 2.3% credit card processing charge. Credit and debit cards only. Kiosks cannot process renewals for boats, mobile homes, personalized plates, or any vehicle with an insurance or toll stop.

In Person or by Mail

Your county tax collector’s office handles renewals in person, with the decal issued the same day. Mail renewals go to the same office using the form from your renewal notice and take longer to come back.

What It Costs

Florida bases registration fees on vehicle weight. Standard passenger vehicles fall into three tiers:⁶

Up to 2,499 lbs: $14.50
2,500 to 3,499 lbs: $22.50
3,500 lbs and over: $32.50

Trucks cost more as weight climbs. An 8,000 to 9,999 lb truck is $103, and a truck over 72,000 lbs costs $1,322.⁶

County tax collectors add service charges, typically a few dollars up to around $6. Specialty plates carry an annual use fee that varies by plate, since the money goes to the sponsoring organization.⁷ Personalized plates add a flat $15 per year.

If You Miss the Deadline

Florida gives individual owners a short cushion against a roadside ticket: an officer cannot cite you for expired registration until midnight on the last day of your birth month in the year of expiration.⁸ If your birthday is March 15, no citation can issue until April 1. This is not a renewal grace period, and delinquent fees still apply.

Delinquent Fees

Starting on the 11th day of the month after your registration was due, Florida adds a delinquent fee based on the registration tax amount:⁸

Registration tax $5 to $25: $5 delinquent fee
Over $25 to $50: $10
Over $50 to $100: $15
Over $100 to $400: $50
Over $400 to $600: $100
Over $600: $250

A typical passenger car pays $5 or $10 late. Heavy commercial trucks can see $50 to $250 added to a bill that was already large.

Driving on an Expired Registration

Driving past six months of expiration raises the stakes. A first offense at that point goes through the standard traffic citation process. A second or subsequent offense of the same violation is a second-degree misdemeanor, carrying up to 60 days in jail.⁸

Lost, Stolen, or Damaged Decal

If your decal is lost, damaged, or peeled off, use Form HSMV 83146 (Application for Replacement License Plate, Validation Decal, or Parking Permit) and submit it to your county tax collector.⁹ The replacement fee varies by county.

Two situations waive the fee. A stolen decal is replaced free with a copy of a police report. A decal lost in the mail is replaced free if you apply within 180 days of the original issuance date.⁹

Where the Decal Goes and What Not to Cover

Florida issues one sticker per plate, showing the expiration month and year, and it belongs in the upper right corner of the plate. The sticker carries retroreflective material so it reads at night.¹⁰

Hiding any part of the plate or decal is a second-degree misdemeanor under HB 253, not a routine traffic violation. Tinted covers, reflective sprays, and bulky frames that block the sticker details all fall under the rule, and the penalty can reach 60 days in jail.¹¹ One thing you no longer have to think about: Florida stopped issuing HOV decals for low-emission vehicles as of July 1, 2025, after the legislature repealed the program.¹²

New Florida Residents

If you have just moved here, you become a resident for registration purposes the moment you start a job, enroll children in public school, or establish a permanent home, and you have 10 days from that point to register.¹³ You also need Florida insurance from a licensed in-state agent before registering.¹⁴

The charge that surprises most new residents is the $225 initial registration fee, a one-time charge on standard passenger vehicles and trucks being registered in Florida for the first time. It sits on top of the weight-based registration tax and any county fees.¹⁵ It does not apply to renewals, to plate transfers from a vehicle you sold, to transfers between co-owners or immediate family in the same household, to government vehicles, or to antique vehicles registered under the state’s special provisions. If you pay it and then sell or dispose of the vehicle within three months, you can request a refund.

1
Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. Renew or Replace Your Registration
2
Florida Senate. Florida Code 320.055 – Registration Periods; Renewal Periods
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Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. MyDMV Portal
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Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. Motor Vehicle Registrations
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Florida MV Express. Home – Florida MV Express – Registration Renewal
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Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. Fees
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Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. Personalized and Specialty License Plates
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Justia. Florida Code 320.07 – Expiration of Registration; Renewal Required; Penalties
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Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. Application for Replacement License Plate, Validation Decal, or Parking Permit
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Florida Senate. Florida Code 320.06 – Registration Certificates, License Plates, and Validation Stickers Generally
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The Florida Legislature. Florida Code 320.061 – Unlawful to Alter Motor Vehicle Registration Certificates, License Plates, Temporary License Plates, Mobile Home Stickers, or Validation Stickers or to Obscure License Plates; Penalty
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Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. Information Notice SB 1662 (2025) – Discontinuance of High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) Decal Issuance
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Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. New Resident
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Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. Florida Insurance Requirements
15
Florida Senate. Florida Code 320.072 – Additional Fee Imposed on Certain Motor Vehicle Registration Transactions