United States license plate designs and serial formats

Main article: Vehicle registration plates of the United States

In the United States, the appearance of license plates is frequently chosen to contain staples, cultures, or slogans associated with the issuing jurisdiction, which are the 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia, each of which independently registers motor vehicles.

Trends in serial formats

Formats for license plate numbers may be consistent within the state. For example, Delaware and Rhode Island were able to use six-digit all-numeric serials due to their low respective populations, while several populous states use seven-character formats of three letters and four numbers, including 1ABC234 in California and ABC1234, ABC 1234, or ABC-1234 in Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas, Virginia, and Washington. Other formats include Florida, which uses ABC-D12; Illinois, which uses A12-3456, and Maryland, which uses 1A
B2345. However, many states, such as Alaska, Arkansas, Colorado, Hawaii, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Minnesota, Mississippi, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Carolina, West Virginia, and Wisconsin, use a 3-letter, 3-number format in the format ABC-123, 123-ABC, or some variant thereof.

Serial coding

License plate numbers are usually assigned in ascending order, beginning with a starting point such as AAA-001. Thus an observer familiar with the sequence can determine roughly when the plate was issued. In a few cases, numbers have been assigned in descending order. For example, when Virginia switched to seven characters for its standard issue in 1993, numbers beginning with AAA-1000 were already in use for extra-cost, optional-issue plates; therefore, the new standard license plates were issued in descending order from ZZZ-9999.

Expiration date

In some states, the month of expiration or the county of registration is incorporated into the plate's serial. The last number on a Massachusetts license plate indicates the month the vehicle's registration expires (for example, 1234 AB would expire in April, the fourth month; 0 indicates October expirations; and X and Y were used for November and December expirations, respectively, on commercial plates and pre-1978 passenger plates), as does the first number or letter on West Virginia plates (1 to 9 and O, N, and D for January through September and October, November, and December expirations, respectively).

County of issuance

Although increasingly few states place the full name of the county of registration explicitly on their standard-issue plates but not as part of the plate serial, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Kentucky, Mississippi, and Tennessee continue the practice.

In Alabama, Montana, Nebraska, South Dakota, and Wyoming, a one- or two-digit number representing the county of issue begins a license plate number. Standard-issue Idaho license plate numbers begin with a single-letter or a number-letter code representing the county of issue. County codes have been based on historical population figures, the county names in alphabetical order, or some combination thereof.

Only three places in the United States use letters to designate a residence where a vehicle was registered. In Hawaii, the license plates have a unique letter designation based on the island counties that residents purchased or registered the vehicles from; a vehicle with a registration number beginning with H or Z is registered in Hawai‘i County, one beginning with K is registered in Kaua‘i County, one beginning with M or L is registered in Maui County, and one beginning with any other letter (and not containing H, K, L, M, or Z) is registered in the City and County of Honolulu. In the State of Idaho the first one or two characters are used to designate the county of residence/registration. For example, all vehicles registered in Ada county start with 1A, vehicles in Twin Falls County start with 2T and vehicles in Valley county start with V (as there is only one county that starts with the letter V). In the US territory of Guam, the license plates use the first two letters that are coded by village of issuance, for example, "TM-1234" refers to a vehicle that was registered by a person who lives the village of Tamuning.

Florida allows its residents to choose either "Sunshine State" or "In God We Trust" slogans instead of their county, and in Miami-Dade County, all plates are issued with one of these slogans due to the targeting for crimes of cars registered there in the early 1990s. Florida also terminated a practice by which plates registered to rented vehicles had the letter Y or Z as their first digit, which also led to targeting of cars for theft due to the ease of replacement and the softer hit on the affected driver. Georgia, as of 2011, allows drivers to choose the slogan "In God We Trust" in place of the county name where the vehicle is registered.

Indiana and Ohio display two-number county codes, while Kansas plates display two-letter county codes, but none of these three is a part of the plate serial and instead are placed in the corner of the plate in a smaller font size. Texas places the county name on the windshield registration sticker, but it likewise is not part of the plate serial.

Skipped Characters and Visibility

For various reasons related to visibility and readability, some states and territories exclude certain letters from use in their license plate serial formats. The most commonly skipped characters are I, O, and Q, with some states using only one or two of the three while others will skip all three of these letters. Others states, such as Colorado and Georgia have gradually adopted one or more of these letters over a course of years after previously skipping them in order to accommodate the demands of population growth and depletion of available serial combinations. The most common argument behind skipping I, O, and Q is that they can be too easily confused with 0, 1, and other characters, particularly when there isn't adequate spacing or divider between numbers and letters. For this reason, California currently only uses I, O, and Q in between two other letters, an example would be "1AQA000". A unique example of character use is Texas, which used to issue serials using all 26 letters but currently skips all vowels along with the letter Q.

In Amateur radio license plate issues, all states that have them available use a unique slashed zero character in place of the standard "0" character due to lack of spacing between letters and numbers. Iowa is a unique example in the use of this character, which began using the slashed zero beginning in 2012 on all standard passenger plates as opposed to the traditional symbol for zero to differentiate it from the letter "O" which is also used.

Persons with disabilities

In the states, special plates displaying the International Symbol of Accessibility are issued to persons with disabilities that entitle them to special parking privileges. Alternately, a placard, which in some jurisdictions can be hung from the rear view mirror, may be issued; the placard has the advantage of being transferred from vehicle to vehicle.

Current standard-issue passenger plate designs and serial formats

The following tables give information on license plates currently being issued, with 2014 or later expiration dates, for private (non-commercial) use on passenger vehicles by the governments of the fifty U.S. states, the District of Columbia, and the U.S. territories. Information on serial numbering patterns is also given. Older designs and serial formats previously issued may still be valid for continued usage in certain jurisdictions; these are noted in a separate table below.

In addition to "regular" passenger plates, all jurisdictions also provide plates for other types of vehicles that may only be roughly similar in design and layout. Additionally, there has been an increasing trend in the field of "specialty" plates to promote specific causes or interests. To keep this table as simple as possible, most of these alternate types of plates will not be noted. More information may also be found within the individual articles for each state, as linked within the table. Exceptions to this guideline may be made for specialty plates that are available at no extra cost to the motorist, as these tend to be seen more commonly on the roads.

Jurisdiction	First issued	Type/slogan	Design	Plate style	Serial format	Image
Alabama	January 2, 2014	standard issue: black screened serial with lake and forest graphic		Screened serial Reflective sheeting	Numerically coded by county: 0AB1234 (single-digit counties) 00AB123 (double-digit counties)
	October 2013	optional issue: God Bless America	black screened serial on reflective white; stylized U.S. flag at top	Screened serial Reflective sheeting	1234AB5
Alaska	January 2010	The Last Frontier	blue on gold with state flag	Embossed serial Reflective sheeting	ABC 123
American Samoa	1999	Centennial 2000	blue on reflective white	Embossed serial Reflective sheeting	1234
Arizona	2008	Grand Canyon State	dark green on desert landscape	Screened serial Reflective sheeting	ABC1234	File:Arizona license plate 2008 series.jpg
Arkansas	2006	The Natural State	black on a diamond background, representing Crater of Diamonds State Park in Murfreesboro	Embossed serial Reflective sheeting	123 ABC	File:Arkansas License Plate.jpg
California	late 2011	dmv.ca.gov	dark blue on white with red state name graphic and slogan printed in red at the bottom	Embossed serial Reflective sheeting	1ABC234
Colorado	2000	dark green on reflective white grey and green Rocky Mountains scene graphic		Embossed serial Reflective sheeting	123-ABC, ABC-123 (the second serial set is limited to characters that were unused previously, such as Q).	File:2003 Colorado License Plate.jpg
Connecticut	2000	Constitution State	dark blue on blue and white gradient fade	Embossed serial Reflective sheeting	AB•12345 (2015–present) 1AB•CD2 (2013–2015) 1ABCD2 (2013) 123•ABC (2000–2013)
Delaware	1969	The First State	gold on navy blue	Screened serial Reflective sheeting	123456 (variable number of digits)
District of Columbia	July 2013	standard issue: Taxation without Representation; jurisdiction name displayed as "District of Columbia"	blue on reflective white with red flag separator	Screened serial Reflective sheeting	AB-1234
	2001	optional issue: www.washingtondc.gov		Screened serial Reflective sheeting
Florida	December 2003	standard issue: myFLORIDA.com with county name or "Sunshine State"	green on reflective white with state map and citrus orange graphic	Embossed serial Reflective sheeting	ABC D12 (2009–present) 123 ABC (2006 to 2009) A12 3BC (2003 to 2009)
	October 1, 2008	optional issue: myFLORIDA.com with "In God We Trust" slogan		Embossed serial Reflective sheeting	123 4AB
Georgia	May 2012	standard issue: Peach State with county name or "In God We Trust" sticker	black on reflective blue with hills, peach tree, and peaches	Screened serial Reflective sheeting	ABC1234
	May 2012	optional issue: GEORGIA with county name or "In God We Trust" sticker	black on reflective white	Screened serial Reflective sheeting
Guam	February 27, 2009	Tano Y Chamorro	black on reflective white with grey latte stone and three red bougainvillea flowers at center	Embossed serial Reflective sheeting	Coded by municipality of issuance: AB 1234
Hawaii	1991	Aloha State	black on reflective white with rainbow graphic	Embossed serial Reflective sheeting	Coded by county of issuance: ABC 123, where first letter is A-G, J, N, P, or R-Y (City and County of Honolulu) HAB 123/ZAB 123 (Hawai‘i County) KAB 123 (Kaua‘i County) LAB 123/MAB 123 (Maui County)
Idaho	2008	Famous Potatoes	black on reflective white with red gradient and dark blue mountain scene	Screened serial Reflective sheeting	Coded by county of issuance: A 123456 (variable number of digits following space) 0A 12345 (variable number of digits following space) 0A B1234 (following exhaustion of above format) 0A BC123 (following exhaustion of above format) 0A 1B234 (following exhaustion of above format) 0A 1234B (following exhaustion of above format) 00A 1234 (variable number of digits following space)
Illinois	July 2001	Land of Lincoln	red on blue gradient fade with Abraham Lincoln portrait graphic in center	Embossed serial Reflective sheeting	A12 3456 (2006–present) 123 4567 (2001–2006)	File:2001 Illinois License Plate.jpg
Indiana	January 2013	standard issue: Bicentennial 1816–2016	black on white with yellow gradient and blue outline of state, stars, and "200"	Screened serial Reflective sheeting	123A 123AB 123ABC
		optional issue: In God We Trust	black on white with American flag graphic	Screened serial Reflective sheeting	ABC123
Iowa	late 2011	black on reflective white farm scene foreground and city skyline background		Screened serial Reflective sheeting	ABC 123 (December 2012 – present) 123 ABC (2011–2012)	File:IowaLicensePlate2011.gif
Kansas	April 2007	dark blue on light blue gradient with state seal graphic and county code sticker		Embossed serial Reflective sheeting	123 ABC	File:Kansas license plate.jpg
Kentucky	2005	standard issue: Unbridled Spirit	dark blue on light blue graident with county name sticker	Embossed serial Reflective sheeting	123 ABC	File:2011 Kentucky License Plate.jpg
	2011	optional issue: In God We Trust
Louisiana	2005–2010, 2013, 2016	"Sportsman's Paradise"; black on yellow-pink gradient with pelican graphic in center		Embossed serial Reflective sheeting	ABC 123 (through 2016) 123 ABC (2016 – present)
Maine	1999	Vacationland	black on reflective white with a chickadee and pine tassel graphic at left	Embossed serial Reflective sheeting	1234 AB (variable number of digits preceding space)	File:USA licenseplate Maine (cropped).JPG
Maryland	September 2016	Maryland Proud	Black on reflective white with Maryland flag graphic	Embossed serial Reflective sheeting	1AB2345
Massachusetts	1988	The Spirit of America	red on reflective white	Embossed serial Reflective sheeting	Coded by month of expiration: 1ABC 23 1AB 234 123 AB4 12A B34 123 ABC
Michigan	2013	standard issue: Pure Michigan	blue on reflective white with blue wave at bottom	Embossed serial Reflective sheeting	ABC 1234
	2007	optional issue: Spectacular Peninsulas	green and blue with Great Lakes outline on reflective white with black characters	Embossed serial Reflective sheeting	1AB C23	File:Michigan License Plate 1HA W48.JPG
	2014	optional issue: The Mackinac Bridge	white to yellow fade and blue with stylized Mackinac Bridge in background with black characters	Embossed serial Reflective sheeting	ABC 123
Minnesota	June 2009	Explore Minnesota.com, 10,000 Lakes	black on reflective white with lake scene graphic	Screened serial Reflective sheeting	123-ABC
Mississippi	October 2012	"Birthplace of America's Music"	dark blue on guitar graphic and "Celebrating Mississippi's Creative Culture" with county name	Embossed serial Reflective sheeting	ABC 123	File:Mississippi New License Plate.jpg
Missouri	June 2008	Show Me State	dark blue on light blue gradient fade with state outline and bluebird graphic	Embossed serial Reflective sheeting	Coded by month of expiration: AB1 C2D
Montana	January 2010	standard issue: Treasure State	white on blue with white state outline	Screened serial Reflective sheeting	Coded by county of issuance: 0-12345A (variable number of digits following divider) 00-1234A (variable number of digits following divider)
		optional issues: replica 1989 Centennial base replica 1991 "Big Sky" base replica 2000 base replica 2006 "Big Sky Country" base	blue on white with gold and maroon graphics		ABC123
			black on light blue gradient with multicolor state outline		Coded by county of issuance: 0-12345A (variable number of digits following divider) 00-1234A (variable number of digits following divider)
			black on light blue with blue and tan graphics			File:2000 Montana Passenger License Plate - 3M Test Plate.jpg
			black on light blue gradient with multicolor state outline			File:2006 Montana Passenger License Plate.jpg
Nebraska	January 2011	nebraska.gov	green on white with western meadowlark and goldenrod	Screened serial Reflective sheeting	ABC 123 Or coded by county of issuance: 0-A1234 (variable number of digits following letter) 0-AB123 (following exhaustion of above format; variable number of digits following letter) 00-A123 (variable number of digits following divider) 00-AB12 (following exhaustion of above format; variable number of digits following divider)
Nevada	April 2015	The Silver State	dark blue on sunset graphic	Embossed or screened serial Reflective sheeting	12A•345
New Hampshire	January 1999	Live Free or Die	green on Old Man of the Mountain graphic	Embossed serial Reflective sheeting	123 4567 (2000–present) 123 456 (1999)	File:2000 New Hampshire License Plate.jpg
New Jersey	2007	Garden State	black on yellow gradient fade	Embossed serial Reflective sheeting	D12-ABC (2010–present) ABC-12D (2007–2010)
New Mexico	1989	Land of Enchantment	red on yellow with turquoise yucca graphics and red Zia sun symbol	Embossed serial Reflective sheeting	123-ABC	File:NM 2009.jpg
	2010	upper: Centennial 1912–2012 lower: Land of Enchantment	yellow on turquoise with large yellow and red Zia sun symbol	Embossed serial Reflective sheeting	ABC-123	File:New Mexico Centennial License Plate 2010.jpg
New York	2010	Empire State	dark blue on reflective gold	Embossed serial Reflective sheeting	ABC-1234
North Carolina	2011	First in Flight	blue on white with Wright Flyer graphic	Embossed serial Reflective sheeting	ABC-1234
North Dakota	2015	Legendary	black on light blue gradient fade to sunrise with prairie scene and buffalo graphic	Screened serial Reflective sheeting	123 ABC	File:ND license plate 2015.jpg
Northern Mariana Islands	1989	Hafa Adai	dark blue on white with seal in center	Embossed or Screened serial Reflective sheeting	ABC 123
Ohio	June 7, 2010	Birthplace of Aviation	blue on white various slogans in gray with a red border	Embossed serial Reflective sheeting	ABC 1234
Oklahoma	2009	Native America	dark red on white and blue with photograph of Sacred Rain Arrow sculpture	Screened serial Reflective sheeting	123ABC	File:2010 Oklahoma License Plate.jpg
Oregon	1990	dark blue on fir tree and mountain graphic		Embossed serial Reflective sheeting	123 ABC (2004–present) ABC 123 (1990–2004)
Pennsylvania	2006	visitPA.com	blue on white with yellow and blue bars	Embossed serial Reflective sheeting	ABC-1234
Puerto Rico	2011	Puerto Rico Does It Better/Puerto Rico Lo Hace Mejor	black on white with green gradient at bottom and grey building in background	Screened serial Reflective sheeting	ABC-123
Rhode Island	1996 – April 2017	Ocean State	dark blue on stylized grey and white ocean wave graphic	Embossed serial Reflective sheeting	123-456 (2007–present AB-123 and 12345 (1996–2007)
	April 2017	Beautiful Rhode Island (top), Ocean State (Bottom)	white on dark blue with the Reliance in the upper left corner	Screened serial Reflective sheeting	123-456 (2007–present), 12345 and AB-123 (1996–2007)
South Carolina	January 2016	standard issue: While I Breathe, I Hope.	black on white and blue background with palmetto tree in center	Screened serial Reflective sheeting	ABC 123
	February 14, 2003	optional issue: In God We Trust	black on multicolored background	Embossed or screened serial Reflective sheeting	123 4AB
South Dakota	2006	Great Faces. Great Places.	blue on Mount Rushmore graphic	Screened serial Reflective sheeting	Coded by county of issuance: 0AB 123 0AB C12 (following exhaustion of above format) 00A 123 00A B23 (following exhaustion of above format) 00A BC3 (following exhaustion of above format)	File:South Dakota 2008 2KW 954.jpg
Tennessee	2011	www.tnvacation.com	black on mountain scene with county name sticker	Screened serial Reflective sheeting	A12-34B
Texas	July 2012	The Lone Star State	black on white with 5-point star in the upper left corner.	Screened serial Reflective sheeting	ABC-1234
Utah	late 2007	Greatest Snow on Earth and Life Elevated	dark blue on skier graphic	Embossed serial Reflective sheeting	A12 3BC	File:Utskielevated.jpg
		Life Elevated	dark blue on graphic of Delicate Arch	Embossed serial Reflective sheeting	A12 3BC	File:UtahLifeElevatedArch plate.JPG
Vermont	1985	Green Mountain State	white on green with small white tree in top left corner	Debossed serial Reflective sheeting	ABC 123 (1990–present) 12AB3 (1989) 1AB23 (1988) 123A4 (1986–1987) 1A234 (1985)
U.S. Virgin Islands	2005	America's Caribbean	black on beach scene graphic	Embossed serial Reflective sheeting	Coded by island of issuance: ABC 123, ABC 123 (for St. John)
Virginia	March 1, 2014	Virginia is for Lovers	blue on white	Embossed serial Reflective sheeting	ABC-1234
Washington	1987	Evergreen State	dark blue on white with light blue Mount Rainier graphic	Embossed serial Reflective sheeting	ABC1234 (2010–present) 123-ABC (1987–2010)
West Virginia	2006	Wild, Wonderful	blue on white with state name in dark blue bar	Embossed serial Reflective sheeting	Coded by month of expiration: 0AB 123 (1 through 9 for January through September, respectively) ABC 123 (O, N, and D for October, November, and December, respectively)
Wisconsin	June 2000	America's Dairyland	black on reflective white with stylized lake and farm graphic	Embossed serial Reflective sheeting	123-ABC	File:2007 Wisconsin License Plate.jpg
Wyoming	2008	black on Grand Tetons graphic		Screened serial Reflective sheeting	Coded by county of issuance: 0-12345 (variable number of digits following divider) 0-1234A (following exhaustion of above format; variable number of digits following divider) 00-12345 (variable number of digits following divider)	File:Wyoming Plate 2014.jpg

Plate types no longer issued but still valid

Plates with the following designs and serial formats are no longer being issued but may still be valid for use in certain instances. This table does not include year of manufacture registrations.

Jurisdiction	Dates issued	Type	Plate style	Serial format	Status	Image
Alabama
	early 2007 – October 2013	optional issue: God Bless America	dark blue on American flag background	AB12345 12345AB	Being replaced upon expiration, October 2013 to October 2014.
Alaska	1981–late 2004	"The Last Frontier"; blue on gold with state flag	Embossed serial Reflective sheeting	ABC 123	Valid.
	late 1997–late 2004	"Gold Rush Centennial"	Embossed serial Reflective sheeting	ABC 123
	January 2, 2008 – December 31, 2009	"Celebrating Statehood 1959–2009"; dark blue on mountain landscape background	Embossed serial Reflective sheeting	ABC123
American Samoa	none
Arizona	1980–1996	white on maroon	Embossed serial Reflective characters on nonreflective background	ABC-123	Valid.
	1996–late 2007	desert scene with embossed serials	Embossed serial Reflective sheeting	123•ABC
Arkansas	none
California	1963–1969	yellow on black	Embossed serial Non-reflective background	ABC 123	Valid.
	1969–1980	yellow on blue	Embossed serial Non-reflective background	123 ABC
	1980 – January 1987			1ABC234
	January 1987 – October 1987	"The Golden State"	Embossed serial Reflective sheeting
	October 1987 – 1995	blue on white with red embossed state name	Embossed serial Reflective sheeting
	1995–1998, 2000–2011	Embossed serial Reflective sheeting	blue on white with red screened state name
	1998–2000	"Sesquicentennial – 150 Years"	Embossed serial Reflective sheeting
Colorado	1978–2000	embossed mountain scene	Reflective embossed serial Non-reflective background	Coded by county of issuance: AB-1234, ABC-123, ABC1234	Valid.	File:1995 Colorado License Plate.jpg
Connecticut	none
Delaware		white on black		up to 12–345	Valid.
		silver on black		up to 123456
		yellow on blue without slogan		up to 123456
District of Columbia		"A Capital City"		123–456	Valid.
		"Celebrate & Discover"	1991 – November 2000	AB-1234 (1997–2000) 123–456 (1991–1997)
	2001	blue on reflective white with red flag separator and "WWW.Washingtondc.gov"	Embossed serial Reflective sheeting	BB-1234
	2001 – July 2013	blue on reflective white with red flag separator and "Taxation without Representation" with jurisdiction name displayed as "Washington, D.C."	Screened serial Reflective sheeting	AB-1234
Florida	December 2003–early 2009	green on reflective white with state map, citrus orange graphic, and myFLORIDA.com with county name	Embossed serial Reflective sheeting	A12 3BC	Being replaced on a ten-year rolling basis.
	December 2003 – 2006	green on reflective white with state map, citrus orange graphic, and myFLORIDA.com with "Sunshine State" slogan
Georgia	1997 – December 2003	"...on my mind"		123 ABC 12345 QA 1234 AB 1234 ABC	Valid.
	December 2003 – May 2007	www.GEORGIA.gov		ABC 1234
	May 2007 – May 2012	GEORGIA.gov		ABC 1234
Guam		black on reflective white with map graphic in center, "Tano Y Chamorro"		Coded by municipality of issuance: ABC1234 (variable number of digits following space) ABC123A (following exhaustion of above format)	Valid.
Hawaii	none
Idaho		dark blue on reflective white with red gradient and dark blue mountain scene, "Famous Potatoes"	Embossed serial Reflective sheeting	Coded by county of issuance: A 123456 (variable number of digits following space) 0A 12345 (variable number of digits following space) 0A B1234 (following exhaustion of above format) 0A BC123 (following exhaustion of above format)		File:Idaho Plate 2007.jpg
Illinois	none
Indiana	none
Iowa	1997-late 2011	blue on reflective white farm scene foreground and skyline background	Embossed or screened serial Reflective sheeting	123 ABC	Valid.	File:Iowa plate 1998.jpg
Kansas	January 2001 – April 2007	state capitol	Embossed serial Reflective sheeting	ABC 123	Valid.	File:KS 2002.jpg
Kentucky	none
Louisiana	1993–2001, 2004–2005	"Sportsman's Paradise" without pelican	Embossed serial Reflective sheeting	ABC 123	Valid.
	January 2002-early 2004	"Louisiana Purchase Bicentennial 1803–2003" written in early 18th-century lettering and has the Louisiana Purchase Bicentennial logo as the separator	Embossed serial Reflective sheeting
	2011–2012	"200 Years"	Embossed serial Reflective sheeting	ABC123
	2014-2015	www.louisianatourism.com Bicentennial, Battle of New Orleans, 1815–2015 blue on reflective white with silhouette of Andrew Jackson on horse at left	Embossed serial Reflective sheeting
Maine	none
Maryland	February 1986–early 2005	no slogan		1AB C23 (2004–2005) ABC 123 (1986–2004)	Valid.
	early 2005 – June 2010	www.Maryland.gov	black on reflective white with state crest in center	1AB C23
Massachusetts		green on white (coded by month of expiration) "The Spirit of America" (coded by month of expiration)		123-450 120-ABC	Valid.
Michigan	1996–2007	optional issue: "Great Lakes Splendor"		1AB C23	Valid	File:Michigan Great Lakes Splendor License Plate.JPG
	1996	optional issue: "World's Motor Capital"	Embossed serial Reflective sheeting	ABC 12 12 ABC	Valid
	2007–2013	optional issue: "www.Michigan.gov"	Embossed serial Reflective sheeting	ABC 1234	Valid
	2013–2014	optional issue: The Mackinac Bridge yellow to orange fade and blue with stylized Mackinac Bridge in background with white characters.	Embossed serial Reflective sheeting	ABC 123	Valid
Minnesota	circa 2000–2008	blue on reflective white with lake scene graphic, "Explore Minnesota; 10,000 lakes"; second slogan displayed in small blue gradient across bottom of plate	Embossed serial Reflective sheeting	ABC-123	Being replaced on a seven-year rolling basis.
	2008–2009	black on reflective white with lake scene graphic, "Explore Minnesota; 10,000 lakes"	Screened serial Reflective sheeting	123-ABC
Mississippi	none
Missouri	none
Montana	2006–2009	black on grey and white gradient with mountain graphic; "Big Sky Country"	Screened serial Reflective sheeting	Coded by county of issuance: 0C-12345 (variable number of digits following divider) 0C-1234A (following exhaustion of above format; variable number of digits following divider) 0-12345A (variable number of digits following divider)	Valid if permanently registered.
Nebraska	none
Nevada		white on blue		A12345, AB1234, ABC123, 123ABC
New Hampshire	none
New Jersey	1959–1969, 1970–1973	black on tan, non-reflective, state abbreviated "N. J."		ABC-123	Valid.
	1969–1970	black on tan, reflective, state abbreviated "N. J."		ABC-123
	1973–1977	black on tan, non-reflective, state abbreviated "N. J."		123-ABC
	1977–1979	black on tan, non-reflective, full state name		123-ABC
	1979–1985	buff on blue, non-reflective		123-ABC
	1985			ABC-123
	1985–1992			ABC-12D
	1992–1993	black on yellow and white gradient, reflective, sticker boxes		ABC1234
	1993–1999			AB-123D
	1999–2007		black on yellow and white gradient with sticker boxes	ABC-12D
New Mexico	1999–2010	Land of Enchantment hot air balloon	Embossed serial Reflective sheeting	NM1234 1NM234 12NM34 123NM4 1234NM AB 123 ABC123	Valid.	File:New Mexico Plate 2004 Balloon.jpg
New York	2001–2010	dark blue on reflective white with blue bars (upper blue bar has the state name over a skyline of Niagara Falls, the Adirondack Mountains, and New York City; lower bar includes the words "The Empire State" in white)	Embossed serial Reflective sheeting	ABC-1234	Valid.	File:USA licenseplate New York (cropped).JPG
North Carolina	2007–2011	red on reflective white with blue and red graphics, "First in Flight"		ABC-1234	Valid.
North Dakota	1993–2015	black on light blue gradient fade with prairie scene graphic, "Discover The Spirit"	Embossed serial Reflective sheeting	ABC-123	Valid through 2016	File:Mvplates-old.jpg
Northern Marianas Islands	none
Ohio	1996–1998	dark blue on gold gradient fade "The Heart of it All"		ABC 1234	Valid.
	1998–2001	dark blue on gold gradient fade "The Birthplace of Aviation"		ABC 1234
	2001–2003	red, white, and blue "Ohio Bicentennial"		AB12CD
	2004–2010	dark blue on reflective white with state seal ("Sunburst") graphic and red and blue bars		ABC 1234		File:OH 2004.jpg
	2010–2013	"Beautiful Ohio": dark blue on rolling hills with farm, distant skyline, and airborne biplane		ABC 1234
Oklahoma	none
Oregon	1956–1959	gold on blue		1A-1234	Valid.
	1959–1964	gold on blue with "Pacific Wonderland" slogan
	1964–1974	gold on blue		ABC 123 (A-M corresponds to January–December, skipping I)
	1974–1988	blue on gold		ABC 123 (A-M corresponds to January–December, skipping I; N and later series had no month correlation)
	1988–1990	blue on light green tree graphic		ABC 123 (A-M corresponds to January–December, skipping I, N-series had no month correlation)
Pennsylvania	1999–2004	blue on blue, white and yellow gradient, "www.state.pa.us"		ABC-1234	Valid.
Puerto Rico	1986–2007	standard issue: black on reflective white with Fortaleza graphic, "Isla del Encanto"	Embossed serial Reflective sheeting	ABC 123	valid
		optional issue: black on reflective flag graphics, "Cincuentenario 1952–2002"	Embossed serial Reflective sheeting	ABC 123
	2007–2011	standard issue: black on reflective blue with Fortaleza graphic, "Isla del Encanto"	Screened serial Reflective sheeting	ABC 123 ABC-123
Rhode Island	none
South Carolina	summer 2008 – December 2015	standard issue: travel2sc.com	black on orange, white, and blue gradient with palmetto tree in center	Screened serial Reflective sheeting	ABC 123
South Dakota	none
Tennessee	2006–2011	black on mountain scene with "The Volunteer State" and county name sticker	Screened serial Reflective sheeting	123-ABC	valid	File:Tennessee 2010 592-LSK.jpg
Texas	2009–2012	black on Davis Mountains and sky background with a lone star and streaks of red and blue in the upper-left corner	Screened serial Reflective sheeting	AB1-C234	Valid.
U.S. Virgin Islands	none
Utah	1972–1985	black on white	Embossed serial Reflective sheeting	ABC 123 ABC-123	Valid.
	1985–2008	blue on white with skier graphic, "Ski Utah!", and "Greatest Snow on Earth"	Embossed serial Reflective sheeting	123 ABC		File:2001SkiUtahLicense plate.jpg
	1992–2008	dark blue on Delicate Arch background; "Centennial"	Embossed serial Reflective sheeting	123 ABC		File:Utah Plate 1996 Centennial.jpg
	2002	2002 Winter Olympics commemorative plate with snowflake logo above "Salt Lake 2002" and the Olympic rings; "Olympic Winter 2002"	Embossed serial Reflective sheeting	123A4
Vermont	none
Virginia	1979–1994	dark blue on white with blue state name in sentence case	Embossed serial Reflective sheeting	ABC-1234 (1994) ABC-123 (1979–1993)	Valid.
	1994 – July 2002; 2007 – February 28, 2014	dark blue on white with blue state name in all capital letters	Embossed serial Reflective sheeting	ABC-1234
	July 2002 – 2006	400th Anniversary	Embossed serial Reflective sheeting	ABC-1234
	2006–2007	Jamestown America's 400th Anniversary	Embossed serial Reflective sheeting
Washington	none
West Virginia	December 2002–early 2006	blue on reflective white with state name in dark blue bar, "Wild, Wonderful / www.callwv.com"		Coded by month of expiration: 0AB 123 (1 through 9 for January through September, respectively) ABC 123 (O, N, and D for October, November, and December, respectively)	Valid.
Wisconsin	none
Wyoming	none

Diplomatic license plates

U.S. diplomatic license plate of the style issued until 2007.

U.S. diplomatic license plate with surface-printed serial.

Of the style issued since 2007.

Diplomatic license plates are issued by the United States Department of State to accredited diplomats.

Until 2007, plates issued to cars based in the District of Columbia follow the pattern of a letter identify the status of the owner, followed by the two-letter country code, followed by a random four-digit number (S AB 1234). For member countries of the Organization of American States (OAS), a subset of that numbering pattern is allotted to vehicles based at those countries' missions to the OAS. Plates issued to cars based at the headquarters of the United Nations in New York City are issued in the reverse format, with the four-digit number first, followed by the two-letter country code, followed by the status code (1234 AB S). This is because representatives of certain countries are limited to travel to certain radii from their base, and the system allows the city of assignment to be identified easily.

The status codes used until 2007 were "C" for Foreign Consul; "D" for Diplomat; "S" for Non-Diplomatic Staff; and "A" for a UN employee. The rights of the driver and car under diplomatic immunity are defined by this status code.

The country codes are unique to each particular country, but do not correlate to ISO Country Codes or other standards format. For example, in the system used until 2007, France is "DJ" rather than "F", and Australia is "XZ" rather than "AUS".

See also

• Canadian licence plate designs and serial formats

External links

• Website for Automobile License Plate Collectors' Association
• License Plates of North America, 1969–Present
• licenseplates.cc – lists high and low license plate
• us-license.com – All US license plate
• unitedstateslicenseplate.com – list of all US license plates