United States License Plate Designs and Serial Formats - Current Standard-issue Passenger Plate Designs and Serial Formats | Current Standard-issue Passenger Plate Designs Serial Formats

Current Standard-issue Passenger Plate Designs and Serial Formats

The following tables give information on license plates currently being issued, with 2009 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 a recent explosion in the field of what are called "specialty" plates to promote specific causes or interests. These plates are usually offered at an additional cost when the motorist registers his or her vehicle. 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
Alabama	January 2, 2009	standard type: Sweet Home Alabama	black on Gulf Coast landscape	Screened serial Reflective sheeting	Numerically coded by county: 0A12B34 (single-digit counties) 00A12B3 (double-digit counties)
Alabama	early 2007	optional type: God Bless America	dark blue on American flag background	Screened serial Reflective sheeting	AB12345 12345AB
Alaska	January 2, 2008	Celebrating Statehood 1959-2009	dark blue on mountain landscape background	Embossed serial Reflective sheeting	ABC123
American Samoa	1999	Centennial 2000	blue on reflective white	Embossed serial Reflective sheeting	1234
Arizona	2008	Grand Canyon State	black on desert landscape	Screened serial Reflective sheeting	ABC1234
Arkansas	2006	The Natural State	black on a diamond background, representing Crater of Diamonds State Park in Murfreesboro	Embossed serial Reflective sheeting	123 ABC
California	late 2011	dmv.ca.gov	dark blue on white with red state name graphic and dmv.ca.gov printed in red at the bottom	Embossed serial Reflective sheeting	1ABC234 (car) 1A23456, 12345A6 (truck/light commercial)
Colorado	2000	dark green on reflective white grey and green Rocky Mountains scene graphic		Embossed serial Reflective sheeting	123-ABC
Connecticut	2000	Constitution State	dark blue on blue and white gradient fade	Embossed serial Reflective sheeting	123•ABC
Delaware	1969	The First State	gold on navy blue	Screened serial Reflective sheeting	123456 (variable number of digits)
District of Columbia	2003	Taxation without Representation	blue on reflective white with screened red flag separator	Screened serial Reflective sheeting	AB-1234
District of Columbia	2001	www.dc.gov	blue on reflective white with screened red flag separator	Screened serial Reflective sheeting	AB-1234
Florida	December 2003	standard type: myFLORIDA.com with county name (except Miami-Dade County)	green on reflective white with state map and citrus orange graphic	Embossed serial Reflective sheeting	2003 to 2009: A00 0AA to X99 9ZZ 2006 to 2009: 000 HAA to 999 YZZ Nov 2009: AAA A00 to YZZ Z99
	December 2003	standard type: myFLORIDA.com with "Sunshine State" slogan		Embossed serial Reflective sheeting
	October 1, 2008	optional type: myFLORIDA.com with "In God We Trust" slogan		Embossed serial Reflective sheeting	123 4GA 123 4HA
Georgia	May 2012	standard type: Peach State GEORGIA with county name sticker or "In God We Trust" slogan	black on reflective sky with rolling hills with a Peachtree and peaches	Screened serial Reflective sheeting	ABC1234
Georgia	May 2012	optional type: GEORGIA with county name sticker or "In God We Trust" slogan	Black on reflective white	Screened serial Reflective sheeting	ABC1234
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	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-Z (City and County of Honolulu) HAB 123 (Hawai‘i County) KAB 123 (Kaua‘i County) 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)
Illinois	2001	Land of Lincoln	red on blue gradient fade with Abraham Lincoln portrait graphic in center	Embossed serial Reflective sheeting	A12 3456
Indiana	2008	standard type: white on dark blue with graphic of state coat of arms and county name sticker		Screened serial Reflective sheeting	123A 123AB 123ABC
		optional type: In God We Trust	white on dark blue with stylized American flag graphic	Screened serial Reflective sheeting	A_B1234
		optional type: Lincoln's Boyhood Home	black on white with logo at left	Screened serial Reflective sheeting	B_F1234 B_H1234
Iowa	1997	blue on reflective white farm scene foreground and skyline background		Screened serial Reflective sheeting	123 ABC
Kansas	April 2007	dark blue on light blue gradient with state seal graphic and county code sticker		Embossed serial Reflective sheeting	123 ABC
Kentucky		Unbridled Spirit	dark blue on light blue graident with county name sticker	Embossed serial Reflective sheeting	123 ABC
Louisiana		Sportsman's Paradise	black on yellow-pink gradient with pelican graphic in center	Embossed serial Reflective sheeting	ABC 123
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)
Maryland		www.Maryland.gov	black on reflective white with state crest in center	Embossed serial Reflective sheeting	1AB C23
Maryland	June 2010-2015	upper: War of 1812 lower: WWW.STARSPANGLED200.ORG	blue on reflective white with Star-Spangled Banner flying over Fort McHenry on left	Embossed serial Reflective Sheeting	1A/B2345
Massachusetts	1988	The Spirit of America	red on reflective white	Embossed serial Reflective sheeting	Coded by month of expiration: 123 AB4 (January through September) 1AB 230 (October)
Michigan	2007	www.Michigan.gov	blue on reflective white with blue box with state name	Embossed serial Reflective sheeting	ABC 1234
Minnesota	June 2009	Explore Minnesota.com, 10,000 Lakes	black on reflective white with lake scene graphic	Screened serial Reflective sheeting	123-ABC
Mississippi	2007	dark blue on Biloxi Light graphic with county name		Embossed serial Reflective sheeting	ABC 123
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	2010	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)
Nebraska		state.ne.us	dark blue on light blue gradient with prairie scene and state outline	Screened serial Reflective sheeting	Douglas, Lancaster, and Sarpy Counties: ABC 123
Nebraska		state.ne.us		Screened serial Reflective sheeting	all other counties: 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		The Silver State	dark blue on sunset graphic	Screened serial Reflective sheeting	123•ABC
New Hampshire		Live Free or Die	green on Old Man of the Mountain graphic	Embossed serial Reflective sheeting	123 456 123 4567
New Jersey	2010	Garden State	black on yellow gradient fade	Embossed serial Reflective sheeting	D12-ABC (from ABC-12D)
New Mexico	1989	Land of Enchantment	red on yellow with yucca graphics, Zia symbol	Embossed serial Reflective sheeting	123-ABC
New Mexico	2010	upper: Centennial 1912-2012 lower: Land of Enchantment	yellow embossed serial, reflected read; large 'retro' Zia symbol; reflective turquoise background. The phrase "Centennial 1912-2012" will be used through 2012	Embossed serial Reflective sheeting	ABC-123
New York	2010	Empire State	dark blue on reflective gold	Embossed serial Reflective Sheeting	ABC-1234 (from FAA-1000)
North Carolina		First in Flight	blue on reflective white with stylized first flight at Kitty Hawk graphic	Embossed serial Reflective sheeting	ABC-1234
North Dakota	1993	Discover the Spirit	black on light blue gradient fade with prairie scene graphic	Embossed serial Reflective sheeting	ABC 123
Northern Mariana Islands		Hafa Adai	dark blue on reflective white with seal in center	Screened serial Reflective sheeting	ABC 123
Ohio	June 7, 2010	Beautiful Ohio Birthplace of Aviation	Dark blue on rolling hills with farm, distant skyline, and airborne biplane	Embossed serial Reflective sheeting	ABC 1234
Oklahoma	2009	Native America	dark red on white and blue with photograph of Sacred Rain Arrow sculpture (2009)	Screened serial Reflective sheeting	123ABC
Oregon		dark blue on fir tree and mountain graphic		Embossed serial Reflective sheeting	123 ABC
Pennsylvania	2006	visitPA.com	blue on reflective white with yellow and blue bars	Embossed serial Reflective sheeting	ABC-1234
Puerto Rico		Isla del Encanto (Island of Enchantment)	black on reflective blue with Fortaleza and sunset graphics	Screened serial Reflective sheeting	ABC-123
Puerto Rico		Cincuentenario 1952-2002	black on reflective flag graphics	Embossed serial Reflective sheeting	ABC 123
Rhode Island	1997	Ocean State	dark blue on stylized grey and white ocean wave graphic	Embossed serial Reflective sheeting	AB-123 (Passenger Vehicle) 123-456 (Passenger Vehicle), starting number 710-001 issued from Jan, 2007. 12345 (Combination Vehicle)
South Carolina	summer 2008	standard type: travel2sc.com	black on orange, white, and blue gradient with palmetto tree in center	Screened serial Reflective sheeting	ABC 123
South Carolina		optional type: In God We Trust	black on multicolored background	Embossed 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 00A 123 00A B23 (following exhaustion of above format) 00A BC3 (following exhaustion of above format)
Tennessee	2006	The Volunteer State	black on reflective white with mountain scene and county name sticker	Screened serial Reflective sheeting	123-ABC
Texas	July 2012	The Lone Star State	Black on flat reflective white plate with 5-point Lone Star in the upper left corner, TEXAS in upper center, and THE LONE STAR STATE slogan in bottom center. Registration number is larger than in previous series.	Screened serial Reflective sheeting	ABC-1234
Utah		Life Elevated and Greatest Snow on Earth	dark blue on skier graphic	Embossed serial Reflective sheeting	A12 3BC
Utah		Life Elevated	dark blue on graphic of Delicate Arch	Embossed serial Reflective sheeting	A12 3BC (first letter progressing backwards from Z)
Vermont		Green Mountain State	white on green	Debossed serial Reflective sheeting	ABC 123
U.S. Virgin Islands		America's Caribbean	black on beach scene graphic	Embossed serial Reflective sheeting	ABC 123 (coded by island of issuance)
Virginia		dark blue on reflective white with blue state name		Embossed serial Reflective sheeting	ABC-1234 (progressing backwards from ZZZ-9999)
Washington	1987	Evergreen State	dark blue on reflective white with light blue Mount Rainier graphic	Embossed serial Reflective sheeting	123 ABC ABC1234
West Virginia		Wild, Wonderful	blue on reflective 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		America's Dairyland	black on reflective white with stylized lake and farm graphic	Embossed serial Reflective sheeting	123-ABC
Wyoming	2008	black on Grand Tetons graphic		Screened serial Reflective sheeting	Coded by county of issuance: 0-12345 (variable number of digits following divider) 00-12345 (variable number of digits following divider)

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