Vehicle registration plates of Montana

The U.S. state of Montana first required its residents to register their motor vehicles and display license plates in 1915.

Passenger baseplates 1944 to present

In 1956, the U.S. states and Canadian provinces came to an agreement with the Automobile Manufacturers Association that fixed the size for license plates for vehicles, except those for motorcycles, at six inches in height by twelve inches in width, with standardized mounting holes. The 1955 (dated 1956) issue was the first Montana license plate that complied with these standards.

Image	Dates issued	Design	Slogan	Serial format	Serials issued	Notes
	1944	White on green		CC-0000		Fiberboard, some stamped on the reverse side of Illinois 1943 blanks
	1949	Embossed black numbers on white plate with state-shaped border; "MONTANA–49" embossed in black block letters below numbers	none	1-12345 10-1234 (variable number of digits following divider)	Coded by county of issuance (1 or 10)
	1950	Embossed white numbers on black plate with state-shaped border; "MONTANA–50" embossed in white block letters centered below numbers	"THE TREASURE STATE" embossed in white block letters above numbers	1-12345 10-1234 (variable number of digits following divider)	Coded by county of issuance (1 or 10)
	1951–2	Embossed yellow numbers on blue plate with state-shaped border; "MONTANA–51" embossed in yellow block letters centered below numbers	"THE TREASURE STATE" embossed in yellow block letters above numbers	1-12345 10-1234 (variable number of digits following divider)	Coded by county of issuance (1 or 10)	Revalidated for 1952 with windshield stickers.
	1953–4	Embossed white numbers on black plate with state-shaped border; "MONTANA–53" embossed in white block letters centered below numbers	"THE TREASURE STATE" embossed in white block letters above numbers	1-12345 10-1234 (variable number of digits following divider)	Coded by county of issuance (1 or 10)	Revalidated for 1954 with silver tabs.
	1955–6	Embossed white numbers on red plate with state-shaped border; "MONTANA–55" embossed in white block letters centered below numbers	"THE TREASURE STATE" embossed in white block letters above numbers	1-12345 10-1234 (variable number of digits following divider)	Coded by county of issuance (1 or 10)	Revalidated for 1956 with silver tabs.
	1957–8	Embossed white numbers on black plate with border line; "MONTANA–57" embossed in white block letters centered at bottom	none	1 12345 1/0 1234 (variable number of digits following space)	Coded by county of issuance (1 or 1/0)	Revalidated for 1958 with silver tabs.
	1959–62	Embossed black numbers on silver plate with state-shaped border; "MONTANA" embossed in wide black block letters centered below numbers; embossed "59" to right of state name	none	1·12345 10·1234 (variable number of digits following divider)	Coded by county of issuance (1 or 10)	Revalidated for 1960 with yellow tabs, for 1961 with black tabs, and for 1962 with blue tabs.
	1963–6	As 1959 base, but with embossed "63" to right of state name	"TREASURE STATE" embossed in narrow black block letters centered above numbers	1·12345 10·1234 (variable number of digits following divider)	Coded by county of issuance (1 or 10)	Revalidated for 1964 with black tabs, for 1965 with blue tabs, and for 1966 with yellow tabs.
	1967	Embossed yellow numbers on light blue plate with state-shaped border; "MONTANA" embossed in wide yellow block letters centered below numbers; embossed "67" to right of state name	"BIG SKY COUNTRY" embossed in narrow yellow block letters centered above numbers	1·12345 10·1234 (variable number of digits following divider)	Coded by county of issuance (1 or 10)
	1968–9	Embossed green numbers on white plate with state-shaped border; "MONTANA" embossed in wide green block letters centered below numbers; debossed "68" to right of state name	"BIG SKY COUNTRY" embossed in narrow green block letters centered above numbers	1·12345 10·1234 (variable number of digits following divider)	Coded by county of issuance (1 or 10)	Revalidated for 1969 with stickers.
	1970–2	Embossed blue numbers on white plate with state-shaped border; "MONTANA" embossed in wide blue block letters centered below numbers; debossed "70" to right of state name	"BIG SKY COUNTRY" embossed in narrow blue block letters centered above numbers	1·12345 10·1234 (variable number of digits following divider)	Coded by county of issuance (1 or 10)	Revalidated for 1971 and 1972 with stickers.
	1973–4	Debossed white numbers on green plate with state-shaped border; debossed white buffalo skull in bottom left corner; "MONTANA" debossed in wide white block letters centered below numbers; debossed "73" to right of state name	"BIG SKY COUNTRY" debossed in narrow white block letters centered above numbers	1·12345 10·1234 (variable number of digits following divider)	Coded by county of issuance (1 or 10)	Revalidated for 1974 with stickers.
	1975	Debossed white numbers on blue plate with state-shaped border; debossed white buffalo skull in bottom left corner; "MONTANA" debossed in wide white block letters centered below numbers; debossed "75" to right of state name	"BIG SKY COUNTRY" debossed in narrow white block letters centered above numbers	1·12345 10·1234 (variable number of digits following divider)	Coded by county of issuance (1 or 10)
	1976–91	Embossed sky blue numbers on white plate with screened red state-shaped border; red "76 Bicentennial" logo and sky blue buffalo skull screened at top left and bottom left corners respectively; red band screened above numbers containing "MONTANA" in white block letters; screened sky blue "'76" in bottom right corner	"BIG SKY" screened in sky blue block letters centered below numbers	1·123456 10·12345 (variable number of digits following divider)	Coded by county of issuance (1 or 10)	A straight-line die was originally used for the number '1', before being replaced by a serifed version.
	1991–2000	Embossed dark blue numbers on sky blue and white gradient plate; white and pale blue state outline screened around plate and yellow, orange and purple band, resembling a mountain range, screened above numbers; "MONTANA" screened in white block letters in top left corner	"Big Sky" screened in sky blue handwritten font in bottom right corner, along with a sky blue buffalo skull	1P·1234A 10·1234A (variable number of digits following divider)	Coded by county of issuance (1 or 10)
	2000 to 2006		Big Sky	Coded by county of issuance: 0·A12345 (variable number of digits following divider) 00·A1234 (variable number of digits following divider)
	2006 to 2009	Black on grey and white gradient with mountain graphic	Big Sky Country	Coded by county of issuance: 0C-12345 (variable number of digits following divider) 0C-1234A (following exhaustion of above format; variable number of digits following divider) 00-12345 (variable number of digits following divider)		Serial divider is silhouette of buffalo skull.
	2010 to present	Solid blue with white state outline and lettering	Treasure State	Coded by county of issuance: 0-12345A (variable number of digits following divider) 00-1234A (variable number of digits following divider)		Serial divider is silhouette of buffalo skull.

Optional types

Image	Type	Dates issued	Design	Slogan	Serial format	Serials issued	Notes
	Montana Centennial	1987–9	Embossed blue numbers on graphic plate with gold background, white state shape and brown mountain range at top; "MONTANA" screened in bottom right corner, with a brown Montana Centennial logo for the 'O' and brown serifed letters for the remainder	"100 YEARS" screened in two rows of brown serifed letters in bottom left corner	1ABC12 10AB12	Coded by county of issuance (1 or 10)	Remained valid until 1996.

County coding

External links

• Montana license plates 1969-present