Vehicle registration plates of Rhode Island

The U.S. state of Rhode Island first required its residents to register their motor vehicles and display license plates in 1904.

Passenger baseplates 1934 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 Rhode Island license plate that complied with these standards.

Image	Dates issued	Design	Slogan	Serial format	Serials issued	Notes
	1934	Embossed gray letters on black base, with border; "1934 RHODE ISLAND" embossed at bottom.	none	12-345
	1938	Embossed white letters on black base; "R.I. 1938" embossed at bottom.	none	A1234
	1957–58	Embossed black numbers on white plate with border line; "RHODE ISLAND 57" embossed in black block letters above numbers	none	AB123	AA1 to WW999	Letters I, Q and U not used, and X, Y and Z used only on replacement plates.[1] Revalidated for 1958 with black tabs.
	1959–60	Embossed white numbers on black plate with border line; "RHODE ISLAND 59" embossed in white block letters above numbers	none	AB123	AA1 to WW999	Unused and replacement letters same as on 1957–58 base. Revalidated for 1960 with white tabs.
	1961–66	Embossed black numbers on white plate with border line; "RHODE ISLAND" embossed in black block letters offset to left above numbers	none	AB123	AA1 to WW999; AI1 to approximately KX500	Revalidated each year with stickers, placed to the right of the state name. Letters I, Q, U, X, Y and Z used in standard serials from 1965 after the original allocation was exhausted.[1]
	1967–71	Embossed black numbers on white plate with border line; "RHODE ISLAND" embossed in black block letters centered below numbers	"DISCOVER" embossed in black block letters centered above numbers	AB·123	AA·100 to ZZ·999 (see right)	Revalidated with stickers until 1980. After KZ·999 was issued, the letters I, Q, U, X, Y and Z were not used until WW·999 was reached in 1969, after which all serials with Q, U, X, Y and Z in the first position were issued.[1]
	1972–79	As 1967–71 base	"OCEAN STATE" embossed in black block letters centered above numbers	AB-123	Unused and reissued 1967–71 serials	Issued only to new registrants. During 1977, some plates were manufactured in New York, using that state's number dies (with the letters taller than the digits) and omitting the slogan.
	1980–96	Embossed royal blue on white, with border and "RHODE ISLAND" centered below numbers	"OCEAN STATE" (same as 1972, but with embossed anchor to left of left screw hole)	AB-123		First year of blue plates; first year of anchor logo (styled after anchor in the Seal of Rhode Island)
	1996–present	Navy blue on stylized grey and white wave graphic; navy blue serifed screened "Rhode Island" above numbers with anchor screened to left of left screw hole	"Ocean State" (same font and color as Rhode Island, screened)	12345 (variable number of digits) AB-12 and AB-123 123-456	1 to 99999 AA-00 to ZZ-999 (1996-2007, 2015-Present) 710-001 (issued in reversed sequential order) (2007 to 2015)	Colloquially referred to as "wave plates"

Optional types

Image	Dates issued	Design	Slogan	Serial format	Serials issued	Notes
	1992–present	Dark blue on white with grey sailboat graphic; red "RHODE ISLAND" in serifed font screened above numbers, offset, with five stripes to left of "Rhode" and right of "Island"; blue bar with thirteen white stars along bottom of plate (approximately 1/4" high, 1/8" above bottom)	"Ocean State" (screened in blue above star bar)	as requested by registrant: 12345 AB-12 and AB-123

References

External links

• Rhode Island license plates 1969-present