Five Professions That Bafflingly Get Their Own License Plates

There are so many specialty license plate designs that it would boggle your mind. Every state issues specialty license plates for drivers as a way to let their enthusiasm or affinity be known to the world. Some of these plates are meant to promote a driver's alma mater, some are meant to raise awareness for things like autism or breast cancer, and others still are fundraising methods for Dolly Parton's literacy campaign or the local humane society. In fact, some states will issue a new license plate for just about any reason on earth. 

Depending on where you live and what you do for work, there might be a license plate to celebrate your vocation. There isn't a Jalopnik Writers of America plate, so I won't be able to put one on my car, but maybe your union or work organization is represented. Jobs like steamfitters and beef growers are represented in some states, but what about some of the more oddball stuff that people do for work? 

We spent some time scouring the lists of specialty design plates in a variety of states to find a few of our favorite obscure plate designs promoting professions. Here are five designs we want to call out and perhaps celebrate a little for their strangeness. Do any Jalopnik readers have these plates on their cars? Let us know in the comments section below. 

Sometimes horology fanatics need a way to wear their enthusiasm on their sleeve, or uh, on their bumper. For those people the state of Pennsylvania has created the National Association of Watch and Clock Collectors plate. Members of the group are encouraged to get this plate to offer their support (and promotion) of the organization, its Columbia, Pennsylvania-based museum, and the annual convention. 

Whether you're a timepiece dealer, a watchmaker, or simply an amateur collector, the association offers members an online forum, a monthly newsletter, frequent trade shows for buying, selling, and exchanging timepieces, and access to the world's largest horological research library. The $98 annual membership fee seems too inexpensive by half. These clock and watch folks are serious business. 

There isn't much here in the plate's design to explain what it is for, or why you would want it on your car, but the pale yellow background is nice, and the Liberty Bell background is enjoyable. I don't dislike this design, but I do wish it said what it was for instead of listing a website at the bottom. We've talked about this before: License plates shouldn't show websites. 

I suppose you could get this plate even if you aren't a member, and you just want to support the group's efforts to preserve timetelling history. Maybe some people will even ask what it means or visit the website out of curiosity. 

Apiarists unite: It's time to let the world know that you support the revival of honey bee populations. The above license plate is the official plate of the Georgia Beekeepers Association. Unlike most associations' license plates, the beekeepers didn't waste space on their plate design promoting the club, but instead appeal to the hearts of conservationists statewide. 

You don't have to be a member of the Beekeepers to get this plate — they're banking on people wanting the plate as something of a passive way of doing good. It's probably hard to get people to commit to donating to the organization's efforts annually, but they'll pay the extra $35 a year to get a license plate that shows how environmentally conscious they actually are. 

"Save the bees" is a slogan that a lot of folks can get behind, whether they're beekeepers or not. Farmers, florists, and regular folks alike need bees to exist and keep pollenating. Without bees spreading pollen from one plant to another, the ecology of Earth pretty much doesn't work. This is definitely brilliant work by the Georgia Beekeepers Association. The folks behind this design truly understand sociology.

My mouth is watering just thinking about this license plate. The Mighty Fine chain of burger restaurants based in Austin, Texas gets its own license plate design. It isn't immediately clear if this is for employees of the chain or simply people who enjoy a Mighty Fine burger, or both. What is clear, however, is that this burger looks pretty dang good. Certainly better than the $17 airport burger David Brooks spent $78 on.

Mighty Fine Burgers says that if you order a Mighty Fine Texas license plate for your ride, the chain will sweeten the deal with a $150 gift card so you can get a delicious prize for helping spread the word. Better yet, the company will give you another gift card every year you renew the plate! Considering Texas only charges $50.75 per year for registration, you're getting a bunch of free burgers.

There are only six brick-and-mortar Mighty Fine restaurants, and I'd never heard of the chain until I saw this plate, but now I kind of want one — both the burger and the license plate. The restaurant's slogan is "Quality is Everything!" and it's been building gourmet beef/cheese/bun stacks for almost 20 years. Naturally it also offers fries and shakes. Next time I'm in Texas I'll have to stop in and check the place out for myself. 

Be careful if you get this plate, because some people might try to take a bite out of it. Or at a minimum you'll be cleaning drool off your bumper every week. 

"There's a lot of great themed specialty plates in Ohio, and we're glad to soon be one of them," Pumpkin Show Vice President Barry Keller said in a committee meeting, as reported by The Columbus Dispatch. "I know a lot of Circleville residents and pumpkin show volunteers who are excited to get one."

During the third week of every October the small Ohio town of Circleville hosts a massive pumpkin show that highlights the work of farmers from around Pickaway County and the nearby area. Held annually since 1903, the Pumpkin Show bills itself as "the greatest free show on Earth" and says it attracts over 400,000 visitors a year from all around the country. 

If you've ever seen the huge pumpkins that some growers pride themselves on propagating, you've probably seen a Circleville show winner. The local favorites, the Liggett family, have won the heavyweight prize 15 times since 1996, but lost the 2025 crown by over 300 pounds to an incredible 1,972 pounder grown by Mike and Dusti Helberg. The Liggetts do hold the crown for the largest pumpkin in show history, however, as their 2023 winner tipped the scales at 2,388.5 pounds. You could make so much pumpkin pie with that bad boy. The grand prize is $3,000 and the respect of your fellow pumpkin growing professionals. 

If you live in Ohio and you really want the world around you to know how much you love showing your pumpkins at the Circleville Pumpkin Show, you can order up one of these plates for just an extra $35 per year. Ohio says $25 of that fee goes directly to the organizers, while $10 is assessed as a Bureau of Motor Vehicles fee. Pumpkin growers are pumpkin showers, after all.

Maryland will issue a new license plate design for just about any cause or organization that asks for one. The Maryland Motor Vehicle Administration has a list of designs a full 18 pages long, covering hundreds of available designs. There's even a plate design on the list for survivors of the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941. In case you weren't aware, there are just 11 remaining Pearl Harbor survivors in the whole country. It isn't clear if any of them live in Maryland, or if any can still drive a car, so it probably doesn't have much of a take rate these days. 

Many states — including Maryland, of course — offer car club plates, so you can put a Corvette Club plate on your C5 Z06, or a Porsche Club of America plate on your brand new Manthey Racing Porsche Taycan Turbo GT. I don't live in Maryland, but if I did I would request that the state create a Cadillac Allante Owners Club plate for myself and the dozens of my compatriots. 

I think my favorite profession to get its own plate in Maryland, however, is the National Ski Patrol. If you were a Maryland ski patroller, what kind of car would you put this plate on? Probably a Subaru, right? Or a Chevrolet Snowmovan. 

Maryland doesn't have photos of its hundreds of available plates on its DMV website, unfortunately, so I can't show you what it looks like. Look through the list and drop your favorite plate offering in the comments below, and we'll chat about it.