California Vehicle Code

§ 5072

VEH § 5072 Effective Jan 1, 2026Div. 3 · Ch. 1 · Art. 8.4

Statute text

(a)Any person described in Section 5101 may also apply for a set of “Have a Heart, Be a Star, Help Our Kids” license plates, and the department shall issue those special license plates in lieu of the regular license plates. The “Have a Heart, Be a Star, Help Our Kids” plates shall be distinct from other existing license plates by the inclusion of a well within the portion of the license plate that has the alpha-numeric sequence. The well may be placed in any position within that portion of the license plate. A heart shape, a five-pointed star, a hand shape, a plus-sign shape, shall be imprinted within the well itself. However, for purposes of processing the alpha-numeric sequence, the symbol within the well shall be read as a blank within the alpha-numeric sequence. The Department of Motor Vehicles shall cooperate with representatives of the California Highway Patrol and the California Correctional Training and Rehabilitation Authority to design the final shape and dimension of the symbols for these license plates.

(b)An applicant for a license plate described in subdivision (a) may choose to either accept a license plate character sequence assigned by the department that includes one of the four symbols or request a specialized license plate character sequence determined by the applicant that includes one of the four symbols, in accordance with instructions which shall be provided by the department.

(c)In addition to the regular fees for an original registration, a renewal of registration, or a transfer of registration, the following “Have a Heart, Be a Star, Help Our Kids” license plate fees shall be paid:

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Legislative history

Amended by Stats. 2025, Ch. 241, Sec. 72. (SB 857) Effective January 1, 2026.