New Chiefs license plates could soon be banned in Missouri. Here’s why
For nearly 20 years, Missouri residents have been able to deck out their cars with specialty Kansas City Chiefs license plates.
But as the team prepares to build a new stadium in Kansas, those license plates could soon be leaving Missouri as well.
A Missouri lawmaker has filed legislation that would bar the state from issuing Chiefs-branded license plates, effectively ending an agreement with the team that’s been in place since 1999.
If approved by lawmakers and signed into law, the legislation would take effect on Aug. 28. License plates issued before that date would remain valid until they expire, but residents would no longer have to make a yearly $35 donation to maintain the plates.
Rep. Chad Perkins, a Bowling Green Republican who filed the bill, did not respond to a request for comment on Tuesday.
The legislation is among several bills filed this year that seek to penalize the Chiefs after team officials announced in December plans to leave Arrowhead Stadium for Kansas when their lease expires in 2031.
The additional retaliatory responses from Missouri lawmakers include a bill that would require the Chiefs to pay out of pocket to demolish Arrowhead Stadium, legislation that would bar the team from receiving tax credits and a bill that would require the team to charge extra for tickets.
A Chiefs spokesperson declined to comment on Perkins’ bill on Tuesday.
Missouri offers a slew of specialty plates that range from supporting professional sports teams like the Chiefs to causes or organizations such as breast cancer awareness and the Eagle Scouts.
As of December 2025, there were 656 Chiefs-branded plates on vehicles across the state, according to JoDonn Chaney, a spokesperson for the Missouri Department of Revenue.
To receive the plates, motorists typically must make a contribution to the organization featured on a specialty plate, Chaney told The Star. In the case of the Chiefs plates, Missouri law requires residents to donate $35 annually to the Chiefs Children’s Fund, a nonprofit now called the Hunt Family Foundation.
Once completing the donation, motorists must then bring their receipt of donation to their license office, Chaney said. In addition to the $35 donation, the Department of Revenue charges $15 for specialty plates on top of regular registration fees.
Despite the hurt feelings in Missouri over the Chiefs’ planned exit, it’s unclear how much attention Perkins’ legislation will receive during the legislative session. Perkins is a member of Republican leadership in the Missouri House, but his bill has not yet been scheduled for a hearing.
Missouri lawmakers returned to Jefferson City last month with a laundry list of priorities that could put the bill on the back burner. Ongoing partisan fights in the Missouri Senate could also spell doom for numerous other pieces of legislation this year.
House Speaker Jonathan Patterson, a Lee’s Summit Republican, did not return a call for comment about the prospects of Perkins’ bill on Tuesday. But the top Republican lawmaker expressed doubt about other bills aimed at the Chiefs last month.
“I get that there’s a lot of emotion around it,” Patterson said, referring to the other anti-Chiefs bills. “I think it’s best that we make our laws with clear eyes and do things that are good for our constituents as a whole and…not target certain groups — even though it feels good.”
This story was originally published February 3, 2026 at 5:12 PM.
