Vehicle registration plates of Hawaii
first required its residents to register their motor vehicles and display license plates in 1922, while still an organized incorporated territory of the United States. It was admitted to the Union as the 50th state in August 1959.
Passenger baseplates
1922 to 1952
No slogans were used on passenger plates during the period covered by this subsection.| Image | Dates issued | Design | Serial format | Serials issued | Notes |
| 1922 | Embossed white on dark green; vertical "HAWAII" and "1922" at right | 12-345 | Issued in blocks by county | Serials started from 1-000 in Honolulu County, from 20-000 in Hawaii County, from 30-000 in Maui County, and from 40-000 in Kauai County. This continued through 1925. | |
| 1923 | Embossed green on white with border line; "HAWAII 1923" at bottom | 12345 | Issued in blocks by county | ||
| 1924 | Embossed red on white with border line; "HAWAII 1924" at top | 12345 | Issued in blocks by county | ||
| 1925 | Embossed black on orange with border line; "HAWAII 1925" at bottom | 12345 | Issued in blocks by county | ||
| 1926 | Embossed white on green with border line; vertical "HAWAII" and "1926" at left | 12345 | Issued in blocks by county | Serials started from 50000 in Honolulu County; starting serials in other counties same as 1922–25. This continued through 1939. | |
| 1927 | Embossed black on silver with border line; "HAWAII 1927" centered at bottom | 12-345 | Issued in blocks by county | ||
| 1928 | Embossed orange on black with border line; "HAWAII 1928" centered at bottom | 12-345 | Issued in blocks by county | ||
| 1929 | Embossed golden yellow on blue with border line; "HAWAII 1929" centered at top | 12-345 | Issued in blocks by county | ||
| 1930 | Embossed white on red with border line; "HAWAII 1930" centered at bottom | 12-345 | Issued in blocks by county | ||
| 1931 | Embossed white on black with border line; "HAWAII 1931" centered at top | 12-345 | Issued in blocks by county | ||
| 1932 | Embossed yellow on green with border line; "HAWAII 1932" centered at bottom | 12-345 | Issued in blocks by county | ||
| 1933 | Embossed red on orange; "HAWAII 1933" centered at top | 12-345 | Issued in blocks by county | ||
| 1934 | Embossed white on blue; "HAWAII 1934" centered at bottom | 12-345 | Issued in blocks by county | ||
| 1935 | Embossed black on golden yellow; "HAWAII 1935" centered at top | 12-345 | Issued in blocks by county | ||
| 1936 | Embossed white on green; "HAWAII 1936" centered at bottom | 12-345 | Issued in blocks by county | ||
| 1937 | Embossed blue on white; "HAWAII 1937" centered at top | 12-345 | Issued in blocks by county | ||
| 1938 | Embossed yellow on black; "HAWAII 1938" centered at bottom | 12-345 | Issued in blocks by county | ||
| 1939 | Embossed white on blue; "HAWAII 1939" centered at top | 12-345 | Issued in blocks by county | ||
| 1940 | Embossed black on yellow; "HAWAII 1940" at bottom, offset to right | A/A1234 | County-coded | Honolulu County used O as the second letter and numbers 5000–9999; Hawaii County used H and numbers 2000–2999; Maui County used M and numbers 3000–3999; and Kauai County used K and numbers 4000–4999. The number allocations were used through 1950. | |
| 1941 | Embossed red on gray; "HAWAII 1941" centered at top | A1234 | County-coded | ||
| Embossed white on black; "HAWAII 1942" centered at bottom | A1234 | County-coded | Revalidated for 1943, 1944 and 1945 with windshield stickers, due to metal conservation for World War II. | ||
| 1946 | Embossed black on white; "HAWAII 1946" centered at top | A1234 | County-coded | ||
| 1947 | Embossed white on green; "HAWAII 1947" centered at bottom | A1234 | County-coded | ||
| 1948 | Embossed black on golden yellow; "HAWAII 1948" centered at top | A1234 | County-coded | ||
| 1949 | Embossed golden yellow on black; "HAWAII 1949" centered at bottom | A1234 | County-coded | ||
| 1950 | As 1948 base, but with "HAWAII 1950" at top | 1A1234 A1234 | County-coded | 1A1234 serial format used in Honolulu County, with the prefix progressing 1A-5A, 1B-5B, etc. | |
| 1951 | As 1949 base, but with "HAWAII 51" at bottom | 1A-123 A 123 A-1234 | County-coded | Honolulu County used letters A, B, C, E, F, N, T, W and X; Hawaii County used H and Z; Maui County used M and L; and Kauai County used K. This continued through 1980. | |
| 1952 | As 1948 base, but with "HAWAII 52" at top | 1A-123 A-123 A-1234 | County-coded |
1953 to present
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 at in height by in width, with standardized mounting holes. The first Hawaii license plate that complied with these standards was a modification of the 1953 plate, introduced in 1956.Since 1969, all Hawaii passenger plates have featured a round mounting hole at the top right and horizontal slots in the other three corners.
| Image | Dates issued | Design | Slogan | Serial format | Serials issued | Notes |
| Embossed golden yellow on black; "HAWAII" at bottom, offset to left | none | 1A-123 A-123 A-1234 1A-1234 | County-coded | Validated for 1953 with silver tabs, for 1954 and 1956 with golden yellow tabs, and for 1955 with white tabs. | ||
| 1957–60 | Embossed white on red with border line; "HAWAII" centered at bottom | "ALOHA" centered at top | 1A-123 A-123 A-1234 1A-1234 | County-coded | Validated each year with windshield stickers. | |
| 1961–68 | Embossed white on green with border line; "HAWAII" centered at top | "ALOHA STATE" centered at bottom | 1A-1234 A-1234 K-12345 | County-coded | Validated each year with windshield stickers. | |
| 1969–75 | Embossed black on reflective yellow with border line; "HAWAII" centered at top; "69" etched at top right | "ALOHA STATE" centered at bottom | 1A-1234 A-1234 K-12345 | County-coded | ||
| 1976–80 | Blue on reflective white with border line; "HAWAII" centered at top; pink images of King Kamehameha I and Diamond Head screened in background; red hibiscus screened in top left corner and "76" in top right corner | "ALOHA STATE" centered at bottom | 1A-1234 A-12345 | County-coded | ||
| 1981–90 | Brown on reflective white; "HAWAII" centered at top; orange warrior head image screened in background; "81" screened in top right corner | "ALOHA STATE" centered at bottom | ABC 123 | County-coded | Honolulu County used A, B, C and D as the first letter; Hawaii County used H; Maui County used M; and Kauai County used K. Letters I, O and Q not used, and H, K, L and M not used in Honolulu County; these practices continue today. | |
| 1991–present | Black on reflective white with rainbow graphic | "ALOHA STATE" at bottom | ABC 123 | County-coded | Honolulu County has used E, F, G, J, N, P, R, S and T as the first letter; Hawaii County has used H and Z; Maui County has used M and L; and Kauai County has used K. |