Vehicle registration plates of Tennessee

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

Passenger baseplates 1915 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 state's first license plate that complied with these standards.

First issued	Design	Slogan	Serial format	Serials issued	Notes
1953	Blue embossed lettering and border on unpainted steel base.	none	1A-2345	unknown
1955	Red embossed lettering and border on white base.	none	1A-2345, 1-2345	unknown
1958	black on white	none	12-A3-45
1960	black on white	none	AB-1234
1962	black on white	none	12-3456
1966	black on white	none	AB-1234		County sticker applied at bottom.
1971			Coded by county of issuance 0-A123 00-A123 00-AB12 00-AB12 ABC-123 (uncoded, following exhaustion of county-coded plates in more populous counties)
1976	dark blue on white with yellow state seal graphic	Volunteer State	Coded by county of issuance: 0-A123 00-A123 0-AB123 (in larger counties, when above format was exhausted beginning in 1981) ABC-123 (uncoded, in larger counties when second format was exhausted)	?	Only time state shape not referenced on plates. Nickname "Volunteer State" first appears. State seal appears in dim yellow behind serial number. Registration decals moved to bottom. Month decal debuts, with second decal well added accordingly.
1985	blue on white with green legends	Volunteer State	Coded by county of issuance: 0-A1B23 00-1A23 00-12A3 ABC-123 (uncoded, when above format was exhausted, beginning in 1988)		Marked return of state shape to plates.
1992	three stars	none	ABC-123	AAA-000 to ZZZ-999	Returned to 3/3 serial. County stickers return, applied at bottom. Registration decals move to top of plate, with two blank decal wells at bottom reserved for city and county tax decals. Only standard tag issued since 1978 not to include "Volunteer State". Three-star-design a variation of state flag.
1995	Tennessee State Capitol	BicenTENNial / Volunteer State	123-ABC	000-AAA to 999-ZZZ	County sticker applied at bottom. Commemorated 200 years of statehood (1796–1996).
2001	rising sun over state silhouette	Sounds good to me / Volunteer State	ABC 123	AAA 000 to ?	County sticker applied at bottom. Color of Tennessee-shaped graphic had to be brightened mid-issue to avoid interference with serial numbers. Last plate to be embossed. Later issues include digitally screen-printed barcode.
2007	rolling hills	The Volunteer State	123-ABC	001-BBB to present	County sticker applied at bottom. First plate to be digitally screen-printed. All issues contain barcode. Vowels not used in serials.

Non-Passenger baseplates 1955 to present

Image	Type	First issued	Design	Serial format	Serials issued	Notes
	Freemasonry			1234

External links

Vehicle registration plates of the United States

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Vehicle registration plates of North America

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State of Tennessee

Nashville (capital)

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