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.

As of 2022, plates are issued by the Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles (BMV), a division of the Ohio Department of Public Safety. Only rear plates have been required for all classes of vehicles, except commercial tractors, since July 1, 2020.^[3] However, vehicle owners can request front plates, in addition to their rear plates, for an extra fee.^[4] All plates are manufactured by inmates at Ohio Penal Industries at the Lebanon Correctional Institution;^[5][6] since 2015, they have been manufactured out of aluminum, having been made of galvanized steel beforehand.^[7] The BMV issues a new license plate design about every five years,^[8] or with each new administration in the state government.^[9]

A new "Sunrise in Ohio" plate design was unveiled by Governor Mike DeWine on October 21, 2021,^[10] and was made available to drivers December 29, 2021, replacing the "Ohio Pride" design which had been issued since April 2013.^[1]

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.^[11][12] In the following years, various local governments in Ohio issued standard metal plates of varying design or numerals (to be mounted on a dark background), 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.^[13] 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.^[2] The first state vehicle registration was issued to Cincinnati resident Thomas B. Paxton, Jr., for his Franklin automobile.^[14] Locally issued and owner-provided license plates were phased out by 1909 for automobiles,^[12] but local plates continued to be used for motorcycles until 1914.^[2] 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 (equivalent to $144,000 today) from auto registrations.^[15]

The Ward Law required automobile owners to display plates at both the front and the rear of the vehicle. Front and rear plates would be issued for passenger vehicles for over a century, through June 30, 2020, with the exception of 1944–46 when only rear plates were issued due to metal conservation for World War II.^[3] Ohio issued single-year plates from 1910 through 1973, except in 1943 and 1952 when windshield stickers were issued to revalidate the previous year's plates, again due to metal conservation (for World War II and the Korean War respectively).

Various Ohio license plate designs from 1908 to 1921 used distinctive monograms instead of a fully spelled-out state name.^[14] The 1938 plate commemorated the 150th anniversary of the creation of the Northwest Territory (from which the state of Ohio was formed), and thus was the first plate in the state to feature a graphic and a slogan. 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" [sic] instead of the passenger serial, which was carried only on the rear plate.

A golf cart 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.^[16]

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.^[17] The 1956 (dated 1957) 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 (dated 1953) and 1955 (dated 1956) issues were to these dimensions, but none had had standard mounting holes.^[18]

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.^[19]

After the last single-year plate was issued in 1973, 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.^[14]

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.^[20] In 1992, the state introduced a numerical county-coding scheme (see the County Coding section below), 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.^[6] 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.^[20]

On April 3, 2019, Governor Mike DeWine signed a two-year state transportation budget bill that included the elimination of the requirement for front license plates to be displayed. This became effective on July 1, 2020.^[3]

Passenger baseplates[]

1908 to 1973[]

Image	Dates issued	Design	Slogan	Serial format	Serials issued	Notes
	1908–09	White serial on dark blue porcelain plate; "OH" monogram at right	none	12345	1 to approximately 23500
	1910	White serial on woodgrain-coloured porcelain plate; vertical "OHIO" and "1910" at left and right respectively	none	12345	1 to approximately 33000
	1911	Black serial on white porcelain plate; vertical "OHIO" and "1911" at left and right respectively	none	12345	1 to approximately 46000
	1912	Forest green serial on white flat metal plate; vertical "OHIO" and "1912" at left and right respectively	none	12345	1 to approximately 63000
	1913	Maroon serial on white flat metal plate; vertical "OHIO" and "1913" at left and right respectively	none	12345	1 to approximately 86000
	1914	Red serial on white flat metal plate; "OHIO" monogram and "1914" at left	none	123456	1 to approximately 121000
	1915	Black serial on white flat metal plate; "OHIO" monogram and "1915" at left	none	123456	1 to approximately 181000
	1916	White serial on black flat metal plate; "OHIO 1916" at left	none	123456	1 to approximately 245000
	1917	Black serial on yellow flat metal plate; vertical "OHIO" and "1917" at left and right respectively	none	123456	1 to approximately 342000
	1918	Embossed white serial on dark green plate; "OHIO" monogram and "1918" at right	none	123456	1 to approximately 412000	First embossed plate.
	1919	Embossed white serial on maroon plate; "OHIO" monogram and "1919" at left	none	123456	1 to approximately 509000
	1920	Embossed white serial on dark blue plate; "OHIO" monogram at left and "19" over "20" at right	none	123456	1 to approximately 527000
	1921	Embossed white serial on forest green plate; "OHIO" monogram at left and "19" over "21" at right	none	123456	1 to approximately 618000
	1922	Embossed dark blue serial on white plate; "OHIO-1922" centered at bottom	none	123.456	1 to approximately 714.000
	1923	Embossed red serial on gray plate; "OHIO-1923" centered at bottom	none	123.456	1 to approximately 927.000
	1924	Embossed white serial on dark blue plate; "OHIO-1924" centered at bottom	none	123-456	1 to 999-999
				★12-345	★1 to approximately ★59-000
	1925	Embossed black serial on cream plate; "OHIO-1925" centered at bottom	none	123-456 ★12-345
	1926	Embossed white serial on brown plate; "OHIO-1926" centered at bottom	none	123-456 ★12-345 A12-345
	1927	Embossed black serial on gray plate; "OHIO-1927" centered at bottom	none	123-456 ★12-345 A12-345
	1928	Embossed white serial on dark blue plate; "OHIO-1928" centered at bottom	none	123-456 ★12-345 A12-345
	1929	Embossed black serial on light green plate; "OHIO-1929" centered at bottom	none	123-456 A12-345
	1930	Embossed white serial on maroon plate; "OHIO-1930" centered at bottom	none	123-456 A12-345
	1931	Embossed black serial on gray plate; "OHIO-1931" centered at bottom	none	123-456 A12-345
	1932	Embossed white serial on dark blue plate; "OHIO-1932" centered at bottom	none	123-456 A12-345
	1933	Embossed black serial on orange plate; "OHIO-1933" centered at top	none	123-456 A12-345
	1934	Embossed white serial on maroon plate; "OHIO-1934" centered at bottom	none	123-456 A12-345
	1935	Embossed yellow serial on dark blue plate with border line; "OHIO - 1935" centered at bottom	none	A·1234 AB·123 1234·A 123·AB A·123·B	Issued in blocks by county
	1936	Embossed blue serial on white plate with border line; "OHIO - 1936" centered at bottom	none	A·1234 AB·123 1234·A 123·AB A·123·B	Issued in blocks by county
	1937	Embossed maroon serial on white plate with border line; "OHIO - 1937" centered at bottom	none	A·1234 AB·123 1234·A 123·AB A·123·B	Issued in blocks by county
	1938	Embossed black serial on white plate with border line; embossed covered wagon graphic centered at bottom; "OHIO·38" at bottom right[21]	"150 ANNIV· N·W·TERR·" at bottom left	A·1234 AB·123 1234·A 123·AB A·123·B	Issued in blocks by county	Commemorated the 150th anniversary of the creation of the Northwest Territory, from which the state of Ohio was formed.
	1939	Embossed blue serial on white plate with border line; "OHIO - 1939" centered at bottom	none	A·1234 AB·123 1234·A 123·AB A·123·B	Issued in blocks by county
	1940	Embossed white serial on dark blue plate with border line; "OHIO - 1940" centered at bottom	none	A·1234 AB·123 1234·A 123·AB A·123·B	Issued in blocks by county
	1941	Embossed white serial on maroon plate with border line; "OHIO - 1941" centered at bottom	none	A·1234 AB·123 1234·A 123·AB A·123·B	Issued in blocks by county
	1942–43	Embossed dark green serial on white plate with border line; "OHIO - 1942" centered at bottom	none	A·1234 AB·123 1234·A 123·AB A·123·B	Issued in blocks by county	Revalidated for 1943 with windshield stickers, due to metal conservation for World War II.
	1944	Embossed white serial on dark blue plate with border line; "OHIO - 1944" centered at bottom	none	A·1234 AB·123 1234·A 123·AB A·123·B	Issued in blocks by county
	1945	Embossed black serial on white plate with border line; "OHIO - 1945" centered at bottom	none	A·1234 AB·123 1234·A 123·AB A·123·B	Issued in blocks by county
	1946	Embossed red serial on white plate with border line; "OHIO - 1946" centered at bottom	none	A·1234 AB·123 1234·A 123·AB A·123·B	Issued in blocks by county
	1947	Embossed white serial on dark green plate with border line; "1947 - OHIO" centered at bottom	none	A·1234 AB·123 1234·A 123·AB A·123·B	Issued in blocks by county
	1948	Embossed black serial on light yellow plate with border line; "OHIO - 1948" centered at bottom	none	A·1234 AB·123 1234·A 123·AB A·123·B	Issued in blocks by county
	1949	Embossed light yellow serial on waffle-textured black plate with border line; "1949 - OHIO" centered at bottom	none	A·12345 AB·1234 12345·A 1234·AB A·1234·B	Issued in blocks by county
	1950	Embossed black serial on waffle-textured yellow plate with border line; "OHIO - 1950" centered at bottom	none	A·12345 AB·1234 12345·A 1234·AB A·1234·B	Issued in blocks by county
	1951–52	Embossed white serial on dark blue plate with border line; "1951 - OHIO" centered at bottom	none	A·12345 AB·1234 12345·A 1234·AB A·1234·B	Issued in blocks by county	Revalidated for 1952 with windshield stickers, due to metal conservation for the Korean War.
	1953	Embossed yellow serial on dark green plate with border line; "1803 - OHIO - 1953" at bottom	none	A·12345 AB·1234 12345·A 1234·AB A·1234·B	Issued in blocks by county	Commemorated Ohio's 150 years of statehood.
	1954	Embossed white serial on maroon plate with border line; "OHIO - 1954" centered at bottom	none	A·12345 AB·1234 12345·A 1234·AB A·1234·B	Issued in blocks by county
	1955	Embossed white serial on dark blue plate with border line; "1955 - OHIO" centered at bottom	none	A·12345 AB·1234 12345·A 1234·AB A·1234·B	Issued in blocks by county
	1956	Embossed white serial on dark green plate with border line; "OHIO - 1956" centered at bottom	none	A·12345 AB·1234 12345·A 1234·AB A·1234·B	Issued in blocks by county
	1957	Embossed white serial on maroon plate with border line; "1957 - OHIO" centered at bottom	none	A·12345 AB·1234 12345·A 1234·AB A·1234·B	Issued in blocks by county
	1958	Embossed white serial on dark blue plate with border line; "OHIO - 1958" centered at bottom	none	A·12345 AB·1234 12345·A 1234·AB A·1234·B	Issued in blocks by county
	1959	Embossed red serial on white plate with border line; "1959 - OHIO" centered at bottom	none	A·12345 AB·1234 12345·A 1234·AB A·1234·B	Issued in blocks by county
	1960	Embossed blue serial on yellow plate with border line; "OHIO - 1960" centered at bottom	none	A·12345 AB·1234 12345·A 1234·AB A·1234·B	Issued in blocks by county
	1961	Embossed white serial on green plate with border line; "1961 - OHIO" centered at bottom	none	A·12345 AB·1234 12345·A 1234·AB A·1234·B	Issued in blocks by county
	1962	Embossed white serial on maroon plate with border line; "OHIO - 1962" centered at bottom	none	12345 A·12345 AB·1234 12345·A 1234·AB A·1234·B	Issued in blocks by county
	1963	Embossed white serial on dark blue plate with border line; "1963 - OHIO" centered at bottom	none	12345 A·12345 AB·1234 12345·A 1234·AB A·1234·B	Issued in blocks by county
	1964	Embossed white serial on dark green plate with border line; "OHIO - 1964" centered at bottom	none	12345 A·12345 AB·1234 12345·A 1234·AB A·1234·B	Issued in blocks by county
	1965	Embossed red serial on white plate with border line; "1965 - OHIO" centered at bottom	none	12345 A·12345 AB·1234 12345·A 1234·AB A·1234·B	Issued in blocks by county
	1966	Embossed white serial on red plate with border line; "OHIO 1966" centered at bottom	none	12345 A 12345 AB 1234 12345 A 1234 AB A 1234 B	Issued in blocks by county
	1967	Embossed white serial on blue plate with border line; "67 OHIO" centered at bottom	none	12345 A 12345 AB 1234 12345 A 1234 AB A 1234 B	Issued in blocks by county	Over 1.4 million plates on this base were destroyed in a fire at the plate shop at the Lebanon Correctional Institution in November 1966; replacement plates were manufactured in New York, Arkansas and Nebraska using these states' serial dies.[22]
	1968	Embossed red serial on white plate with border line; "OHIO 68" centered at bottom	none	12345 A 12345 AB 1234 12345 A 1234 AB A 1234 B	Issued in blocks by county	Most plates manufactured in New York, using that state's serial dies, while the Lebanon plate shop was being repaired.
	1969	Embossed blue serial on white plate with border line; "69 OHIO" centered at bottom	none	12345 A 12345 AB 1234 12345 A 1234 AB A 1234 B	Issued in blocks by county	Some plates manufactured in New York, using that state's serial dies. Full manufacturing capacity at the Lebanon plate shop was restored by 1970.
	1970	Embossed scarlet serial on gray plate with border line; "OHIO 70" centered at bottom	none	12345 A 12345 AB 1234 12345 A 1234 AB A 1234 B	Issued in blocks by county	Issued in the colors of Ohio State University, in honor of its centennial.
	1971	Embossed black serial on yellow plate with border line; "71 OHIO" centered at bottom	none	12345 A 12345 AB 1234 12345 A 1234 AB A 1234 B	Issued in blocks by county
	1972	Embossed yellow serial on dark blue plate with border line; "OHIO 72" centered at bottom	none	12345 A 12345 AB 1234 12345 A 1234 AB A 1234 B	Issued in blocks by county
	1973	Embossed white serial on green plate with border line; "73 OHIO" centered at bottom	"SEAT BELTS FASTENED?" at top	12345 A 12345 AB 1234 12345 A 1234 AB A 1234 B	Issued in blocks by county

1974 to present[]

All Ohio passenger plates issued since October 2001 are valid for display today, provided they have been continuously registered. "Ohio Gold" plates, issued from August 1996 through September 2001, are to be replaced during 2022 due to readability issues arising from degradation of the reflective sheeting through exposure to humidity, rain, snow, and road salt.^[23]

Image	Dates issued	Design	Slogan	Serial format	Serials issued	Notes
	1974–75	Embossed green serial on reflective white plate with border line; "OHIO 74" centered at bottom	"SEAT BELTS FASTENED?" at top	123456 A 12345 AB 1234 12345 A 1234 AB A 1234 B	Issued in blocks by county	Revalidated for 1975 with stickers.
	1976–79	Embossed red serial on reflective white plate with border line; "OHIO" centered at bottom	none	123456 A 12345 AB 1234 12345 A 1234 AB A 1234 B	Issued in blocks by county
	1980–84	Embossed blue serial with state-shaped separator on reflective white plate; "OHIO" centered at top	none	ABC•123	AAA•010 to approximately UFU•999	I and O used only as the second letter in serials; this practice continues today (except 2001–04). County sticker added at bottom of plate in 1983.[16]
	1985 – December 1990	Embossed green serial with state-shaped separator on reflective white plate; "OHIO" centered at top	none	123•ABC	010•AAA to approximately 999•YOZ
	January 1991 – November 1995	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 serial	ABC•123	AAA•010 to XEU•999
	November 1995 – July 1996				XEV•010 to YZZ•999	Narrower serial dies. Both variants revalidated until 2002.
	August 1996 – mid-1997	"Ohio Gold": 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 serial	ABC 1234	AAA 1000 to approximately ARR 5900	Issued only to new registrants. Revalidated until 2022.
	Mid-1997 – September 2001		"BIRTHPLACE OF AVIATION" screened in red between state name and serial		ARR 5901 to approximately BIF 9999; CAA 1000 to approximately CVV 9999
	October 2001 – February 2004	"Bicentennial": embossed dark blue serial on reflective white with Ohio Bicentennial Commission logo and red and blue bars	Ohio Bicentennial; Birthplace of Aviation	AB12CD	AA01AA to approximately FC99KV	Issued to new registrants and as replacements for 1991–96 plates. Letters I and O not used in this serial format.[16]
	February 2004 – November 30, 2010	"Sunburst": embossed dark blue serial on reflective white with state seal graphic and red and blue bars	Birthplace of Aviation	ABC 1234	DAA 1000 to EQZ 9999; EUJ 1000 to FAK 9999	Issued concurrently with the "Beautiful Ohio" base (below) from November 23, 2009.
	November 23, 2009 – April 14, 2013	"Beautiful Ohio": embossed dark blue serial on rolling hills with farm, distant skyline, and airborne biplane	Beautiful Ohio; Birthplace of Aviation	ABC 1234	ERA 1000 to EUH 9999; FAL 1000 to FVZ 9999	Originally 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,[21] the plate has been described as "a bucolic affair", in contrast to the later "Ohio Pride" plate.[9]
	April 15, 2013 – December 28, 2021	"Ohio Pride": embossed dark blue serial on word cloud background and red triangle resembling an airplane wing	Birthplace of Aviation; DiscoverOhio.com; 46 "slogans" total, including facts and famous names[24]	ABC 1234	FWA 1000 to JCZ 9999; JEA 1000 to JPA 3505 (as of December 30, 2021)	Remaining "Beautiful Ohio" plates melted and recycled into this design so that materials were not wasted. "Ohio Pride" was designed by Aaron Roberts[25] 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.[9] The plate was introduced as part of a coordinated branding campaign that also included a matching driver's license design.[26] Only rear plates required beginning July 1, 2020,[3] the change took place early in the 'J' series of serials.
	December 29, 2021 – present	"Sunrise in Ohio": screened dark blue serial on sunrise scene featuring skyline, hills, river, wheat field, and child swinging from a tree, with Wright Flyer, state shape and red banner with slogan at top	Birthplace of Aviation	ABC 1234	JDA 1000 to JDZ 9999; JSA 1000 to JSC 5787 (as of January 23, 2022)	Current standard license plate. Remaining "Ohio Pride" plates will be melted and recycled into this design so that materials are not wasted. An error in the initial design had the Wright Flyer flying backwards; around 35,000 plates were so manufactured before the error was realized and corrected; these plates will be melted and recycled into the corrected design.[27]

Alternative passenger plates[]

Image	Dates issued	Design	Slogan	Serial format	Serials issued	Notes
	1967–present	Red on yellow	none	123456 1234567		For DUI offenders with limited driving privileges. Issued since 1967 but rarely used before the plate became mandated on all DUI offenders in 2004.

Ohio state law authorizes the Bureau of Motor Vehicles to issue a number of specialty passenger plates, as defined in Ohio Rev. Code chapter 4503, sections 4 and 5.

Renewal stickers[]

Designs of tax and renewal stickers used from 1968 to 1991

Designs of renewal stickers used since 1991

Non-passenger plates[]

Image	Type	Dates issued	Design	Serial format	Serials issued	Notes
	Apportioned	2013–2021	As "Ohio Pride" passenger base, with "APPORTIONED" at bottom	PBC 1234	PVW 1000 to PWF 6115 (as of July 13, 2019)
	Commercial Trailer	2013–2021	As "Ohio Pride" passenger base, with "TRAILER" at bottom	TBC 1234	TQE 1000 to TRX 5375 (as of October 19, 2021)
	Motorcycle	2004–10	Similar to "Sunburst" passenger base	12ABC	01HHA to 99QOZ; 01RXD to 99TID	'Z' series used on Veteran Motorcycle plates.
		2009–13	Similar to "Beautiful Ohio" passenger base		01QPA to 99RXC; 01TIE to approximately 99VVL
		2013–15	Similar to "Ohio Pride" passenger base		01WAA to 99YZZ
		2015–present		ABC12	AAA01 to HPS59 (as of October 14, 2021)
	Non-Commercial Trailer	2013–2021	As "Ohio Pride" passenger base	SBC 1234	SUE 1000 to SZU 8824 (as of October 16, 2021)
	Truck	1996–2001	As "Ohio Gold" passenger base, but with "TRUCK" in place of county name at bottom	PBC 1234	PAA 1000 to PCQ 9999
		2001–04	As "Bicentennial" passenger base, but without Ohio Bicentennial Commission logo, and with "TRUCK" in place of blue band at bottom		PCW 1000 to PEN 9999
		2004–10	As "Sunburst" passenger base, but with "TRUCK" in place of blue band at bottom		PEP 1000 to PGQ 9999; PGV 7000 to PHF 9999
		2009–13	As "Beautiful Ohio" passenger base, but with "TRUCK" in place of graphics at bottom		PGR 1000 to PGV 6999; PHG 1000 to PIA 9999
		2013–2021	As "Ohio Pride" passenger base, with "TRUCK" at bottom		PIC 1000 to PMU 8333 (as of December 23, 2021)

From 1976 until 1996, license plates for pickup trucks and other light truck-related vehicles (SUVs and conversion vans aside) were issued truck plates that said "Non Comm" (for "non-commercial truck") 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."

• 

  Church bus (1972)

• 

  House Vehicle (1973)

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.^[28][29] On a 2001-series temporary tag, the plate number is preprinted, while the expiration date and vehicle details are written in permanent marker. As of August, 2020, the Ohio Department of Public Safety issues print-on-demand temporary tags and will phase out traditional paper tags in January 2021.^[30]

• 

  2002

• 

  2010

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.

This list is incomplete; you can help by . (July 2009)

References[]

External links[]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to License plates of Ohio.

• OPLATES.com – Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles customer website
• Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles: Registration and Titling
• Ohio BMV Chronological History 1908-2010, with a comprehensive listing of Ohio license plate designs since 1908
• Ohio license plates, 1969–present