Depending on the state, there can be many different ways for you to identify a rental car by its license plate. Unfortunately, this topic has become the focus of many political debates in states like New York, Florida, New Jersey and Pennsylvania in recent years. All of the trouble started when a German tourist was robbed at gunpoint while driving a rental vehicle in Florida. After a thorough investigation, it was determined that individuals who are driving rented vehicles are at a greater risk of being targeted for criminal activity than individuals who are not driving a rental car. This Revelation, which was supported through several studies and months of examining police reports, has forced several states to discontinue marking their rental cars with visible tip offs that criminals could use to their advantage. However, for the remaining states that do still require that their rental cars be visibly marked, here are some ways that you may be able to tell;

-License plate prefixes. Depending on the state, your license plate may have a set prefix that all rental cars will have. This makes it easy for police officers to know when they are pulling over a rental vehicle. Many states have done away with this marking.

-Symbols that indicate that it is a rental car. There are a good number of symbols that may appear on license plates to indicate that the car is indeed a rental car. Idaho places a small heart near the bottom of the license plate to signal that it is a rental car. Other states may have different symbols.