If you’re looking to buy a vanity license plate in North Carolina, you’ve come to the right place. It’s important to note that while it’s not uncommon to see personalized plates when you’re driving on the road—in fact, according to the Raleigh Magazine, there are over 300,000 vanity plates in circulation in North Carolina alone.
Every state has different rules, so you need to pay attention to your state’s guidelines when it comes to personalized plates in order to avoid being among the 10,000 plates that have been rejected in North Carolina.
What kind of vanity license plate can I get?
There are so many ways to express yourself with a personalized license plate. While your first thought might be what message to write on the plate, don’t forget that you can also customize the background with a specialty plate. There are dozens and dozens of options, but here are just a few ideas:
- Support the Troops: You may want to get a custom plate to show that you are a veteran. There are personalized plates available for every branch of the military. If you have a family member who served or just want to show that you support the troops, there’s a custom plate for that as well.
- School Spirit: If you want to show some school spirit, you can get a collegiate license plate of get a custom plate for your sorority or fraternity.
- Nature Lover: To show your appreciation for the outdoors, you might consider getting the “Save the Honey Bee” plate or a “Native Brook Trout” plate. Believe it or not, there’s even a “Litter Prevention” plate. There are so many options to choose from!
- Support a Cause: There are several different personalized plates available that show support for different causes. There is a “Choose Life” plate as well as a “National Rifle Association” plate. If cancer prevention is something you care about, there is a “Breast Cancer Awareness” plate as well as a plate called “Kick Cancer for Kids” to help fight pediatric cancer.
- The Hobbyist: You would be surprised by the number of miscellaneous plates out there from “Soccer Mom” to “Scuba.” There are plates available for a whole host of hobbies.
The “First in Flight” and “First in Freedom” backgrounds are also available for nearly every type of plate. You can see all of the different options for specialty plates here.
What text is acceptable?
License plates are actually considered government speech, so they do not fall under the First Amendment. The NCDMV has the right to reject any license plates that are deemed offensive to good taste and decency, such as anything vulgar, inappropriate, or crass. Plates that are over the space limit allowed for their particular plate style and duplicates of vanity plates already registered in North Carolina will also be rejected. Therefore, you should consider the text that you want on your plate carefully!
Personal vehicles and private trailers can have up to eight characters. Private motorcycles can have seven characters, disabled license plates can have six characters, and special license plates are allowed four characters.
Letters, numbers, and certain symbols such as question mark (?), dollar ($), ampersand (&), as well as the “at” symbol (@) are all permitted. However, personalized license plate requests must contain at least one letter.
Remember, requests like BIDENSUX, 0HELLNAW, GUN4HIRE, DANK, and H8D00K will be denied.
| Vehicle | Character Limit |
|---|---|
| Personal vehicle | 8 |
| Private motorcycle | 7 |
| Private trailer | 8 |
| Disabled license plate | 6 |
| Special license plate | 4 |
What are the requirements for a personalized plate in North Carolina?
First, you must make sure that you have a vehicle that is titled registered with the NCDMV. If your car isn’t titled and registered in North Carolina and you’re planning to update this, you can submit your application for a personalized license plate when you titled at register your vehicle at the NCDMV.
To order a plate, you will need the following information your vehicle license plate number and the last five digits of the vehicle title number, which can be found on your renewal notice or your registration card.
How to Order - Application Process
Order Online: Simply visit myNCDMV to place your order, and the personalized plate will ship to the mailing address you provide. You should be able to check online to see if the vanity plate you want is available. If you order online, please be aware the in North Carolina, there is a $3 transaction fee because the NCDMV uses a service called PayIt to process orders.
Order by Mail: If you’d prefer to order by mail, you can fill out the form for your preferred specialty plate or personalized plate, and mail it to
N.C. Division of Motor Vehicles
3155 Mail Service Center
Raleigh, North Carolina 27697-3155
The application for personalized plates can be found on this page of the NCDMV website.
Order In person: You can download the appropriate form for your specialty plate here and bring it to your local NCDMV. Again, remember that the application for personalized plates can be found here.
For more information, visit the Frequently Asked Questions page for personalized plates on the NCDMV’s website here.
How much does it cost for a custom license plate in North Carolina?
It varies based on which specialty plate you choose, but the plate fee is typically between $10 and $30, and the personalization fee is an additional $30.
If you just want to personalize your plate without choosing a specialty plate, the cost is $30 plus an annual renewal fee.
How long does it take to get the vanity plate?
In North Carolina, it typically takes 6-8 weeks to receive your vanity plate.
Additional Questions
If you’re having any technical difficulties, you can get support by calling PayIt, the service provider, at (855) 980-6559 or sending an email to [email protected]. You can also reach out to your local DMV for questions related to the plates themselves.
