Protect Our Reefs License Plate

Drive Coral Conservation

Staghorn coral, a species Mote is working to restore

Florida drivers: You can help save Florida’s Coral Reef by purchasing the Protect Our Reefs license plate for your car, truck or boat trailer. Reef Plates also make great gifts!

Each plate sold in Florida provides a $25 donation to Mote Marine Laboratory to support coral reef research, restoration, education and outreach. Sales of the plate also support the Protect Our Reefs Grant Program, which has awarded millions of dollars in competitive grants to hundreds of science and education institutions focused on securing the future of Florida’s Coral Reef.

Get your Protect Our Reefs plates through your local tax collector’s office.

Find YOUR TAX COLLECTOR’s OFFICE

If your birthday is within the next 60 days, please visit your local Tax Collector’s Office to renew your registration and switch to the Protect Our Reefs license plate in the same transaction. Already have the plate? Renew your registration online.

Vital & Vanishing

Comparing Florida's Coral Reef between 1980, when more coral was present, and 2011, when corals have declined

Florida’s Coral Reef is the crown jewel of our state. It stretches nearly 350 miles and includes more than 40 species of reef-building corals that support abundant fish, other wildlife, thriving tourism and resilient coastlines that stand up to storms.

This natural wonder took millions of years to create. But now, its survival is threatened by accelerating challenges—coral disease, record heat waves, other climate-change impacts, algae overgrowth and more. Key coral populations have steeply declined and cannot recover without the help of science-based solutions.

Reef-saving Science

Photo: A Mote-restored colony of mountainous star coral. Credit Dr. Hanna Koch/Mote Marine Laboratory

Image shows coral bleaching in progress. — A coral bleaches—loses vital algae in its tissues due to heat. Bleaching is a key challenge Mote scientists are working to address.

Mote scientists dive in the ocean to test coral disease treatments.

Mote's Dr. Erinn Muller works with coral fragments at Mote's International Coral Gene Bank

Mote scientists raise corals for restoration and research at Mote's Islamorada Coral Nursery.

Mote Marine Laboratory is an internationally renowned hub of coral science and restoration. We study, raise and breed native Florida corals with genetic resilience to stressors including heat, ocean acidification and disease. We preserve essential coral genetic diversity in our International Coral Gene Bank, and we strategically restore Florida’s Coral Reef to support its resilience and recovery.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

How do I switch to a Protect Our Reefs license plate?

If it’s currently within two months of your birthday month, visit your local Tax Collector’s office to renew your registration and switch to the Protect Our Reefs license plate all in one transaction.

In person at your local county tax collector or tag office: You can also visit your local Tax Collector’s office to switch at any time to the Protect Our Reefs license plate.

This process is the same if you already own a different Florida specialty license plate and want to switch to a Protect Our Reefs plate.

What if I'm a first-time plate purchaser, new driver or starting a new vehicle registration?

Please ask your vehicle dealer for a “Protect Our Reef’s” license plate, or go to your local Tax Collector’s office and request a new “Protect our Reefs” license plate for your vehicle. Must be done in person or at the dealership.

By purchasing a “Protect Our Reefs” specialty license plate, what am I supporting and who gets the money?

When you purchase a “Protect Our Reefs” license plate, you are supporting Mote Marine Laboratory and the “Protect Our Reefs” coral restoration and research program. Each plate purchased generates a tax-deductible $25.00 donation to Mote. 100% of the $25.00 annual donation goes to the coral reef research and restoration program. Mote is an independent, nonprofit, marine research organization based in Sarasota, Florida, with multiple facilities in the Florida Keys focused on coral reef science and restoration.

What is your return or refund policy?

The best way to communicate with us is by email. Please contact us using the email address you initiated your transaction with, or reference it if you used a different email for your transaction.

To comply with applicable state regulations, we have already submitted your payment in full when we transmit your order. Therefore, NO RETURNS or REFUNDS are available once your order has been submitted for processing.

If any subsequent changes are requested by you after processing that were not included I your original order, you must visit your local county Tax Collector’s office to make those changes. Additional fees may apply.

If an error has occurred in the issuance of your tag, we will do everything in our power to correct it, subject to applicable policies and guidelines provided by the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles and the various Florida Tax Collectors.

Note: It is unlawful to provide false information to obtain a license tag

Drive Coral Conservation

Vital & Vanishing

Why Get the Plate

One Plate Supports Them All:

Reef-saving Science

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Protect Our Reefs Grants