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BMV > Vehicle Registration And Plates > Indiana's License Plates > Indiana's Personalized License Plates Indiana's Personalized License Plates

Personalized license plates may be displayed on passenger vehicles, trucks up to 11,000 pounds, motorcycles, and recreational vehicles. You may also purchase a personalized license plate as a gift for another Hoosier motorist. Personalized license plate are available on a standard passenger plate background or on a special recognition license plate background. You may request a license plate to display any available number from 1 to 100 for an additional $30.

When you purchase or renew any Indiana license plate, you will pay registration fees and taxes determined by the year and make of your vehicle, and your county of residence. If you reserve or re-reserve a personalized license plate, you will also pay an annual personalized license plate fee of $48. If you purchased a personalized license plate on a special recognition plate background, you may pay administrative or group fees determined by the organization sponsoring the plate. 

Reserve And Renew Personalized License Plates Online

By creating an online myBMV account you gain access to a number of services including personalized license plate reservation and re-reservation. You may even check the availability of a personalized license plate online through myBMV.

Getting A Personalized License Plate

Personalized license plates are issued annually. You must reserve your personalized license plate by paying the $48 reservation fee before October 31 in order to display it during the following year. You must reserve your personalized license plate every year before October 31. 

Once you reserve your personalized license plate online through your myBMV account or at any Indiana license branch, the plate will be registered to your vehicle for the following year only and the plate will be mailed to you. If you do not reserve your personalized license plate every year by October 31 your plate will become ineligible and may not be reserved during the remaining time of the five-year plate cycle.

If you have a personalized license plate, your vehicle registration expires on April 30 of every year. You may renew your vehicle registration online through myBMV, by mail, or at a license branch.

As an example, a customer wants a personalized license plate that reads GR8 PLPS. This customer should visit myBMV or any license branch before October 31 of this year to complete an application form and pay the initial $48 reservation fee. Next year, this customer will receive by mail a license plate reading GR8 PLPS. He or she must then renew the vehicle's registration by April 30 and pay the $48 reservation fee by October 31.

Personalized License Plate Guidelines

You may use seven alpha or numeric characters plus one space without punctuation for a standard personalized license plate. Personalized license plates on motorcycles may use six alpha or numeric characters. Personalized license plates on specialty plate backgrounds may contain up to five alpha or numeric characters.

Personalized license plates allow creativity; however, under Indiana Statue IC 9-18-15-4 (b) the BMV may refuse to issue a combination of letters or numerals, or both, that carry a connotation offensive to good taste and decency.

The BMV will deny a personalized license plate request if an objective, reasonable person would find that the customer’s proposed expression on the personalized license plate application is determined to carry a connotation offensive to good taste and decency, is misleading, or is otherwise prohibited.

Your plate should have stickers showing the day, month, and year of your next registration renewal, and the county in which your vehicle is registered. Indiana law prohibits license plate frames or covers that obscure stickers, text, or numbers on your plate

Still Have Questions? Contact The BMV

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