Vehicle registration plates of Georgia (U.S. state)

The U.S. state of Georgia first required its residents to register their motor vehicles and display license plates in 1910. Since then the state has used a variety of license plate designs, including different designs for passenger, non-passenger, and, more recently, specialty or optional plates.

Passenger plates 1910 to 1970

For sixty years, between 1910 and 1970, Georgia issued plates annually. The plates were dated with the year of expiry. In 1940, the slogan "Peach State" was added to the plates and used for the next thirty years. County coding was introduced in 1957 and it was revised in 1962. The 1962 codes were used through 1970.

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 1954 (dated 1955) issue was the first Georgia license plate that complied with these standards.

Image	Dates issued	Design	Slogan	Serial format	Serials issued	Notes
	1910	White on black	none	123	unknown
	1914	Grey on white	none	12345	unknown
	1941	Orange embossed lettering and border on navy base	Peach State	123-4AB	unknown	Peach logo sticker in center.
	1950	Black embossed lettering and border on unpainted aluminum base	Peach State	A-12345 A/B-12345	unknown
	1951	Green embossed lettering and border on unpainted aluminum base	Peach State	A-12345 A/B-12345	unknown
	1955	Yellow embossed lettering and border on black base	Peach State	A-12345 A/B-12345	unknown
	1957	white on dark green	Peach State	1·12345 1·A·12345 10·1234 10·A·1234 100·1234 100·A·123	Coded by county of issuance (1, 10 or 100) and weight class (see right)	Letters D and E were used for vehicles weighing 3,000 lb or less; no letter for vehicles between 3,001 lb and 3,500 lb; J for vehicles between 3,501 lb and 4,000 lb; and A for vehicles 4,001 lb or greater. This continued until 1971.[1]
	1958	black on white	Peach State	1·12345 1·A·12345 10·1234 10·A·1234 100·1234 100·A·123	Coded by county of issuance (1, 10 or 100) and weight class
	1959	white on black	Peach State	1·12345 1·A·12345 10·1234 10·A·1234 100·1234 100·A·123	Coded by county of issuance (1, 10 or 100) and weight class
	1960	black on white	Peach State	1·12345 1·A·12345 10·1234 10·A·1234 100·1234 100·A·123	Coded by county of issuance (1, 10 or 100) and weight class
	1961	black on yellow	Peach State	1·12345 1·A·12345 10·1234 10·A·1234 100·1234 100·A·123	Coded by county of issuance (1, 10 or 100) and weight class
	1962	red on white	Peach State	1·12345 1·A·12345 10·1234 10·A·1234 100·1234 100·A·123	Coded by county of issuance (1, 10 or 100) and weight class
	1963	white on red	Peach State	1·12345 1·A·12345 10·1234 10·A·1234 100·1234 100·A·123	Coded by county of issuance (1, 10 or 100) and weight class
	1964	peach on green	Peach State	1·12345 1·A·12345 10·1234 10·A·1234 100·1234 100·A·123	Coded by county of issuance (1, 10 or 100) and weight class
	1965	blue on white	Peach State	1·12345 1·A·12345 10·1234 10·A·1234 100·1234 100·A·123	Coded by county of issuance (1, 10 or 100) and weight class
	1966	white on red	Peach State	1·12345 1·A·12345 10·1234 10·A·1234 100·1234 100·A·123	Coded by county of issuance (1, 10 or 100) and weight class
	1967	red on white	Peach State	1·12345 1·A·12345 10·1234 10·A·1234 100·1234 100·A·123	Coded by county of issuance (1, 10 or 100) and weight class
	1968	white on green	Peach State	1·12345 1·A·12345 10·1234 10·A·1234 100·1234 100·A·123	Coded by county of issuance (1, 10 or 100) and weight class
	1969	white on black	Peach State	1·12345 1·A·12345 10·1234 10·A·1234 100·1234 100·A·123	Coded by county of issuance (1, 10 or 100) and weight class
	1970	white on blue	Peach State	1·12345 1·A·12345 10·1234 10·A·1234 100·1234 100·A·123	Coded by county of issuance (1, 10 or 100) and weight class

Passenger plates 1971 to present

As of 2008, standard passenger plates on the 1997 base may continue to be revalidated through the present at the discretion of the owner, who may instead choose to receive a new plate of the current design, although issuance of this design ceased in December 2003.

In December 2003 a 2005-dated base was introduced for new registrations. Beginning at approximately AVA 0001, the debossed left sticker box was removed, as in approximately November 2006 the state switched to a single sticker displaying both month and year of expiry, a practice that would be continued on the 2007 base.

The 2007 base retains the peach state outline graphic, but it is shifted to the center of the plate, instead of being slightly off-center to the left as in the previous design. This base continued the serial sequence of the prior base. The state's various non-passenger and optional issues gradually migrated to the new base as supplies of the old base were exhausted. As of July 2009, not all types have yet made the transition.

Image	Dates issued	Design	Slogan	Serial format	Serials Issued	Notes
	1971–75	Blue on reflective white; embossed state name at top; "71" embossed in top left corner; county name on sticker at bottom	none	ABC 123	First letter corresponds to weight class (see right)	Letters A, B, C and F were used for vehicles weighing 3,000 lb or less; E and G for vehicles between 3,001 lb and 3,500 lb; L, M and P for vehicles between 3,501 lb and 4,000 lb; and R and W for vehicles 4,001 lb or greater.
	1976–79	Red on reflective white; embossed state name at top; "76" embossed in top left corner; county name on sticker at bottom	none	ABC 123	First letter corresponds to weight class (see right)	Letters A through E were used for vehicles weighing 3,000 lb or less; G and H for vehicles between 3,001 lb and 3,500 lb; L, M and N for vehicles between 3,501 lb and 4,000 lb; and R and S for vehicles 4,001 lb or greater.
	1979–80			ABC 123	TAA 001 to TZZ 999; WAA 001 to approximately WGZ 999
	1980–82	As above, but with state name screened rather than embossed			WHA 001 to approximately YFI 999
	1983–89	Green on reflective white; screened state name at top; "19" and "83" screened in top corners; county name on sticker at bottom	none	ABC 123	AAA 001 to approximately WCW 999	Vanity plates featured the "Peach State" slogan in place of the county-name sticker.
	1990 – March 1996	Black on reflective gradient white and orange; screened green state name at top with peach graphic for the 'o'; "19" and "90" screened in top corners; county name on sticker at bottom	none	ABC 123	AAA 001 to YZZ 999	Letters I, O, Q, U and V not used in either serial format. The ABC 1234 format used narrower dies.
	March 1996 – January 1997			ABC 1234	AAA 1001 to approximately ADM 9999
	February 1997 – June 2001	Black on reflective white with peach graphic at center; screened black state name at top, offset to left; county name on sticker at bottom; revalidation sticker boxes in bottom corners with "98" screened in right-hand box	...on my mind	123 ABC	001 AAA to 999 ZZZ	Letters I and O not used in this serial format, and Q, U and V used only from the beginning of the XAA series (2000).
	April 1997 – June 2001			1234 AB	Intermittently from 1001 QA to 9999 YZ	Both these serial formats used on passenger vehicles (interchangeably with the 123 ABC format) and trucks, having originally been intended to be reserved for the latter. Letters I, O, U and V not used in the 1234 AB format. The 12345 QA format used narrower dies.
				12345 QA	Intermittently from 10001 QA to approximately 50000 QG
	June 2001 – November 2003			1234 ABC	1001 AAA to approximately 9999 AWT	Same narrow dies as the 12345 QA format. Letters I, O, Q, U and V not used.
	December 2003 – April 2007	Black on gradient grey and white with orange and green peach graphic and state outline at center and "www.GEORGIA.gov" slogan at top in white, dated "05" in lower right sticker box.	www.GEORGIA.gov	ABC 1234	Exclusively from AAA 0001 to approximately AVM 9999; intermittently from AVN 0001 to approximately AWB 1750
	May 2007 – April 2012	The www.GEORGIA.gov base is modified to remove the grey gradient in favor of a plain white background. The "www." is dropped, and "GEORGIA.gov" appears in black in a larger font at the top of the plate.	GEORGIA.gov	ABC 1234	Intermittently from AVN 0001 to approximately AWB 1750; exclusively from AWB 1751 to approximately CAQ 9999
	May 2012 – present	Black on sky with rolling hills, Peachtree, and peaches	Peach State GEORGIA	ABC1234	PAA series to QAL series (or higher), then CAR series and up (alternating with plain design). Also, In God We Trust slogan can be printed on the bottom in lieu of county name.
	May 2012 – present	Black on white reflective base	GEORGIA	ABC1234	PFA series to PLZ series, then QAA series to QAH series (or higher), then CAR series and up (alternating with "Peach State" design)

County coding

The county codes used on license plates between 1957 and 1961 were based the population for each county. Those used between 1962 and 1970 were based on the updated 1960 census figures. After 1970, decals of the county names were put on the license plates instead of the numerical system.^[2][3]

Non-passenger and optional types

Georgia was one of the first states to issue optional plates, introducing commemorative issues for several of its in-state colleges and universities in 1983. The only requirement is a minimum of 1000 plates ordered, thus the state has made plates for fans of Auburn University in Alabama and Clemson University in South Carolina, while refusing to produce plates for its own colleges and even some of its universities.

The number of optional types has increased since 1983; Georgia currently offers many specialty or optional license plates, most at an extra cost to motorists.^[4] Unlike other states, where much of the extra money goes to support the cause shown on the plates, Georgia state government keeps the money for itself in the general fund.

Effective with the 2005 base, the state streamlined the ever-growing number of limited-issuance plates by instituting two-letter prefixes for almost all types other than standard passenger plates. Most of these plate types first appeared on the www.GEORGIA.gov base and are currently migrating to the new GEORGIA.gov base.

The state also offers plates for non-passenger vehicles, such as trucks, school buses, and government vehicles.

References

External links

• Georgia license plates 1969-present

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