Vehicle registration plates of Missouri

Missouri
Current series
Slogan	Show-Me State
Size	12 in × 6 in; 30 cm × 15 cm
Material	Aluminum
Serial format	AB1 C2D (month-coded)
Introduced	October 15, 2018 (revised 2024)
Availability
Issued by	Missouri Department of Revenue
History
First issued	March 9, 1911; (pre-state plates from 1907 through March 8, 1911)
	v; t; e;

The U.S. state of Missouri first required its residents to register their motor vehicles in 1907. Registrants provided their own license plates for display until 1911, when the state began to issue plates.^[1]

As of 2024^[update], plates are manufactured at the Jefferson City Correctional Center and are issued by the Missouri Department of Revenue.^[2] Front and rear plates are required for most classes of vehicles, while only rear plates are required for motorcycles and trailers.

Passenger baseplates

1911 to 1948

Dates issued	Description	Serial format	Serials issued	Notes
1911	Embossed unpainted aluminum serial on yellow plate; "MISSOURI 1911" at bottom	12345	1 to approximately 16500
1912	Embossed white serial on red plate; "MO 12" at right	12345	1 to approximately 24500
1913	Embossed white serial on dark blue plate; "MO 13" at right	12345	1 to approximately 36000
1914	Embossed black serial on white plate; "MO 14" at right	12345	1 to approximately 51000
1915	Embossed black serial on bright green plate; "MO 15" at right	12345	1 to approximately 73000
1916	Embossed white serial on black plate; "MO 16" at right	123456	1 to approximately 103000
1917	Embossed black serial on gold plate; "MO 17" at right	123456	1 to approximately 151000
1918	Embossed blue serial on white plate; "MO 18" at right	123456	1 to approximately 185000
1919	Embossed white serial on dark blue plate with border line; "MO 19" at right	123456	1 to approximately 243000
1920	Embossed black serial on light green plate with border line; "MO. 1920" centered at bottom	123-456	1 to approximately 309-000
1921	Embossed red serial on white plate with border line; "MO. 1921" centered at bottom	123-456	1 to approximately 350-000
1922	Embossed white serial on brown plate with border line; "MO. 1922" centered at bottom	123-456	1 to approximately 355-000
1923	Embossed light blue serial on black plate with border line; "MO. 1923" centered at bottom	123-456	1 to approximately 431-000
1924	Embossed black serial on orange plate with border line; "MO. 1924" centered at bottom	123-456	1 to approximately 495-000
1925	Embossed white serial on dark green plate with border line; "MO. 1925" centered at bottom	123-456	1 to approximately 550-000
1926	Embossed black serial on yellow plate with border line; "MO. 1926" centered at bottom	123-456	1 to approximately 595-000
1927	Embossed white serial on dark blue plate with border line; "MO. 1927" centered at bottom	123-456	1 to approximately 606-000
1928	Embossed purple serial on orange plate with border line; "MO. 1928" centered at bottom	123-456	1 to approximately 631-000
1929	Embossed white serial on black plate with border line; "MO. 1929" centered at bottom	123-456	1 to approximately 662-000
1930	Embossed white serial on brown plate with border line; "MISSOURI 1930" at bottom	123-456	1 to approximately 699-000
1931	Embossed black serial on gray plate with border line; "1931 MISSOURI" at bottom	123-456	1 to approximately 659-000
1932	Embossed white serial on black plate with border line; "MISSOURI 1932" at bottom	123-456	1 to approximately 657-000
1933	Embossed beige serial on brown plate with border line; "1933 MISSOURI" at bottom	123-456	1 to approximately 598-000
1934	Embossed white serial on black plate with border line; "MO–1934" centered at bottom	123-456	1 to approximately 627-000
1935	Embossed white serial on dark green plate with border line; "MO–1935" centered at top	123-456	1 to approximately 655-000
1936	Embossed black serial on white plate with border line; "MISSOURI-1936" at bottom	123-456	1 to approximately 678-000
1937	Embossed white serial on black plate with border line; "19 MISSOURI 37" at top	123-456	1 to approximately 697-000
1938	Embossed black serial on buff plate with border line; "19 MISSOURI 38" at bottom	123-456	1 to approximately 715-000
1939	Embossed buff serial on black plate with border line; "MISSOURI-1939" at top	123-456	1 to approximately 731-000
1940	Embossed black serial on white plate with border line; "MISSOURI-1940" at bottom	123-456	1 to approximately 767-000
1941	Embossed white serial on black plate with border line; "MISSOURI-1941" at top	123-456	1 to approximately 821-000
1942–43	Embossed black serial on white plate with border line; "MISSOURI-1942" at bottom	123-456	1 to approximately 820-000	Embossed plates revalidated for 1943 with green tabs due to metal conservation for World War II; fiberboard plates manufactured for the same reason.
1942–43	Black serial on white fiberboard plate; "MISSOURI-1942" centered at bottom	123-456	820-001 to approximately 865-000
1944	Embossed yellow serial on black plate with border line; "MISSOURI-1944" at top	123-456	1 to approximately 696-000
1945	Embossed black serial on buff plate with border line; "MISSOURI-1945" at bottom	123-456	1 to approximately 697-000
1946	Embossed white serial on black plate with border line; "1946-MISSOURI" at bottom	123-456	1 to approximately 774-000
1947	Embossed black serial on white plate with border line; "MISSOURI-1947" at top	123-456	1 to approximately 828-000
1948	Embossed white serial on maroon plate with border line; "MISSOURI-1948" at bottom	123-456	1 to approximately 871-000

1949 to 1966

In 1956, the United States, Canada, and Mexico came to an agreement with the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators, the Automobile Manufacturers Association and the National Safety Council that standardized the size for license plates for vehicles (except those for motorcycles) at 6 inches (15 cm) in height by 12 inches (30 cm) in width, with standardized mounting holes.^[3] The 1955 (dated 1956) issue was the first Missouri license plate that complied with these standards.

Dates issued	Description	Serial format	Serials issued	Notes
1949–54	Embossed white serial on maroon plate with border line; "MISSOURI" centered at top; month of expiration at top left	123-456	1 to 905-000	Monthly staggered registration introduced. All plates validated for 1949 with orange tabs, for 1950 with green tabs, for 1951 with white tabs, and for 1952 with black tabs. Plates expiring between January and August were validated for 1953 with maroon tabs, while those expiring between September and December were validated for that year with stickers. All plates were then validated for 1954 and 1955 with stickers.
1949–54		A12-345	Letter corresponds to month of expiration
1955–60	Embossed yellow serial on black plate with border line; month of expiration at top left and "MO" at top right	123-456	1 to 999-999	Validated with stickers each year until 1961 expiration.
1955–60		A12-345 AB1-234	First letter corresponds to month of expiration	Validated with stickers each year until 1961 expiration.
1961–66	Embossed white serial on maroon plate with border line; "MISSOURI" centered at top; month of expiration at top left and white box at top right containing debossed "62"	AB1-234	First letter corresponds to month of expiration	Valid without stickers until 1962 expiration, then revalidated with stickers each year until 1967 expiration.

1967 to 1978

Dates issued	Description	Slogan	Serial format	Serials issued
1967	Embossed white serial on green plate with border line; month of expiration, "MISSOURI" and "68" at bottom	none	AB1-234	First letter corresponds to month of expiration
1968	Embossed green serial on white plate with border line; "69", "MISSOURI" and month of expiration at top	none	AB1-234	First letter corresponds to month of expiration
1969	Embossed black serial on white plate with border line; month of expiration, "MISSOURI" and "70" at bottom	none	A1B-234	First letter corresponds to month of expiration
1970	Embossed white serial on maroon plate with border line; month of expiration, "MISSOURI" and "71" at top	none	AB1-234	First letter corresponds to month of expiration
1971	Embossed blue serial on reflective white plate with border line; month of expiration, "MISSOURI" and "72" at top	none	A1B-234	First letter corresponds to month of expiration
1972	Embossed maroon serial on reflective white plate with border line; month of expiration, "MISSOURI" and "73" at bottom	none	AB1-234	First letter corresponds to month of expiration
1973	Embossed black serial on reflective white plate with border line; "74", "MISSOURI" and month of expiration at top	none	A1B-234	First letter corresponds to month of expiration
1974	Embossed blue serial on reflective white plate with border line; "75", "MISSOURI" and month of expiration at bottom	none	AB1-234	First letter corresponds to month of expiration
1975	Embossed reflective (glass-beaded) yellow serial on blue plate with border line; month of expiration, "MISSOURI" and "76" at top	none	A1B-234	First letter corresponds to month of expiration
1976	Embossed reflective (glass-beaded) white serial on red plate with border line; embossed white stylized "76" and flag stripes centered at top; "MO" at top left and "77" and month of expiration at top right	"200 YRS" at top left, below state abbreviation	AB1-234	First letter corresponds to month of expiration
1977	Embossed reflective (glass-beaded) yellow serial on black plate with border line; "78", "MISSOURI" and month of expiration at top	none	A1B-234	First letter corresponds to month of expiration
1978	Embossed reflective (glass-beaded) white serial on blue plate with border line; month of expiration, "MISSOURI" and "79" at bottom	none	AB1-234	First letter corresponds to month of expiration

1979 to present

Dates issued	Description	Slogan	Serial format	Serials issued	Notes
1979–96	Embossed reflective (glass-beaded) white serial on maroon plate with border line; "MISSOURI" centered at top; month of expiration at top left	"SHOW-ME STATE" centered at bottom	ABC 123	First letter corresponds to month of expiration
1986–96			A1B 234
1995–96			1A2 34B
1997 – early 2006	Embossed dark blue serial on reflective white, blue and green gradient plate; "MISSOURI" screened in green, with wavy dark blue underline, centered at top	"SHOW-ME STATE" screened in dark blue centered at bottom	123 ABC	001 AAA to 999 ZZZ	Letters I, O, Q, U and V not used in serials, and D used only as the first letter.^[4]
early 2006 – June 15, 2008		"SHOW-ME STATE" screened in dark blue centered at bottom	1AB 23C	0AA 01A to approximately 9DG 99G
June 16, 2008^[5] – October 14, 2018	Embossed dark blue on reflective light blue gradient fade with bluebird graphic	Show Me State	AB1 C2D	First letter corresponds to month of expiration	Letters I, O and Q not used in serials.
October 15, 2018 – November 2024	Embossed dark blue on reflective white with red waves at top, blue waves at bottom and state seal in center	"BICENTENNIAL" centered at top; "1821 * 2021" centered at bottom	AB1 C2D	First letter corresponds to month of expiration
November 2024 – present		"SHOW-ME STATE" centered at top^[2]	AB1 C2D	First letter corresponds to month of expiration

Month coding

Missouri implemented a monthly staggered registration system in 1949, when it introduced its first multi-year passenger plate. At first, serials were in an all-numeric format, with a block allocated to each month. When these were exhausted, a new format was introduced, featuring a one-letter prefix corresponding to the month. When new multi-year plates were introduced in 1955, the same all-numeric and one-letter serial formats were used, with some months then exhausting their one-letter serials and introducing a two-letter format (the first letter still corresponding to the month).^[4]

Month	All-numeric serials, 1949–54	All-numeric serials, 1955–60	Letter code
January	1 to 75-000	1 to 75-000	A
February	75-001 to 150-000	75-001 to 160-000	B
March	150-001 to 225-000	160-001 to 245-000	C
April	225-001 to 300-000	245-001 to 330-000	E
May	300-001 to 375-000	330-001 to 415-000	H
June	375-001 to 450-000	415-001 to 500-000	K
July	450-001 to 525-000	500-001 to 585-000	M
August	525-001 to 600-000	585-001 to 670-000	P
September	600-001 to 675-000	670-001 to 755-000	S
October	675-001 to 750-000	755-001 to 840-000	X
November	750-001 to 825-000	840-001 to 925-000	Y
December	825-001 to 905-000	925-001 to 999-999	Z

Two-letter serial formats were used exclusively from 1961 through 1978, including the twelve-year period in which Missouri reverted to the use of single-year plates (1967–78). An ABC 123 format was introduced in 1979 with the maroon "Show-Me State" plate, which was issued through 1996; months which exhausted their allocations subsequently used the A1B 234 and 1A2 34B formats.^[4]

Throughout this period, the first letter in the serial continued to correspond to the month. Increasing demand resulted in each of the months from April through September being assigned a second letter code in the mid-1960s. March and October were assigned second letters in the mid-1970s, and by the 1990s all twelve months were using two letters.^[6]

Month	Original letter code	Second letter code
January	A	V
February	B	D
March	C	L
April	E	F
May	H	G
June	K	J
July	M	N
August	P	R
September	S	W
October	X	T
November	Y	U
December	Z	Q

Month coding was discontinued with the introduction of the white, blue and green "Show-Me State" plate in 1997, before it was reintroduced in June 2008 with the introduction of the bluebird plate. Passenger plates used an AB1 C2D serial format, with the first letter corresponding to the month as from 1949 to 1996. This time, however, one letter was assigned for February, and two letters for each of the other eleven months, with the order of the letters strictly alphabetical. Hence, A and B were assigned for January, C for February, D and E for March, and so on up to Y and Z for December, with I, O and Q not used. This system was also used on light truck plates, which used a 1AB 234 serial format, the first letter corresponding to the month as on passenger plates.

When the Bicentennial plate was introduced in October 2018, passenger plates retained the AB1 C2D serial format, with each of the months that had been assigned two letters going over to its second letter (January going over from A to B, for instance), while February continued from where its serials on the bluebird plate had left off.^[4] Light truck plates continued to use the system but changed to a 1AB C23 serial format, the first letter corresponding to the month as before.

Month	Codes
January	A, B
February	C
March	D, E
April	F, G
May	H, J
June	K, L
July	M, N
August	P, R
September	S, T
October	U, V
November	W, X
December	Y, Z

Non-passenger plates

Type	Serial format	Notes
Apportioned	12A B3C
Bus	123 45B
Commercial Trailer	12A 345
Dealer	D1-A D1-AB D12-A D12-AB D123-A D123-AB D1234-A D1234-AB	Numerical portion of serial remains constant for each dealer; suffix letter ascends for each plate issued to that dealer.
Disabled	AB 12C	All disabled plates expire in September. Serials probably started at GA 01A.
Fleet Vehicle	varies	Issued to companies and organizations with more than ten vehicles.
Local Government	varies	Variety of designs issued for vehicles belonging to local governments.
Motorcycle	AB 1CD	All motorcycle plates expire in June.^[7] Serials probably started at GA 1AA.
Official Vehicle	varies	Issued to statewide agencies.
Trailer	12A 3BC
Truck 6,000 lb. and less	1AB C23	First letter corresponds to month of expiration.
Truck 6,001 to 12,000 lb.	12A 3BC

Previous non-passenger plates

2008 base

Type	Design	Serial format	Serials issued
Disabled	As passenger plate, but with "DISABLED" screened at bottom left	AB 12C	AA 01A to approximately EE 99Z
Motorcycle	Similar to passenger plate; "APR" screened at bottom left	AB 1CD	AA 1AA to approximately DY 9ZZ
Truck 6,000 lb. and less	As passenger plate	1AB 234	First letter corresponds to month of expiration

1997 base

Type	Legend	Serial format	Serials issued	Notes
Dealer	Dealer	D1-A D1-AB D12-A D12-AB D123-A D123-AB D1234-A D1234-AB		Annual plates. Numerical portion of serial remained constant for each dealer; suffix letter ascended for each plate issued to that dealer.
Disabled Person	Disabled	Progression of serial formats unknown, but included: 1 ABC 1 AB2
Disabled Person - Truck less than 6,000 lb.	Disabled	1 A2B		"BL6" embossed at top right.
Motorcycle	none	A1 234	A0 001 to Z9 999
Motorcycle	none	1A 234	0A 001 to approximately 5S 000
Shuttle Bus	SHUTTLE BUS	123 4SB
Trailer	TRAILER	ABC 123		Annual plates.
Trailer - Commercial	COMM TRL	000 000
Trailer - HRC^{[clarification needed]}	HRC TLR	000 000
Trailer - Permanent	PERM TRL	PA1 234
Truck 6,000 lb. and less	SHOW-ME STATE	123 AB4	000 AC1 to approximately 600 XR0	"BL6" screened at top right. C, E, F, G, H, J, K, L, M, N, P, R and S used as second letter in serial.
Truck 6,001 to 12,000 lb.	SHOW-ME STATE	123 AB4	000 AT1 to approximately 400 XT0	"BL12" screened at top right. T, W, X, Y and Z used as second letter in serial.
U.S. Senate	Member of Congress	USS-1		Black on gold. Number indicates state's senior or junior senator.

Optional types

Optional types on this base continue to be issued, likely until January 2009. Most, if not all, optional types on this base were available in personalized format and with certain non-passenger designations. Where applicable, this designation was printed in a small rectangle screened in the upper right corner of the plate.

Image	Type	Slogan	Serial format	Serials issued	Notes
	Back the Blue
	Be an Organ Donor
	Breast Cancer Awareness
	Conservation
	Don't Tread on Me
	Fight Terrorism
	God Bless America
	Helping Schools
	Missouri Remembers
	Purple Heart
	St. Louis Cardinals
	Shriners
	Some Gave All
	Southwest Missouri State University

References

^ "Old Missouri License Plates". LeatherLicensePlates.com. Retrieved August 3, 2017.
^ ^a ^b "About Missouri License Plates". Missouri Department of Revenue. Retrieved November 20, 2024.
^ Garrish, Christopher (October 2016). "Reconsidering the Standard Plate Size". Plates. Vol. 62, no. 5. Automobile License Plate Collectors Association.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Tanner, Eric N. "Missouri Passenger License Plates". allaboutlicenseplates.com. Retrieved November 10, 2020.
^ Waters, Amelia (June 24, 2008). "The Show-Me state's new license plate changed". KHQA. Retrieved August 4, 2017.
^ Turnbull, Andrew. "Coding the Month: The Secrets of Staggered Registration, Part 3". The Andrew Turnbull Network. Retrieved June 16, 2020.
^ "Motor Vehicle Fees". Missouri Department of Revenue. Retrieved November 21, 2023.

External links

Missouri license plates, 1969–present

[1] "Old Missouri License Plates". LeatherLicensePlates.com. Retrieved August 3, 2017.

[dor-2] "About Missouri License Plates". Missouri Department of Revenue. Retrieved November 20, 2024.

[3] Garrish, Christopher (October 2016). "Reconsidering the Standard Plate Size". Plates. Vol. 62, no. 5. Automobile License Plate Collectors Association.

[allaboutlicenseplatesMO-4] Tanner, Eric N. "Missouri Passenger License Plates". allaboutlicenseplates.com. Retrieved November 10, 2020.

[5] Waters, Amelia (June 24, 2008). "The Show-Me state's new license plate changed". KHQA. Retrieved August 4, 2017.

[6] Turnbull, Andrew. "Coding the Month: The Secrets of Staggered Registration, Part 3". The Andrew Turnbull Network. Retrieved June 16, 2020.

[7] "Motor Vehicle Fees". Missouri Department of Revenue. Retrieved November 21, 2023.

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v t e State of Missouri
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