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CS/HB 841 2026
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
A bill to be entitled 1
An act relating to motor vehicle registration renewal; 2
amending s. 320.06, F.S.; requiring a renewal to be 3
recorded electronically; removing provisions relating 4
to validation stickers; amending ss. 320.04, 5
320.08035, 320.0807, 320.084, and 320.102, F.S.; 6
conforming cross-references and provisions to changes 7
made by the act; providing an effective date. 8
9
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 10
11
Section 1. Section 320.06, Florida Statutes, is amended to 12
read: 13
320.06 Registration certificates and, license plates;, and 14
validation stickers generally.— 15
(1)(a) Upon the receipt of an initial application for 16
registration and payment of the appropriate license tax and 17
other fees required by law, the department shall assign to the 18
motor vehicle a registration license number consisting of 19
letters and numerals or numerals and issue to the owner or 20
lessee a certificate of registration and one registration 21
license plate, unless two plates are required for display by s. 22
320.0706, for each vehicle so registered. 23
(b)1. Registration license plates bearing a graphic symbol 24
and the alphanumeric system of identification shall be issued 25
CS/HB 841 2026
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
for a 10-year period. At the end of the 10-year period, upon 26
renewal, the plate shall be replaced. The department shall 27
extend the scheduled license plate replacement date from a 6-28
year period to a 10-year period. The fee for such replacement is 29
$28, $2.80 of which shall be paid each year before the plate is 30
replaced, to be credited toward the next $28 replacement fee. 31
The fees shall be deposited into the Highway Safety Operating 32
Trust Fund. A credit or refund may not be given for any prior 33
years' payments of the prorated replacement fee if the plate is 34
replaced or surrendered before the end of the 10-year period, 35
except that a credit may be given if a registrant is required by 36
the department to replace a license plate under s. 37
320.08056(8)(a). With each license plate, a validation sticker 38
shall be issued showing the owner's birth month, license plate 39
number, and the year of expiration or the appropriate renewal 40
period if the owner is not a natural person. The validation 41
sticker shall be placed on the upper right corner of the license 42
plate. The license plate and validation sticker shall be issued 43
based on the applicant's appropriate renewal period. The 44
registration period is 12 months, the extended registration 45
period is 24 months, and all expirations occur based on the 46
applicant's appropriate registration period. Rental vehicles 47
taxed pursuant to s. 320.08(6)(a) and rental trucks taxed 48
pursuant to s. 320.08(3)(a)-(c) and (4)(a)-(d) may elect a 49
permanent registration period, provided payment of the 50
CS/HB 841 2026
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
appropriate license taxes and fees occurs annually. 51
2. Beginning July 1, 2024, A vehicle registered in 52
accordance with the International Registration Plan must be 53
issued a license plate for a 3-year period. At the end of the 3-54
year period, upon renewal, the license plate must be replaced. 55
Each license plate must include a validation sticker showing the 56
month of expiration. A cab card denoting the declared gross 57
vehicle weight for each apportioned jurisdiction must be issued 58
annually. The fee for an original or a renewal cab card is $28, 59
which must be deposited into the Highway Safety Operating Trust 60
Fund. If the license plate is damaged or worn, it may be 61
replaced at no charge by applying to the department and 62
surrendering the current license plate. 63
3. In order to retain the efficient administration of the 64
taxes and fees imposed by this chapter, the 80-cent fee increase 65
in the replacement fee imposed by chapter 2009-71, Laws of 66
Florida, is negated as provided in s. 320.0804. 67
(c) Registration license plates equipped with validation 68
stickers subject to the registration period are valid for not 69
more than 12 months and expire at midnight on the last day of 70
the registration period. A registration license plate equipped 71
with a validation sticker subject to the extended registration 72
period is valid for not more than 24 months and expires at 73
midnight on the last day of the extended registration period. A 74
registration license plate equipped with a validation sticker 75
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
subject to a permanent registration period is permanently valid 76
but shall become void if appropriate license taxes and fees are 77
not paid annually. For each registration period after the one in 78
which the metal registration license plate is issued, and until 79
the license plate is required to be replaced, the renewal shall 80
be recorded electronically a validation sticker showing the 81
month and year of expiration shall be issued upon payment of the 82
proper license tax amount and fees and is valid for not more 83
than 12 months. For each extended registration period occurring 84
after the one in which the metal registration license plate is 85
issued and until the license plate is required to be replaced, 86
the renewal shall be recorded electronically a validation 87
sticker showing the year of expiration shall be issued upon 88
payment of the proper license tax amount and fees and is valid 89
for not more than 24 months. For each permanent registration 90
period occurring after the one in which the metal registration 91
license plate is issued and until the license plate is required 92
to be replaced, the renewal shall be recorded electronically a 93
validation sticker showing a permanent registration period shall 94
be issued upon payment of the proper license tax amount and fees 95
and is permanently valid but shall become void if the proper 96
license taxes and fees are not paid annually. When license 97
plates equipped with validation stickers are issued in any month 98
other than the owner's birth month or the designated 99
registration period for any other motor vehicle, the effective 100
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
date shall reflect the birth month or month and the year of 101
renewal. However, when a license plate or validation sticker is 102
issued for a period of less than 12 months, the applicant shall 103
pay the appropriate amount of license tax and the applicable fee 104
under s. 320.14 in addition to all other fees. Validation 105
stickers issued for vehicles taxed under s. 320.08(6)(a), for 106
any company that owns 250 vehicles or more, or for semitrailers 107
taxed under the provisions of s. 320.08(5)(a), for any company 108
that owns 50 vehicles or more, may be placed on any vehicle in 109
the fleet so long as the vehicle receiving the validation 110
sticker has the same owner's name and address as the vehicle to 111
which the validation sticker was originally assigned. 112
(2) The department shall provide the several tax 113
collectors and license plate agents with the necessary number of 114
validation stickers. 115
(2)(3)(a) Registration license plates must be made of 116
metal specially treated with a retroreflection material, as 117
specified by the department. The registration license plate is 118
designed to increase nighttime visibility and legibility and 119
must be at least 6 inches wide and not less than 12 inches in 120
length, unless a plate with reduced dimensions is deemed 121
necessary by the department to accommodate motorcycles, mopeds, 122
similar smaller vehicles, or trailers. Validation stickers must 123
also be treated with a retroreflection material, must be of such 124
size as specified by the department, and must adhere to the 125
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
license plate. The registration license plate must be imprinted 126
with a combination of bold letters and numerals or numerals, not 127
to exceed seven digits, to identify the registration license 128
plate number. The license plate must be imprinted with the word 129
"Florida" at the top and the name of the county in which it is 130
sold, the state motto, or the words "Sunshine State" at the 131
bottom. Apportioned license plates must have the word 132
"Apportioned" at the bottom, and license plates issued for 133
vehicles taxed under s. 320.08(3)(d), (4)(m) or (n), (5)(b) or 134
(c), or (14) must have the word "Restricted" at the bottom. 135
License plates issued for vehicles taxed under s. 320.08(12) 136
must be imprinted with the word "Florida" at the top and the 137
word "Dealer" at the bottom unless the license plate is a 138
specialty license plate as authorized in s. 320.08056. 139
Manufacturer license plates issued for vehicles taxed under s. 140
320.08(12) must be imprinted with the word "Florida" at the top 141
and the word "Manufacturer" at the bottom. License plates issued 142
for vehicles taxed under s. 320.08(5)(d) or (e) must be 143
imprinted with the word "Wrecker" at the bottom. Any county may, 144
upon majority vote of the county commission, elect to have the 145
county name removed from the license plates sold in that county. 146
The state motto or the words "Sunshine State" shall be printed 147
in lieu thereof. A license plate issued for a vehicle taxed 148
under s. 320.08(6) may not be assigned a registration license 149
number, or be issued with any other distinctive character or 150
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
designation, that distinguishes the motor vehicle as a for-hire 151
motor vehicle. 152
(b) An additional fee of 50 cents shall be collected on 153
each motor vehicle registration or motor vehicle renewal 154
registration issued in this state in order for all license 155
plates and validation stickers to be fully treated with 156
retroreflection material. The fee shall be deposited into the 157
Highway Safety Operating Trust Fund. 158
(3)(4) The corporation organized under chapter 946 may 159
manufacture license plates, validation stickers, and decals, as 160
well as temporary tags, disabled hang tags, vessel decals, and 161
fuel use decals, for the Department of Highway Safety and Motor 162
Vehicles as provided in this chapter and chapter 327. The 163
Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles is not required 164
to obtain competitive bids in order to contract with the 165
corporation. 166
(4)(5) The department may conduct a pilot program to 167
evaluate the designs, concepts, and technologies for alternative 168
license plates. For purposes of the pilot program, the 169
department shall investigate the feasibility and use of 170
alternative license plate technologies and the long-term cost 171
impact to the consumer. The pilot program shall be limited to 172
license plates that are used on government-owned motor vehicles 173
as described in s. 320.0655. Such license plates are exempt from 174
the requirements in paragraph (2)(a) (3)(a). 175
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
(5)(6) All license plates issued pursuant to this chapter 176
are the property of this the state. 177
Section 2. Paragraphs (a) and (b) of subsection (1) of 178
section 320.04, Florida Statutes, are amended to read: 179
320.04 Registration service charge.— 180
(1)(a) A service charge of $2.50 shall be imposed on each 181
application that is handled in connection with original 182
issuance, duplicate issuance, or transfer of a license plate or, 183
mobile home sticker, or validation sticker or with transfer or 184
duplicate issuance of a registration certificate. This service 185
charge shall be retained by the department or by the tax 186
collector, as the case may be, as other fees accruing to those 187
offices. 188
(b) A service charge of $1 shall also be imposed for the 189
issuance of each license plate validation sticker, vessel decal, 190
and mobile home sticker issued from an automated vending 191
facility or printer dispenser machine. This service charge is 192
payable to the department and shall be used to provide for 193
automated vending facilities or printer dispenser machines that 194
are used to dispense such stickers and decals by each tax 195
collector's or license tag agent's employee. 196
Section 3. Section 320.08035, Florida Statutes, is amended 197
to read: 198
320.08035 Persons who have disabilities; reduced dimension 199
license plate.—The owner or lessee of a motorcycle, moped, or 200
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
motorized disability access vehicle who resides in this state 201
and qualifies for a parking permit for a person who has a 202
disability under s. 320.0848, upon application and payment of 203
the appropriate license tax and fees under s. 320.08(1), must be 204
issued a license plate that has reduced dimensions as provided 205
under s. 320.06(2)(a) s. 320.06(3)(a). The plate must be stamped 206
with the international symbol of accessibility after the numeric 207
and alpha serial number of the license plate. The plate entitles 208
the person to all privileges afforded by a disabled parking 209
permit issued under s. 320.0848. 210
Section 4. Subsection (4) of section 320.0807, Florida 211
Statutes, is amended to read: 212
320.0807 Special license plates for Governor and federal 213
and state legislators.— 214
(4) License plates purchased under subsection (1), 215
subsection (2), or subsection (3) shall be replaced by the 216
department at no cost, other than the fees required under ss. 217
320.04 and 320.06(2)(b) 320.06(3)(b), when the person to whom 218
the plates have been issued leaves the elective office with 219
respect to which the license plates were issued. Within 30 days 220
after leaving office, the person to whom the license plates have 221
been issued must apply to the department for a replacement 222
license plate. The person may return the prestige license plates 223
to the department or retain the plates as souvenirs. Upon 224
receipt of the replacement license plate, the person may not 225
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
display on any vehicle the prestige license plate or plates 226
issued with respect to his or her former office. 227
Section 5. Paragraph (b) of subsection (4) of section 228
320.084, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 229
320.084 Free motor vehicle license plate to certain 230
disabled veterans.— 231
(4) 232
(b) There shall be a service charge in accordance with the 233
provisions of s. 320.04 for each initial application or renewal 234
of registration and an additional sum of 50 cents on each 235
license plate and validation sticker as provided in s. 236
320.06(2)(b) s. 320.06(3)(b). 237
Section 6. Section 320.102, Florida Statutes, is amended 238
to read: 239
320.102 Marine boat trailers owned by nonprofit 240
organizations; exemptions.—The registration or renewal of a 241
registration of any marine boat trailer owned and operated by a 242
nonprofit organization that is exempt from federal income tax 243
under s. 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code and which is 244
used exclusively in carrying out its customary nonprofit 245
activities is exempt from paying the fees, taxes, surcharges, 246
and charges in ss. 320.03(5), (6), and (9), 320.031(2), 247
320.04(1), 320.06(1)(b) and (2)(b) (3)(b), 320.0801, 320.0802, 248
320.0804, and 320.08046. 249
Section 7. This act shall take effect July 1, 2026. 250