Vehicle registration plates of West Virginia

The U.S. state of West Virginia first required its residents to register their motor vehicles and display license plates in 1905. Currently in West Virginia, only rear license plates are used.

Passenger baseplates 1932 to present

In 1956, the U.S. states and Canadian provinces came to an agreement with the Automobile Manufacturers Association that standardized 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 West Virginia license plate that complied with these standards.

Image	Dates issued	Design	Slogan	Serial format	Serials issued	Notes
	1932	White on black
	1956	Embossed white numbers on green plate with border line; "WEST VIRGINIA 56" embossed in white block letters below numbers	none	123-456 (variable number of digits)	1 to approximately 436-000
	1957	Embossed yellow numbers on dark blue plate with border line; "WEST VIRGINIA" embossed in yellow block letters centered below numbers; "19" embossed in bottom left corner and "57" in bottom right corner	none	123-456 (variable number of digits)	1 to approximately 461-000
	1958	Embossed green numbers on white plate with border line; "WEST VIRGINIA" embossed in green block letters centered below numbers; "58" embossed in bottom right corner	none	123-456 (variable number of digits)	1 to approximately 469-000
	1959	Embossed white numbers on green plate with border line; "WEST VIRGINIA" embossed in white block letters centered below numbers; "19" embossed in bottom left corner and "59" in bottom right corner	none	123-456 (variable number of digits)	1 to approximately 478-000
	1960	Embossed red numbers on white plate with border line; "WEST VIRGINIA" embossed in red block letters centered below numbers; "19" embossed in bottom left corner and "60" in bottom right corner	none	123-456 (variable number of digits)	1 to approximately 471-000
	1961	Embossed white numbers on dark red plate with border line; "WEST VIRGINIA" embossed in white block letters centered below numbers; "19" embossed in bottom left corner and "61" in bottom right corner	none	123-456 (variable number of digits)	1 to 141-826[1]
		As above, but with elements debossed			141-827 to approximately 476-000
	1962	As 1958 base, but with "19" embossed in bottom left corner and "62" in bottom right corner	none	123-456 (variable number of digits)	1 to approximately 488-000
	1963	Debossed yellow numbers on blue plate with border line; "WEST VIRGINIA" debossed in yellow block letters centered below numbers; "19" debossed in bottom left corner and "63" in bottom right corner	"1863 CENTENNIAL 1963" debossed in yellow block letters above numbers	123-456 (variable number of digits)	1 to approximately 490-000
	1964	Embossed blue numbers on yellow plate with border line; "WEST VIRGINIA" embossed in blue block letters centered below numbers; "19" embossed in bottom left corner and "64" in bottom right corner	"1863 CENTENNIAL 1963" embossed in blue block letters above numbers	123-456 (variable number of digits)	1 to approximately 521-000
	1965	As 1963 base, but with "65" debossed in bottom right corner	"MOUNTAIN STATE" debossed in yellow block letters centered above numbers	123-456 (variable number of digits)	1 to approximately 522-000
	1966	As 1964 base, but with "66" embossed in bottom right corner	"MOUNTAIN STATE" embossed in blue block letters centered above numbers	123-456 (variable number of digits)	1 to approximately 558-000
	1967	As 1963 base, but with "67" debossed in bottom right corner	"MOUNTAIN STATE" as on 1965 base	123-456 (variable number of digits)	1 to approximately 582-000
	1968	As 1964 base, but with "68" embossed in bottom right corner	"MOUNTAIN STATE" as on 1966 base	123-456 (variable number of digits)	1 to approximately 603-000
	1969	As 1963 base, but with "69" debossed in bottom right corner	"MOUNTAIN STATE" as on 1965 base	123-456 (variable number of digits)	1 to approximately 625-000
	1970	As 1964 base, but with "70" embossed in bottom right corner	"MOUNTAIN STATE" as on 1966 base	123-456 (variable number of digits)	1 to approximately 591-000
	1971–75	As 1964 base, but with sticker box in bottom right corner and no embossed year	"MOUNTAIN STATE" as on 1966 base	0A-1234 AA-1234	First character corresponds to month of expiration (see right)	1 through 9 indicated January through September respectively, and O, N and D indicated October, November and December respectively. This system remains in use today.
	1976–82	Embossed dark blue numbers on white plate; yellow state icon with blue outline screened behind numbers at left; "WEST VIRGINIA" screened in dark blue block letters centered below numbers	Dark blue bar screened at top with "Wild, Wonderful" in white italic serifed letters in the center	0A-1234 AA-1234	First character corresponds to month of expiration
	1982–94	As above, but without blue outline around state icon		0A-1234 0AB-123 AA-1234 AAB-123		Double-letter serials introduced for each month as single-letter serials were exhausted. These serials progressed as follows: both letters A through M only, then first letter N through Z and second letter A through M, then first letter A through M and second letter N through Z.
	January 1995 – December 2000	Embossed dark blue numbers on white plate; dark blue bar screened at top containing "West Virginia" in gold serifed letters in the center; thin gold stripe screened between dark blue bar and numbers	"Wild, Wonderful" screened in dark blue serifed letters centered below numbers, with three stripes (two dark blue and one gold) screened on either side	0A-1234 0AB-123 AA-1234 AAB-123	First character corresponds to month of expiration	Serials reset to A for all months; progression is as before but with double-letter serials progressing in standard order (AA-AZ, BA-BZ etc.). Serials S and SA-SZ reserved for optional Scenic plates.
	December 2000 – early 2006		"Wild, Wonderful" as before, plus "www.callwva.com" in dark blue serifed letters between state name and numbers, cutting off thin gold stripe in the middle
	early 2006 – present		"Wild, Wonderful" as before; web address dropped

Optional types

Image	Type	Dates issued	Design	Serial format	Serials issued	Notes
	Scenic	1996–present	Embossed dark blue numbers on mountain scene with white and orange sky, pale blue mountains and dark blue forest; "West Virginia" and "Wild, Wonderful" screened in dark blue serifed letters centered above and below numbers respectively	0S-1234 0SA-123 AS-1234 ASA-123	First character corresponds to month of expiration	Similar monthly serial formats to passenger base, but with serials progressing S, then SA, SB, SC etc. "www.callwva.com" appeared between state name and numbers during the early and mid-2000s.

References

External links

• West Virginia license plates 1969-present