Vehicle registration plates of Maine

The U.S. state of Maine first required its residents to register their motor vehicles and display license plates in 1905.

Passenger plates 1905 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 Maine license plate to comply with these standards.

Image	Dates issued	Design	Slogan	Serial format	Serials issued	Notes
	1905-11	White on red	none	123; 1234; 12345
	1918	Forest green lettering on white base; MAINE 1918 in green letters centered at bottom.	none	12-345 123-456 (both with square dash)
	1927	Embossed navy lettering and border on golden yellow base; MAINE 1927 in wide blue letters centered at bottom.	none	12-345 123-456 (both with square dash)
	1928	Embossed navy lettering and border on white base; MAINE 1928 in wide blue letters centered at bottom.	none	12-345 123-456 (both with square dash)
	1937	Embossed white numbers on dark green plate with border line; "MAINE 1937" embossed in white block letters centered above numbers	"VACATIONLAND" embossed in white block letters centered below numbers	123-456	1 to 162-000
	1938	Embossed dark green numbers on light green plate with border line; "MAINE 1938" embossed in dark green block letters centered above numbers	"VACATIONLAND" embossed in dark green block letters centered below numbers	123-456	1 to 157-000
	1939	Embossed silver numbers on dark green plate with border line; "MAINE 1939" embossed in silver block letters centered above numbers	"VACATIONLAND" embossed in silver block letters centered below numbers	123-456	1 to 160-000
	1940	Embossed dark green numbers on silver plate with border line; "MAINE 1940" embossed in dark green block letters centered above numbers	"VACATIONLAND" embossed in dark green block letters centered below numbers	123-456	1 to 165-000
	1941	Embossed red numbers on silver plate with border line; "MAINE 1941" embossed in red block letters centered above numbers	"VACATIONLAND" embossed in red block letters centered below numbers	123-456	1 to 170-000
	1942–43	Embossed black numbers on beige plate with border line; "MAINE 1942" embossed in black block letters centered above numbers	"VACATIONLAND" embossed in black block letters centered below numbers	123-456	1 to 177-000	Revalidated for 1943 with windshield stickers.
	1944	Embossed yellow numbers on black plate with border line; "MAINE 1944" embossed in yellow block letters centered above numbers	"VACATIONLAND" embossed in yellow block letters centered below numbers	123-456	1 to 155-000
	1945	Embossed dark blue numbers on white plate with border line; "MAINE 1945" embossed in dark blue block letters centered above numbers	"VACATIONLAND" embossed in dark blue block letters centered below numbers	123-456	1 to 155-000
	1946–47	Embossed white numbers on dark blue plate with border line; "MAINE 1946" embossed in white block letters centered above numbers	"VACATIONLAND" embossed in white block letters centered below numbers	123-456	1 to 204-000	Revalidated for 1947 with windshield stickers.
	1948–49	Embossed orange numbers on black plate with border line; "MAINE 1948" embossed in orange block letters centered above numbers	"VACATIONLAND" embossed in orange block letters centered below numbers	123-456	1 to 223-000	Revalidated for 1949 with silver tabs.
	1950–55	Embossed black numbers on white plate with border line; "MAINE" embossed in black block letters offset to left above numbers, with metal tab slots to right	"VACATIONLAND" embossed in black block letters centered below numbers	123-456	1 to 375-000	Revalidated for 1951 with red tabs, for 1952 with green tabs, for 1953 with gold tabs, for 1954 with silver tabs, and for 1955 with blue tabs.
	1956	Embossed black numbers on gold plate with border line; "MAINE 56" embossed in wide black block letters centered above numbers, with metal tab slots either side of year	"VACATIONLAND" embossed in narrow black block letters centered below numbers	123-456	1 to 264-000	Revalidated for 1957 with red tabs, for 1958 with green tabs, for 1959 with white tabs, for 1960 with dark blue tabs, and for 1961 with orange tabs.
	1957–61	As above, but without embossed year			264-001 to 463-000
	1962	Embossed black numbers on white plate with border line; "MAINE 62" embossed in wide black block letters offset to left above numbers, with metal tab slots either side of year	"VACATIONLAND" embossed in narrow black block letters centered below numbers	123-456	1 to 384-000	Revalidated for 1963 with yellow tabs, for 1964 with dark blue tabs, for 1965 with red tabs, for 1966 with yellow tabs, and for 1967 with black tabs.
	1963–67	As above, but without embossed year			384-001 to 617-000
	1968	Embossed black numbers on yellow plate with border line; "MAINE 68" embossed in wide black block letters offset to left above numbers, with metal tab slots either side of year	"VACATIONLAND" embossed in narrow black block letters centered below numbers	123-456	1 to 395-000	Revalidated with stickers; tab slots on 1968 plates never used.
	1969–73	As above, but without embossed year and metal tab slots			395-001 to 793-000
	1974–75	Embossed black numbers on white plate with border line; "MAINE 74" embossed in wide black block letters offset to left above numbers	"VACATIONLAND" embossed in narrow black block letters centered below numbers	123-456	1 to 488-000; 502-001 to 510-000
	1975–78	As above, but with simply "MAINE" offset to left above numbers			488-001 to 502-000; 510-001 to 875-000	Embossed year replaced by stickers.
	1978–79	As above, but with "MAINE" centered above numbers			875-001 to 999-999
	1979 – June 30, 1987			12345 A	1 A to 52000 N
	July 1, 1987 – May 1990	Embossed navy blue numbers on white plate with border line; red American lobster screened behind numbers offset to right; "MAINE" screened in wide red block letters centered at top	"Vacationland" (with enlarged 'V') screened in same letters as state name, centered at bottom	12345 A	1 P to 99999 Z
	May 1990 – September 1991			1234 AA (both letters same)	1 AA to 9999 ZZ
	September 1991 – April 1993			1234 AB (both letters different)	1 AB to 9999 AY
	April 1993 – June 30, 1999				1 AZ to 2999 ES	Narrower dies.
	July 1, 1999 – present	Embossed black on reflective white with black border; pine forest silhouette screen at bottom, with black-capped chickadee roosting on a pine branch with cone to far left; MAINE in wide serifed block letters screened above numbers	Vacationland in black plain serifed italicized text screened below numbers over trees	1234 AB (offset to right, not covering chickadee logo)	1 GA to 9999 VG (as of February 1, 2016)

Optional types

Image	Type	Dates issued	Design	Slogan	Serial format	Serials issued	Notes
	Lobster	May 1, 2003 – present	Embossed navy blue numbers on graphic plate featuring a coast scene with green cliffs, a grey boathouse and a red American lobster at the far left; navy blue border line around plate; "MAINE" screened in black serifed letters centered at top	"Lobster" screened in same letters as state name, centered at bottom	123-ABC	101-AAA to 999-ABZ; 101-AEA to present	Proceeds go towards the Maine Lobster Research, Education and Development Fund.
	Black Bear	November 3, 2003 – present	Embossed black numbers on white and pale blue gradient plate with border line; logo of the Maine Black Bears screened at far left; "MAINE" screened in light blue serifed letters centered at top	Light blue band screened at bottom with "The University of Maine" in black serifed letters in the center	123-ABC	101-ACA to present	Proceeds go towards the Maine Black Bears Scholarship Fund.
	Agriculture	October 1, 2007 – present	Embossed black numbers on graphic plate featuring an orange and yellow gradient sky, green hills, a farmhouse, a forest and black silhouettes of an old man and a young girl at the far left; black border line around plate; "MAINE" screened in wide black serifed letters centered at top	"Support Local Agriculture" screened in white italic cursive letters centered at bottom	123-ABC	101-AGA to 999-AGZ; 101-ANA to present	Proceeds go towards the Maine Agriculture Education Fund.
	Support Our Troops	November 1, 2007 – present	Embossed black numbers on white plate with border line; dark green forest screened at bottom and yellow ribbon on dark green three-dimensional state icon screened at far left; "MAINE" screened in wide black serifed letters centered at top	"We Support Our Troops" screened in yellow italic block letters centered at bottom	123-ABC	101-AJA to present	Proceeds go towards members of the Maine National Guard and their families.
	Breast Cancer	October 1, 2008 – present	Embossed pink numbers on white plate with border line; pink ribbon on magenta state icon screened at far left; "MAINE" screened in purple serifed letters centered at top	"early detection saves lives" screened in purple italic cursive letters centered at bottom	123-ABC	101-ALA to 999-ALZ; 101-ATA to present	Proceeds go towards the Breast Cancer Services Special Program Fund of the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention.

External links

• Maine license plates 1969-present