Florida’s largest 55+ community is getting its own specialty license plate. What to know

Want to liven up your vehicle? If you're bored with Florida's standard orange, white and green license plates, the state offers a wide selection of specialty plates you can buy to provide some personal expression to your ride and make some money for charities.

And soon you'll be able to brag about The Villages.

There are currently 113 specialty license plates available in Florida with 30 more in presales. You can show off your college or university, your favorite Florida football team, different branches of the military, environmental causes like protecting sea turtles, manatees, panthers, dolphins, and coral reefs, or just things you like such as Walt Disney World, golf, flowers and the concept of summer.

A plate promoting Florida's largest 55+ community is one of nine new specialty plates approved by the Florida Legislature this year. Other plates include a Margaritaville one to honor the late Jimmy Buffett.

The plates go on sale Oct. 1, but they won't be available right away.

What is The Villages?

The largest adult community in the United States, The Villages spreads across three counties and six ZIP codes in Central Florida and was named the nation's fastest-growing metro area according to the most recent U.S. Census data and the safest place to live in Florida.

What will The Villages license plate look like?

The final design has not been decided, but the bill requires the plate to have Florida at the top and “The Villages: May All Your Dreams Come True” at the bottom.

Where will the money from The Villages license plate go?

Fees from the sale of the plate will be distributed to The Villages Charter School, Inc. , which is dedicated to "nurturing productive citizens and life-long learners through an integrated, relevant curriculum tailored to the individual needs of its students." The Villages Charter School offers K-12 curriculum at its six attendance centers.

How much will The Villages license plate cost?

Specialty license plates cost an annual $25 on top of your vehicle registration fees. All of the plates can be ordered online or at local DMV offices except for specialty military plates such as Medal of Honor, Silver Star, Distinguished Service Cross, etc, which require a form to certify eligibility .

When will The Villages license plate be available?

Presales begin Tuesday, Oct. 1.

But the FLHSMV has to get at least 3,000 orders before they start making any, so availability will depend on how big the demand is. There are 30 specialty plates already approved in the last couple of years that still haven't hit the threshold yet.

"Organizations will have two years to reach the 3,000-voucher requirement," said FLHSMV spokesperson Molly Best in an email.

What is the most popular specialty license plate in Florida?

According to the FLHSMV , the top-selling specialty plates as of August 1 are:

• Endless Summer: 137,547
• Helping Sea Turtles Survive: 109,624
• University of Florida: 92,662
• Miami Heat: 80,909
• Florida State University: 70,393
• Tampa Bay Buccaneers: 60,596
• Save the Manatee: 53,334
• Protect Wild Dolphins: 52,575
• Vets of the U.S. Armed Forces: 49,829
• Marine Corps: 49,747

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What other new Florida license plates are coming?

All of the new 2024 plates approved include:

• Margaritaville: A plate to honor the late Florida singer Jimmy Buffett, with proceeds going to Buffett's Singing for Change organization.
• Clearwater Marine Aquarium: A plate to celebrate the aquarium, with money going to efforts to reduce, rehabilitate and release marine life, public education and other conservation strategies.
• General Aviation: A plate supporting general aviation in the state. Fees from sale of the plate will go to the Aerospace Center for Excellence in Lakeland to fund scholarships.
• The Villages: May All Your Dreams Come True: Use fees from sales of his plate will go to support The Villages Charter School Inc.
• Cure Diabetes: Money from this plate will be distributed evenly among The Diabetes Research Institute Foundation, JDRF International Incorporated, and the University of Florida Foundation, Inc., which supports the University of Florida Diabetes Institute to fund research into curing Type 1 diabetes,
• Recycle Florida: Use fees from the sale of this plate will go to Recycle Florida Today Foundation, Inc. for a public awareness program on the importance of recycling and conservation, to promote recycling programs, and to support the professional development people working in fields relating to recycling, conservation, and sustainability.
• Boating Capital of the World: Sales of this plate will support Captain Sandy Yawn, Inc. in the effort to promote and fund maritime workforce instruction, training, professional development and job placement in the marine industry both at sea and on land.
• Project Addiction: Reversing the Stigma: This plate will fund the nonprofit Project Addiction: Reversing the Stigma, Inc. to promote and support awareness of and education about substance use disorder and mental illness.
• United Service Organizations (USO): Annual use fees will go toward United Service Organizations, Inc. to be distributed equally among its ten Florida locations to promote its mission of supporting members of the U.S. Armed Forces and their families.

Other changes in the bill:

• Collegiate plates will be exempt from the rules requiring the bottom 10% of specialty plates measured in sales to be dropped each year
• Previously dropped colleges and universities can apply to be reinstated
• Proceeds from the "Live the Dream" plate will be redistributed : 95% benefits the Historic Cemeteries Program to research, identify, and record abandoned African-American cemeteries and provide grants, with up to 5% going to the Martin Luther King, Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change, Inc. as a royalty for the use of the image of Dr. King.
• Replaces the phrase “In God We Trust” with “Protect the Eagle” on the bottom of the American Eagle license plate design
• Expands eligibility of the "Divine Nine" license plate to include family members of alumni
• Renames the "Give Kids The World" plate to create the "Universal Orlando Resort" plate.

This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Florida’s largest 55+ community is getting its own specialty license plate. What to know