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"Cherokee Nation, Oklahoma, First Automobile License Plate

TAHLEQUAH, OK - Cherokee Nation, OK citizens living within the Cherokee Nation’s 14-county jurisdictional area will be able to purchase tribal car tags beginning Monday, October 29. The tags will be sold from the Cherokee Nation tag office, located 3 miles south of Tahlequah on U.S. 62, behind the Restaurant of the Cherokees.

The tag office will be open from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday. To purchase a tag, Cherokee Nation tribal members must bring their tribal membership card (commonly known as the blue card) and proof of residence (such as a utility bill) as well as the usual documents required for automobile registration.

The proof of residence will show that the Cherokee citizen lives within the Cherokee Nation.

Tribal members must live within the Cherokee Nation’s 14-county jurisdictional area to be eligible to purchase a tag. The original land base of the Cherokee Nation in Indian Territory was established and confirmed by fee patents exchanged with the United States in 1839 and 1846. This area encompasses all or part of 14 counties in northeastern Oklahoma and under modern federal Indian law is referred to as an "Indian Reservation" or as "Indian Country". Within these boundary lines, the Cherokee Nation has sole jurisdiction over Indian lands.

Those boundary lines define the area in which the Cherokee Nation government can levy taxes and enforce the law. To draw a parallel, an American citizen that takes up residency in Canada, must tag their vehicle with a valid Canadian car tag. Similarly, although a person may have been born and raised in Oklahoma and may consider himself a native Oklahoman in every respect, if he moves to California he must obtain a California tag. The same rules apply to tribal tags. Therefore, the Cherokee Nation will only issue automobile license plates (car tags) for tribal members residing within the Cherokee Nation, which is the fourteen-county area in northeastern Oklahoma.

Money from the sales of the tags goes into the Cherokee Nation General Fund. By law, the Cherokee Nation will donate 38% of the revenue to local schools and 20% to roads projects. Education funding will be distributed based on the number of Indian children in each school. Sequoyah High School, an Indian boarding school run by the Cherokee Nation, will share in the revenues as well, though they do not receive any state funding.

The car tags will cost $75 for a new car, with rates dropping as low as $10 for cars that are more than 17 years old. Tribal members will not pay excise tax to replace another tag with a Cherokee Nation tag. Tribal members will only pay excise tax when purchasing a vehicle.

To purchase a car tag, Cherokee citizens must present:

1. Proof of residence within the 14-county area of the Cherokee Nation (example: utility bill)
2. Blue tribal membership card (not CDIB)
3. Valid certificate of title to the vehicle in the name of the applicant
4. Valid certificate of title properly assigned over to the name of the applicant along with a bill of sale (or proof of purchase price if purchased from an individual)
5. Certificate of Origin (MSO) if purchased new from a dealership and a copy of bill of sale or sales contract
6. Valid Oklahoma Driver’s License showing applicant’s residence within the Reservation Boundaries of the Cherokee Nation
7. Proof of current liability insurance
8. Name, address, city, state and zip of Lien Holder (if any)
9. Lien Release if satisfied
10. Application (Requires Adobe Acrobat Reader - available for Windows or Mac)

For more information regarding Cherokee Nation car tags, please contact the Cherokee Nation Tag Office, phone: 918-456-0671 (extensions 2320, 2771, 2703 or 2270) or send Email.