THE FIRST PLATE TO BE DISCONTINUED UNDER THE NEW FLORIDA LAW IS THE EDWARD WATERS COLLEGE SPECIALTY PLATE - A PRIVATE SCHOOL IN JACKSONVILLE THAT’S AMONG THE STATE’S HISTORICALLY BLACK COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES.

When the Florida Legislature approved dozens of new specialty license plates in a new law passed in 2020, it also signaled the demise of low performers after January 1 of each year.
The first plate to be discontinued under the new law is the Edward Waters College, a private school in Jacksonville, that’s among the state’s Historically Black Colleges and Universities. Its plate was enacted in 2002.
The new law states that “on January 1 of each year, the department shall discontinue the specialty license plate with the fewest number of plates in circulation, including license plates exempt from a statutory sales requirement.”
Previously, most university plates including Edward Waters had been exempt from any sort of minimum tag sales.
According to the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles data, it had 714 registrations as of Jan. 1. While that’s much higher than 12 other private school plates available in the state, those schools all opted to participate in a new simple standard template enacted by the law specifically for independent colleges and universities. All of those schools’ registrations act in a combined manner when the state determines its rankings.
Because of that, the plate for Warner Southern University, a private Christian school located in Lake Wales, which had only 84 registered tags as of Jan. 1, 2021, will remain on the rolls while Edward Waters will no longer be allowed for new registrations.
Other schools with less registrations than Edward Waters that opted into the new template option include Lynn University, Florida Hospital College, St. Thomas University, Southeastern University, Florida College, Palm Beach Atlantic University, Keiser University, Ringling College of Art and Design, Eckerd College, Florida Southern and St. Leo University.
Since most private schools with low plate numbers had opted in for the combined templated super plate, other types of plates could be on the chopping block in 2022 and successive years.
As of Jan. 1, that includes the Kids Deserve Justice plate with 1,380 registrations, Agricultural Education with 1,467, Moffitt Cancer Center with 1,515, the NHL’s Florida Panthers with 1,987 and Scouting Teaches Values with 2,031.
The department contacted the sponsoring organizations of the lowest performing 10% of specialty license plates on Dec. 1, 2020 to inform them of their plate’s status.
​New statistics for total sales for 2020 are expected to be released any day now.
​Blue Angels have completed their presell and are now awaiting production.

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