Arizona - To Obtain Special Plates and Placards

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Procedure

Obtaining a Special Plate

1. Go to Service Arizona to select your plate.
2. Make sure that you have reviewed your choice before placing your order. Any changes to your plate choice and/or request for refund cannot be made once your request is already being processed.
3. All personalized plate letter/number combination choices must be approved. MVD may refuse to issue or may suspend any plate that suggests a meaning that is offensive, misleading or that duplicates any existing plate or plate series. You may also check on the availability of your choice online, before you order your plate.

Guide:

• Use only capital letters and numbers. No punctuation or other symbols. Use I for i, L for l, 1 for one, and V (underlined) for v.
• Choices with the maximum number of characters may not have spaces. Choices will automatically be centered on the plate.
• Choices with fewer than the maximum characters may have half spaces (indicate with single slash "/") or full spaces.
• If you order a plate with a disability symbol, that symbol replaces the first character of the plate and so reduces the maximum of characters available for the plate.

Renewing a Special Plate

Your Special plate is renewed annually, the renewal fee is due at the same time as the vehicle registration. The first payment is due when your vehicle registration is next renewed, even if it has been less than 12 months since the plate was initially purchased.

To avoid the first annual renewal special plate fee, you may renew your registration early. This is possible if your registration expires within the next three months, and done before submitting your plate application.

Hearing Impaired Plate and Placard

The Hearing Impaired plate and placard informs/notifies law enforcement, emergency services and others approaching the vehicle that the driver is hearing impaired. The plate cannot be used to gain special parking privileges.

The Hearing Impaired plate is in a special, reserved number format beginning with the letter "H." The plate may not be personalized.

It is available for trailers.

• When completing the application form, the 'Medical Certification section' must be completed by a person licensed to practice medicine in the United States or an audiologist certified by the American Speech, Language and Hearing Association. Applicant must be unable to hear or understand normal speech, with or without a hearing aid, in optimal conditions.
• If the applicant is under the age of 18 and not capable of signing, a legal guardian may sign and indicate relationship to the applicant. If the applicant is over the age of 18 and not capable of signing, a copy of a power of attorney form is required before the application can be accepted.

Issued Hearing Impaired Plate and Placard

Once issued, the plate is valid for as long as the medical certification remains valid. Plates are assigned to, and may only be displayed on, a specific vehicle registered or leased in the disabled applicants name. A disability plate may be transferred to another qualifying vehicle by visiting the nearest MVD or Authorized Third Party Office.

Placards are issued to the disabled applicant and may not be duplicated, transferred to, or used by, another person. Permanent placards are valid for five years (provided the medical condition continues) and may be renewed. Temporary placards are valid for six months. At the end of six months, if the medical condition continues, a new application/certification is required.

Lost, stolen or mutilated plate or placard

A lost, stolen or mutilated plate or placard may be replaced. To obtain a replacement plate/placard you must submit a Placard Renewal/Replacement Request form.

• Replacement plates: $5.00
• Replacement placards: No fee

For placard replacements, if the current record cannot be located and the original application is unavailable for verification, a new application will be required.

Disability Symbol

Plates with a disability symbol (International Symbol of Access) provides the disabled applicant the privilege of parking in specially marked parking spaces provided for the exclusive use of physically disabled persons.

Disability plates are available to individuals and organizations, but may not be issued to trailers. The disabled applicant must be the driver or a passenger in the vehicle when the disability parking space is used.

To obtain a disability plate/placard:

• Complete a Disability-Hearing Impaired Plate/Placard Application or have one on file.
• On the application form, the 'Medical Certification section' must be completed by an authorized physician (doctor of medicine, osteopathy, podiatry or chiropractic, licensed to practice medicine in the United States), a registered nurse practitioner or by a hospital administrator.
• If the applicant is under the age of 18 and not capable of signing, a legal guardian may sign and indicate relationship to the applicant. If the applicant is over the age of 18 and not capable of signing, a copy of a power-of-attorney form is required before the application can be accepted.

Issued disability plate/placard

Plates are assigned to, and may only be displayed on, a specific vehicle registered or leased in the disabled applicants name. If leased, but not registered in the applicants name, a document showing the disabled applicant as a lessee is required. A disability plate may be transferred to another qualifying vehicle by visiting the nearest MVD or Authorized Third Party Office.

Placards are issued to the disabled applicant and may not be duplicated, transferred to, or used by, another person.

• Permanent placards validity (renewable): 5 years (provided the medical condition continues)
• Temporary placards: 6 months

At the end of six months, if the medical condition continues, a new application/certification is required.

Arizona disability plates and placards are honored in most states in the US and provinces of Canada. When traveling by vehicle in other states, provinces or foreign countries, you may contact the local motor vehicle authority to inquire if your plate or placard is accepted in the area.

Lost, stolen or mutilated plate or placard

A lost, stolen or mutilated plate or placard may be replaced. To obtain a replacement plate/placard you must submit a Placard Renewal/Replacement Request form.

• Replacement plates: $5.00
• Replacement placards: No fee

For placard replacements, if the current record cannot be located and the original application is unavailable for verification, a new application will be required. A temporary disability placard will be issued with the same expiration date that appeared on the lost, stolen or mutilated placard. A new temporary placard with a full six-month use period may be issued upon completion of a new application.

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Required Documents

• Completed application form
• If the vehicle is being leased but not registered under the name of the applicant, a document stating the applicant as a lessee is required.

Eligibility

Plates may only be issued to the owner or lessee of a currently registered vehicle.

If leased, but not registered under the name of the applicant, a document stating the applicant as a lessee is required.

Some plates may not be issued to large commercial vehicles (with a declared gross vehicle weight of 26,001 lbs or more). Some special plates may be issued to trailers, motorcycles and golf carts. Some plates are issued in pairs (front and back of the vehicle) and some are issued as a single plate, depending on the plate type.

For personalized plates, two plates will be issued for full-size and one for small-size, regardless of the plate type.

Disability Symbol

Applicants must meet one or more of these conditions:

• The applicant is unable to walk 200 feet without stopping to rest.
• The applicant is unable to walk without help from another person or a brace, cane, crutch, wheelchair or other prosthetic or assistance device.
• The applicant has lung disease that with forced respiratory, expiratory volume for one second, if measured by a spirometer, is less than one liter, or the applicant's arterial oxygen tension is less than 60 mm/hg on room air at rest.
• The applicant uses portable oxygen.
• The applicant has a cardiac condition with Class 3 or 4 functional limitations by American Heart Association standards.
• The applicant is severely limited in ability to walk due to an arthritic, neurological or orthopedic condition.

Visual impairment in and of itself does not qualify a person for a plate or placard.

Fees

Initial application

Instructions

Some special plates may be ordered online. You may also obtain your special plate at any MVD or authorized third-party office. Other plates must be special ordered, by mail or an office. If not ordered online, you must complete a Special Plate Application.

Required Information

• Plate Design Requested
• Plate option
• Plate size
• Owner/Lessee name
• Vehicle year
• Make
• Mailing address
• Vehicle identification number
• City, state, zip
• Current plate
• When registration will expire

Need for the Document

Vehicle plates may be personalized with a letter/number combination of your choice. Some plates are available at any MVD or authorized third-party office. Other plates must be specially ordered, by mail or in person by completing a Special Plate Application. Some special plates may also be ordered online. The maximum number of characters allowed (letters and/or numbers) varies depending on your chosen of plate type. All choices must be approved.

Following are procedures on how you can obtain a personalized or special plates for your vehicle.