If You See a “PM” Sticker on a License Plate, Here’s What It Means

If you’ve spent time driving in Florida recently, you may have noticed that some cars have a PM sticker on their license plate. This sticker usually sits in place of the year sticker that you’d have to renew your registration. But what does this PM sticker mean? And who all is eligible to use one?

What Is the PM Sticker?

The PM sticker on a license plate is a different type of registration. Traditional car registration means you pay the appropriate taxes and fees each year, and you receive a sticker from the DMV with the current year on it. You then affix this sticker to your license plate. This isn’t too tiresome of a chore if you only own one or two vehicles, but if you have a fleet, then it rapidly becomes tedious. That’s where the PM sticker comes in. According to the Florida Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles (FHSMV), it stands for “permanent registration.”

What Does It Mean About the Car It’s On?

If a car has a PM sticker on its license plate, it means that the owner has elected to do permanent registration. Per the FHSMV Registration manual, there is still a registration fee associated, which “can be annual or biennial.” But the owner won’t have to reapply the sticker every year. Rather, “the yellow decal will have PM printed on it in place of the month and year expiration. The paper registration will have the vehicle registration information, and it will have “Permanent Decal Issued” printed on it.”

What Cars Get PM Stickers?

The Florida State Legislature says that “rental vehicles taxed pursuant to s. 320.08(6)(a) and rental trucks taxed pursuant to s. 320.08(3)(a)-(c) and (4)(a)-(d) may elect a permanent registration period.” This is, of course, “provided [that] payment of the appropriate license taxes and fees occurs annually.” The average personal vehicle won’t be carrying this sticker. 

Can I Get a PM Sticker?

Unless you’re the owner of a fleet of vehicles, you probably cannot get a PM sticker on your car. The FHSMV Registration manual says that “rental car companies can choose a regular or permanent registration,” but doesn’t indicate any scenarios where personal cars are eligible for this sticker. And even if you could, the sticker doesn’t seem to exempt you from annual fees; it just allows you to avoid having to put a new sticker on your vehicle every year.

Source

• Motor Vehicle Procedure Manual: Registration, Florida Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, 2021.
• The 2024 Florida Statutes (Including 2025 Special Session C), Florida Legislature, 2024.