Personalized and Specialty License Plates
The Missouri Department of Revenue (department) offers many options to personalize the license plates on your vehicles. Personalized plates allow you to select up to 6 characters (depending on the type of plate and vehicle) to appear on your plate. Specialty plates offer the same license plate character options, but offer plates with even more individuality, including ones for colleges and universities, military, organizations and charitable groups.
- Applying for Personalized/Specialty License Plates
- Personalized Plate Configurations
- Specialty Plates
- Preview Specialty Plates
Applying for Personalized/Specialty License Plates
To obtain a set of personalized/specialty license plates for your vehicle, you must submit a completed Application for Missouri Personalized and Special License Plates (DOR-1716), Application for Missouri Military Personalized License Plates (DOR-4601), or Application for Missouri Historic or Personalized Historic License Plates (DOR-570) and the application fee ($15 personalized/specialty/military, or $43.75 personalized historic) to the Department of Revenue. These forms are available at Missouri contract offices, or you may request a copy to be sent by mail.
If you are requesting a specialty plate bearing the emblem of a particular organization, you may also be required to submit the proper Emblem Use Authorization Statement (EUAS) from that organization, or your membership card to the organization if applicable. If you are requesting a personalized/specialty military plate you will need to submit proof of your honorable discharge (or active duty status if applicable) and that you have received the necessary military award or decoration that makes you eligible for the particular military plate.
This application process is separate from any regular fees/documents that may be required when you register your vehicle.
If your requested plate configuration(s) is/are not available, your $15 application fee will be returned to you.
If your requested plate configuration is available, your plates will be ordered (4-6 week turnaround). Our staff will then mail a notification letter to you when your plates are available for pickup at your designated contract office. Additional fees to transfer the plate to your vehicle will be required at that time.
NOTE: A $15 reservation fee and EUAS (if applicable) are required for each year the plate is renewed.
Personalized Plate Configurations
Refer to the list below for the maximum number of characters allowed in a personalized plate configuration:
- Regular personalized license plate design with no emblem or wheelchair symbol: up to 6 characters (plus one space, dash, or apostrophe if desired)
- Plates with an emblem or wheelchair symbol: up to 6 characters (or 5 characters plus one space, dash, or apostrophe if desired)
- Plates with an emblem and wheelchair symbol: up to 4 characters (or 3 characters plus one space, dash, or apostrophe if desired)
- Motorcycle/motortricycle plates with no emblem or wheelchair symbol: up to 6 characters (or 5 characters plus one space, dash, or apostrophe if desired)
- Motorcycle/motortricycle plates with an emblem: up to 5 characters (or 4 characters plus one space, dash, or apostrophe if desired)
- Motorcycle/motortricycle plates with an emblem and wheelchair symbol: up to 3 characters (or 2 characters plus one space, dash, or apostrophe if desired)
The department cannot guarantee that your selected configuration is available, nor is it possible to reserve a configuration without applying and paying the appropriate fees.
Please check with your local license office or email us at mvbmail@dor.mo.gov if you have questions about the availability of a particular configuration. No personalized license plates shall be issued containing any letters, numbers, or combination of letters and numbers which are obscene, profane, patently offensive or contemptuous of a racial or ethnic group, offensive to good taste or decency, or would present an unreasonable danger to the health or safety of the applicant, or other users of streets and highways, or of the public in any location where the vehicle with such a license plate may be found. Any license plates that are inadvertently issued may be recalled. The department will not issue license plates that conflict with the regular license numbering system.
Use the license plate graphic below to select a personalized plate, and see how your personalized characters would appear on a license plate.
Specialty Plates
Missouri offers close to 200 different license plate designs, letting you show your support for organizations and sports teams, or your affiliation to military service (among other options). License plates that include organizational names or logos may require the payment of an additional fee to the organization sponsoring the license plate. Check with the organization for more details.
Preview Specialty Plates
Use the license plate graphic below to select a specialty plate, and see how your personalized characters would appear on a license plate. Additional requirements are listed along with the selected plate.
Due to normal variations in computer screens and displays, colors may appear slightly different from their appearance on the actual license plates.