Vehicle registration plates of Ohio


The U.S. state of Ohio first required its residents to register their motor vehicles and display license plates in 1908, although several cities within the state issued their own license plates from as early as 1902.
Plates are currently issued by the Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles, a division of the Ohio Department of Public Safety. Only a rear plate is required for most vehicle types, including for vehicles such as motorcycles. All plates are manufactured by inmates at Ohio Penal Industries at the Lebanon Correctional Institution; since 2015, they have been manufactured out of aluminum, having been made of galvanized steel beforehand. The BMV issues a new license plate design about every five years, or with each new administration in the state government.

History

On May 19, 1902, Cleveland became one of the first cities in the country to require motorists to display government-issued registration numbers on their vehicles. In the following years, various local governments in Ohio issued standard metal plates of varying design or numerals, including:
In 1906, the state attempted to take over auto registration under the Ward Automobile Law, but litigation delayed the program until the Ohio Supreme Court ruled in favor of the law. The Ohio Secretary of State's Automobile Division, precursor to the Bureau of Motor Vehicles, was established in 1907. The Ward Law went into effect on June 11, 1908, but the Automobile Division did not begin issuing plates for another 30 days due to a manufacturing defect. The first state vehicle registration was issued to Cincinnati resident Thomas B. Paxton, Jr., for his Franklin automobile. Locally issued and owner-provided license plates were phased out by 1909 for automobiles, but local plates continued to be used for motorcycles until 1914. One effect of the Ward Law was to eliminate a significant revenue stream for cities like Cincinnati, which took in about $5,000 a year from auto registrations.
Various Ohio license plate designs from 1908 to 1921 used distinctive monograms instead of a fully spelled-out state name.
Passenger plates have always been issued in pairs with the exception of 1944–46, when only rear plates were issued due to metal conservation for World War II. Like many other states, Ohio issued single-year plates until the 1970s, except in 1943 and 1952 when windshield stickers were issued to revalidate the previous year's plates. In 1953, the Bureau of Motor Vehicles commemorated the state's sesquicentennial by issuing a special front plate bearing the state shape and the word "sesqui-centennial" instead of the passenger serial, which was carried only on the rear plate. The 1973 plate was the last single-year plate; the 1974 plate was revalidated for 1975 with a sticker placed at the bottom right corner. The first undated, multi-year plate was issued in 1976, while monthly staggered registration was introduced in 1979.
in Put-in-Bay displaying an Ohio Bicentennial passenger plate.
From 1935 through 1979, serials were allocated in blocks to each of the state's 88 counties. Serials were originally up to five characters in length and featured one or two letters. Increased demand resulted in the introduction of six-character serials in 1949, followed by all-numeric serials in 1962. The scheme was finally abandoned in 1980.
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 1956 issue was the first Ohio license plate that fully complied with these standards: the state had been issuing plates 6 inches in height by 12 inches in width since 1926, and all plates of the 1952 and 1955 issues were to these dimensions, but none had had standard mounting holes.
In 1967, the state began issuing special plates to DUI offenders with limited driving privileges. Judges in Ohio, however, rarely issued them until a 2004 state law made it mandatory for all DUI offenders with limited driving privileges to have them.
Since 1983, plates have carried the county of issuance on a sticker. Originally, this was a long sticker centered at the bottom of the plate, displaying the county name. In 1992, the state introduced a numerical county-coding scheme, with the county number being displayed on a red sticker at the bottom left corner of the plate; this scheme was initially used only on specialty plates before being adopted on standard passenger plates when the Bicentennial base was introduced in October 2001. The scheme was discontinued on standard passenger plates in 2018 in favor of a return to county-name stickers, again centered at the bottom of the plate.
Beginning July 1, 2020, Ohio no longer requires front license plates. This was part of a two-year state transportation budget bill signed by Governor Mike DeWine on April 3, 2019.

Passenger baseplates

1908 to 1973

1974 to present

All Ohio passenger plates issued since August 1996 are valid for display today, provided they have been continuously registered.
ImageDates issuedDesignSloganSerial formatSerials issuedNotes
1974–75Embossed green serial on reflective white plate with border line; "OHIO 74" centered at bottom"SEAT BELTS FASTENED?" at top123456
A 12345
AB 1234
12345 A
1234 AB
A 1234 B		Issued in blocks by countyRevalidated for 1975 with stickers.
1976–79Embossed red serial on reflective white plate with border line; "OHIO" centered at bottomnone123456
A 12345
AB 1234
12345 A
1234 AB
A 1234 B		Issued in blocks by county
1980–84Embossed blue serial with state-shaped separator on reflective white plate; "OHIO" centered at topnoneABC•123AAA•010 to approximately UFU•999I and O used only as the second letter in serials; this practice continues today. County sticker added at bottom of plate in 1983.
1985 – December 1990Embossed green serial with state-shaped separator on reflective white plate; "OHIO" centered at topnone123•ABC010•AAA to approximately 999•YOZ
January 1991 – November 1995Embossed blue serial with state-shaped separator on reflective white plate; "OHIO" screened in blue centered at top"the heart of it all!" screened in red between state name and serialABC•123AAA•010 to XEU•999
November 1995 –
July
1996		Embossed blue serial with state-shaped separator on reflective white plate; "OHIO" screened in blue centered at top"the heart of it all!" screened in red between state name and serialABC•123XEV•010 to YZZ•999Narrower serial dies. Both variants revalidated until 2002.
August 1996 –
mid-1997		Embossed dark blue serial on reflective white and gold gradient plate; "OHIO" screened in dark blue centered at top"the heart of it all!" screened in red between state name and serialABC 1234AAA 1000 to approximately ARR 5900Issued only to new registrants.
Mid-1997 – September 2001Embossed dark blue serial on reflective white and gold gradient plate; "OHIO" screened in dark blue centered at top"BIRTHPLACE OF AVIATION" screened in red between state name and serialABC 1234ARR 5901 to approximately BIF 9999; CAA 1000 to approximately CVV 9999Issued only to new registrants.
October 2001 – February 2004Dark blue on reflective white with Ohio Bicentennial Commission logo and red and blue barsOhio Bicentennial;
Birthplace of Aviation		AB12CDAA01AA to approximately FC99KVIssued to new registrants and as replacements for 1991–96 plates. Letters I and O not used in this serial format.
February 2004 – November 30, 2010"Sunburst": Dark blue on reflective white with state seal graphic and red and blue barsBirthplace of AviationABC 1234DAA 1000 to EQZ 9999; EUJ 1000 to FAK 9999Issued concurrently with the "Beautiful Ohio" base from November 23, 2009.
November 23, 2009 – April 14, 2013"Beautiful Ohio": Dark blue on rolling hills with farm, distant skyline, and airborne biplaneBeautiful Ohio;
Birthplace of Aviation		ABC 1234ERA 1000 to EUH 9999; FAL 1000 to FVZ 9999Originally issued as a no-cost alternative to the "Sunburst" base, before replacing it as the standard base on December 1, 2010. With elements designed by Frances Strickland, the plate has been described as "a bucolic affair", in contrast to the later "Ohio Pride" plate.
April 15, 2013 – present"Ohio Pride": Word cloud background and red triangle resembling an airplane wingBirthplace of Aviation;
DiscoverOhio.com;
46 "slogans" total, including facts and famous names		ABC 1234FWA 1000 to JBW 7734 Current standard license plate. Remaining "Beautiful Ohio" plates melted and recycled into this design so that materials were not wasted. "Ohio Pride" was designed by Aaron Roberts and chosen among four concept drawings put forward by the CCAD Design Group. The design was noted for its simplicity but also criticized for poor legibility. The plate was introduced as part of a coordinated branding campaign that also included a matching driver's license design.

Alternative passenger plates

Ohio state law authorizes the Bureau of Motor Vehicles to issue a number of specialty passenger plates, as defined in, sections 4 and 5.

Renewal stickers

Non-passenger plates

From 1976 until 1996, license plates for pickup trucks and other light truck-related vehicles were issued truck plates that said "Non Comm" while semi-trucks were issued plates that said "Commercial". Since 1996, however, the more consumer-oriented truck plates now say "Truck" instead of "Non-Comm."

Temporary tags

Vehicles purchased from a dealership are given a 30-day or 45-day temporary tag. The paper tag is filled out by hand. Since March 2001, it has featured a hologram. On a 2001-series temporary tag, the plate number is preprinted, while the expiration date and vehicle details are written in permanent marker.

County coding

In 1992, Ohio began using a numerical county-coding scheme to indicate the county of registration. The scheme assigns a two-digit number to each of the state's 88 counties in alphabetical order, beginning with 01 for Adams County and ending with 88 for Wyandot County. The scheme has been used on specialty plates since its introduction, and was also used on standard passenger plates from 2001 until 2018.
The county number is displayed on red stickers placed at the bottom left corner the plate. The stickers also display the county name, in small print below the number.

List of county numbers

Reserved series

On recent seven-character baseplates, the state has reserved certain letter series to be issued in coordination with specific car dealerships or leasing agencies.
SeriesAssigned to
FACFirst Automotive Corp., Cincinnati
GLRGrand Leasing and Sales
GANGanley Automotive Lease
HONHonda
HOMHonda of Mentor
JAYJay Auto Group, Bedford
JSLJake Sweeney Leasing, Cincinnati
LASShaker Auto Leasing
LEXMetro Lexus
LXSMetro Lexus
MALMike Albert Resale Center and Leasing, Cincinnati
MBZMercedes-Benz
MCTMotorcars Toyota, Cleveland Heights
MCHMotorcars Honda, Cleveland Heights
METMetro Toyota, Cleveland
MGMMarshall Goldman Motors
MKBMKB Leasing, Marietta
MVPClassic Auto Group
NONNissan of North Olmsted
SUNSunnyside, Cleveland
SSASunnyside Audi
SSHSunnyside Honda
SSTSunnyside Toyota
TOBToyota of Bedford
TOYToyota
VCJAdventure Chrysler Jeep, Willoughby
WINClassic Auto Group