Specialty License Plate

The City of Southport is excited to announce the creation of a specialty license plate that will be uniquely Southport-themed. We are calling on the community’s talented artists to help bring this vision to life!

Artists of all skill levels are invited to submit their designs for consideration. Artwork can be a painting, graphic design, photograph, or other visual medium. Each design must measure 11.5 inches wide by 5.5 inches high and should be submitted separately with a $10 application fee. Due to the placement of numbers on the plate, a portion of the image will not be visible. Therefore, artists should ensure that key design elements are positioned primarily on the left side of the available space.

The chosen design will be showcased as the official specialty license plate, which can be purchased through the North Carolina Division of Motor Vehicles.

In addition to having their artwork featured on vehicles across the state, the selected artist will be eligible for a cash prize funded by the application proceeds. Once the specialty license plate is approved and available for purchase, sales proceeds will support various initiatives through the City of Southport’s Public Information Office.

Terms and Conditions:

1. All submitted artwork must be original and created by the applicant. By submitting a design, the artist affirms that they own the rights to the artwork and that it does not infringe upon any copyright, trademark, or intellectual property rights of third parties.

2. Each design must be submitted separately and include a $10 non-refundable application fee.

3. Submitted artwork must conform to the required dimensions (11.5 inches wide by 5.5 inches high) and account for the placement of license plate numbers, ensuring key design elements are positioned primarily on the left side of the available space.

4.  To see what your artwork will look like as a specialty plate, you may use this template created on Canva.com. To use this template, click "File," then "Create a copy," and then it will transfer the design to your account, and you can make adjustments to your artwork as needed to fit within the available dimensions: https://www.canva.com/design/DAGjarEx11A/PdZs0kKwMRSPfCezYsMwwA/edit?utm_content=DAGjarEx11A&utm_campaign=designshare&utm_medium=link2&utm_source=sharebutton

5. By submitting a design, the artist grants the City of Southport a non-exclusive, perpetual, royalty-free license to use, reproduce, modify, adapt, and publicly display the artwork for promotional and commercial purposes, including but not limited to the creation and sale of the specialty license plate.

6. The City of Southport reserves the right to make modifications to the selected design as necessary to comply with NC DMV requirements or to optimize the artwork for production.

7. The winning artist will be eligible for a cash prize from the proceeds of the application, with the exact amount to be determined based on sales and funds raised.

8. The City of Southport reserves the right to reject any submission that is deemed inappropriate, offensive, or non-compliant with the stated guidelines.

9. The City of Southport assumes no responsibility for lost, late, or misdirected submissions.

10. By participating, artists agree to abide by these terms and conditions and acknowledge that all decisions made by the City of Southport regarding the selection process are final.