When the Florida Keys are in the cone of a major hurricane, the last thing anyone wants to do is worry about the reentry decal system for your car. At least, not while you’re scrambling to buy clips for your storm shutters and extra food for Fluffy.
Take it from Sheriff Rick Ramsay: Now is the time to prepare for hurricane season, which means not forgetting the paperwork.
“That means getting your evacuation plan in place, gathering important documents, stocking your shelves and cleaning up the yard among all the myriad other steps we take each year to stay safe,” Ramsay said.
Ramsay wants all locals to know that Sheriff’s Office Substations are no longer distributing hurricane reentry vehicle stickers. The Monroe County Tax Collector’s office is responsible for providing reentry decals.
As per Monroe County Emergency Management: Residents may obtain one sticker for each registered vehicle by providing proof of residency at a Monroe County Tax Collector’s office. Proof of residency includes a Florida Driver’s License and vehicle registration, or a property bill with an out-of-county vehicle registration for out-of-county residents who own a home in Monroe County.
These stickers make reentry easier if checkpoints are required to assure safe reentry into the Keys following a destructive storm that causes a public safety issue. Weiner said they encourage residents to obtain a reentry sticker before hurricane season. Stickers will not be available once a state of emergency is declared in Monroe County, which occurs several days before a storm is forecast to strike.
“The whole gist of the sticker is get people into the county faster and keep traffic moving into the Keys,” she said.
The new system is barcoded with color-coded stickers for zone-by-zone reentry. Lower Keys residents from the south end of the 7- Mile Bridge to Stock Island (MM 40 to MM 4) will be dark pink, Middle Keys residents from the south end of the Long Key Bridge to the north end of the 7-Mile Bridge (MM 64 to MM 47) are aqua, and Upper Keys residents from the county line including Ocean Reef to the north end of the Long Key Bridge (MM 113 to MM 64) will have a purple decal.
For those wondering when they’ll be able to return to the Keys, emergency management officials encourage people to sign up for the Alert! Monroe system. It enables people to receive emergency alerts and information via text messages, phone calls or emails. Sign up at www.monroecountyem.com/alertmonroe.
For more information, including the tax collector locations to get your reentry sticker, go to www.monroecounty-fl.gov/916/Reentry-Vehicle-Windshield-Stickers.
Residents from Ocean Reef to Stock Island: Stickers are available at the Monroe County Tax Collector’s office locations from 8 a.m. to 4:45 p.m. Monday through Friday.
Tax Collector Locations:
- Key West – 1200 Truman Ave, Ste 101, or the DMV at 3304 N. Roosevelt Blvd
- Marathon – 3015 Overseas Highway
- Big Pine Key – 247 Key Deer Blvd (Tuesday through Thursday 9 a.m. to 2:45 p.m.)
- Plantation Key – 88800 Overseas Highway
- Key Largo – 101487 Overseas Highway
