Don’t Tread On Me Specialty Plate – Whats all the hype about?

The Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles (FLHSMV) is pleased to announce that the Gadsden Flag specialty license plate has been delivered to us and is ready for purchase. The revenue collected annually from the sale of the Gadsden Flag specialty license plate will be distributed to the Florida Veterans Foundation, a direct-support organization of the Department of Veterans’ Affairs, to be used to benefit veterans.

Many people were concerned about the release of this License Plate and some went as far as saying it should have been discontinued before it even was released. Rumors of what this plate actually represents have been floating around for years. We are here to set the record straight. The Gadsden flag is a historical American flag with a yellow field depicting a timber rattlesnake coiled and ready to strike. Beneath the rattlesnake are the words: “DON’T TREAD ON ME” Some modern versions of the flag include an apostrophe.

The flag is named for Christopher Gadsden, South Carolina delegate to the Continental Congress and brigadier general in the Continental Army. Gadsden designed the flag in 1775 during the American Revolution. He gifted it to Commodore Esek Hopkins, and the flag was unfurled on the main mast of Hopkins’ flagship, USS Alfred, on December 20, 1775. Two days later, Congress made Hopkins commander-in-chief of the Continental Navy. He adopted the Gadsden banner as his personal flag, flying it “from the mainmast of the flagship” while he was aboard. The Continental Marines also flew the flag during the early part of the war.

In the context of the American Revolution, the rattlesnake was a “symbol of the unity” of the colonies, and had “long been a political symbol” in America; Benjamin Franklin used the animal for his Join, or Die woodcut in 1754. Gadsden intended his flag as a “warning to Great Britain” not to violate the liberties of its American subjects. At its core this Plate supports everything America was built on. Not only does it look great, but it supports a great found as well. These Gadsden Don’t Tread On Me Florida Specialty License Plates are currently available for sale and are sold on a first come first serve basis. These plates can also be personalized with a max length of 5 characters.

To purchase this Gadsden Flag (Don’t Tread On Me) Specialty License Plate, please complete the info request on this page and submit all required information. One of our clerks will then receive the order and begin the swap process. We check all plate requests for anything outstanding that may block you from being able to change over to a Specialty License Plate. Once this check has been completed and cleared we process the Specialty License Plate request. The process can take anywhere from 1-3 business days depending on the Plate you choose. We then ship your new Specialty License Plate and new Registration securely to you with package tracking included. Yes… Its that simple.