Jimmy Buffett fans can now order specialty license plates

Florida Republican Sen. Gayle Harrell shows samples of a proposed specialty license plate to honor iconic Florida singer Jimmy Buffet, Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2024, in Tallahassee, Fla. (AP Photo/Brendan Farrington, File) (Brendan Farrington)

Jimmy Buffett fans can now order specialty “Margaritaville” Florida license plates.

According to the bill signed into effect earlier this year HB-403, a specialty license plate will be made available for purchase beginning on Oct. 1 with the word “Margaritaville” — a Buffett song that has become a nickname for Key West.

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Specialty plates in the state of Florida cost $25 in addition to regular automobile registration fees. According to the Department of Florida Highway Safety and Motor vehicles, new specialty plates must receive at least 3,000 pre-sale vouchers before the new specialty plate will be manufactured and made available.

To check the total of pre-orders of special plates in the state, click on this link. As of Oct. 3, 2024, the data for the plates shows pre-orders as of Sept. 23, 2024. The “Margaritaville” plates are expected to be added to the list of specialty plates.

To fill out a pre-sale voucher, click on this link.

“Margaritaville is just what Florida is all about. Jimmy Buffett is the icon of Florida. No one represents the open sun, beaches, music more than Jimmy Buffett and Margaritaville,” said Republican state Sen. Gayle Harrell, who sponsored one of the bills.

Proceeds from license plate sales will go to a charity founded by Buffett, Singing for Change, and will benefit Florida nonprofits that help victims of hurricanes and other disasters, Harrell said.

The Florida Legislature designated Aug. 30 as “Jimmy Buffett Day” and parts of A1A in Miami-Dade, Broward, Palm Beach and Monroe Counties now bear the name “Jimmy Buffett Memorial Highway.”

The first sign was unveiled in the Key West potion of A1A.

The new Jimmy Buffett Memorial Highway sign for A1A unveiled in Key West on Jimmy Buffett Day. (� 2024 Chris Gunderson, all rights reserved.)

A pop-up tribute also appeared in the Florida Keys after Buffett’s passing last year after his passing.

Someone added cardboard letters to the sign at the Key West International Airport to make it read Key West Jimmy Buffett International Airport.

The letters were taken down about 15 minutes after they were discovered, but they sparked an idea.

Many locals now say they would like to see the airport permanently renamed in Buffett’s honor.

Jimmy Buffett, whose sun-drenched songs celebrated life by the shore, died of a rare, aggressive skin cancer at 76.


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