ORLANDO, Fla. – One official in Florida is urging state leaders to eliminate the state’s physical yellow registration decal, calling the move a “common-sense step forward” that would save residents millions and modernize the system.
Miami-Dade County Tax Collector Dariel Fernandez announced the proposal on Wednesday, asking the Florida Legislature and the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles to drop the annual sticker requirement. Fernandez emphasized that the plan would not end vehicle registration itself, only the physical decal.
“The physical yellow decal is no longer needed,” Fernandez said. “It fades, peels, gets stolen, and costs our residents money every year. Eliminating the physical decal is a common-sense step forward for our state, one that saves money, reduces fraud, and embraces the technology we already have.”
According to Fernandez, Miami-Dade residents alone could save millions annually by cutting production, mailing, and replacement costs. He noted that several states have already abandoned registration stickers, relying instead on digital verification systems that allow law enforcement to confirm registration instantly.
Fernandez framed the initiative as part of his responsibility to modernize county systems and reduce burdens on families. “We should not be asking families to stick something on their license plate when our technology already verifies registration in seconds,” he said.
The proposal will be presented to state leaders, the Florida Tax Collectors Association, and bipartisan partners across the state.
“Florida families deserve a smarter and more modern process,” Fernandez said. “Ending the physical yellow decal is a simple but powerful step in that direction.”
News 6 asked some Sunday shoppers about Fernandez’s proposal, all of whom seemed open to it.
“It’s just one less thing to worry about,” said Gideon Lewis. “It’s like paying taxes once a year, so you don’t have to worry about it.”
Hannah Pickard told us she also thinks it would be easy to go digital with Floridian vehicle registrations.
“It makes it a lot trickier to try to do everything day to day and try to keep up with doing this every single year,” she said.
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