Myrtle Beach The "In God We Trust" automobile license tag is far and away the most popular special tag in the state, selling almost nine times as many as the second-best seller.

There are 28,207 "In God We Trust" tags in South Carolina. The second-best seller is the University of South Carolina at 3,323, Department of Motor Vehicles spokeswoman Beth Parks said.

There are 93 specialty tags in South Carolina, not counting official government plates but including six designs that are not yet available, Parks said.

Motorists can show their pride in being Medal of Honor winners or their enthusiasm for Dale Earnhardt, or they can encourage fellow drivers to support education, endangered species and dozens of other causes.

Offerings include college tags, military-related tags, car-racing tags and a handicapped plate.

USC tags outsold Clemson University tags by a 4-3 margin, as of the end of June.

More tags are approved each year. The General Assembly approved an Elks Association tag, which is not yet available for sale, this year.

A 1999 state law requires that specialty tags pay for themselves. The law says that before a specialty plate can be made, the Department of Motor Vehicles must have 400 prepaid orders for it or a sponsor must put up a $4,000 deposit.

Before that law, the state had to subsidize plates that didn't pay for themselves, Parks said.

The tags are made by prison inmates.

A first printing is 999 tags, with the first 100 reserved for members of the association that wanted the plates, Parks said.