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

Current Georgia peach tree license plate

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 1956 (dated 1957) issue was the first Georgia license plate that fully complied with these standards: the 1954 (dated 1955) and 1955 (dated 1956) issues were six inches in height by twelve inches in width, but had non-standard mounting holes.

Image	Dates issued	Design	Slogan	Serial format	Serials issued	Notes
	1910-11	Black on aluminum	none	1234	1 to approximately 9500
	1912	Black on yellow	none	12345	1 to approximately 15900
	1913	Black on white	none	12345	1 to approximately 19400
	1914	Black on white with border line; "GA 1914" at right	none	12345	1 to approximately 20500
	1915	White on black porcelain with border line; "GA. 1915" at right	none	12345	1 to approximately 25000
	1916	Black on white with border line; "GA 16" at right	none	12345	1 to approximately 47500
	1917	White on black with border line; "GA 1917" at right	none	12345	1 to approximately 67500
	1918	Black on light green with border line; "GA 1918" at right	none	12345	1 to approximately 95500
	1919	Black on white with border line; "GA 1919" at right	none	123456	1 to approximately 118500
	1920	White on dark green with border line; "GA 20" at right	none	123-456	1 to approximately 145-000
	1921	Dark green on white with border line; "GA 21" at right	none	123-456	1 to approximately 133-000
	1922	White on black with border line; "GA 22" at right	none	123-456	1 to approximately 151-000
	1923	White on brown with border line; "GA 23" at left	none	123-456	1 to approximately 147-000
	1924	Black on gray with border line; "GA. 1924" at bottom	none	123-456	1 to approximately 177-000
	1925	White on dark blue with border line; "GA. 25" at top	none	123-456	1 to approximately 221-000
	1926	White on red with border line; "GA. 1926" at bottom	none	123-456	1 to approximately 237-000
	1927	Black on yellow with border line; vertical "GA-27" as separator	none	123-456	1 to approximately 265-000
	1928	White on dark blue with border line; "GA. 1928" at bottom	none	123-456	1 to approximately 294-000
	1929	Golden yellow on black with border line; vertical "GA-29" as separator; vertical "FRONT" or "REAR" at right	none	123-456A	1A to approximately 316-000D (see right)	Front and rear plates issued; this practice continued until 1942. First use of weight classes, with the letters A, B, C and D used in order from the heaviest vehicles to the lightest, and a block of serials assigned to each class.
	1930	Black on gray with border line; "GEORGIA–1930" at top	none	123-456A	1A to approximately 349-000D (see right)	First use of full state name. Weight class letters and method of assigning serials to each class same as 1929.
	1931	White on dark green with border line; "GA–31" at top	none	A1234 1A234	A1 to Z9999; 0A1 to 9Z999	Four weight classes as in 1929 and 1930; separate blocks of serials for regular and locking-bar plates assigned to each class.
		White on dark green with border line; "GA" at top left, "31" at top right and space for locking bar at top middle	none
	1932	White on dark blue with border line; "GA–32" at top	none	12345A	Coded by weight class (A)	Letters A, B, C and D used in order from the heaviest vehicles to the lightest, as in 1929 and 1930, but with serials in each class starting from 1. Letter E added for the lightest class when 99999D was reached. These practices continued until 1936.
	1933	Dark blue on orange with border line; "GA–33" at top	none	12-345A	Coded by weight class (A)
	1934	Orange on dark blue with border line; "GEORGIA" at top and "1934" at bottom	none	12-345A	Coded by weight class (A)
	1935	Dark blue on orange with border line; "GEORGIA" at bottom and "1935" at top	none	12-345A	Coded by weight class (A)
	1936	As 1934 base, but with "1936" at bottom	none	123-456	1 to approximately 331-000
	1937	As 1935 base, but with "1937" at top	none	123-456	1 to approximately 364-000
	1938	As 1934 base, but with "1938" at bottom	none	12-345A	Coded by weight class (A)
	1939	Dark blue on yellow with border line; "GEORGIA" at bottom and "1939" at top	none	12-345A	Coded by weight class (A)
	1940	Orange on green with border line; peach graphic at bottom with "GA" to left and "40" to right, or no peach graphic at top with "GA" to left and "40" to right	Peach State	A12-345	Coded by weight class (A)
	1941	Reflective yellow on dark blue with border line; peach sticker in the center; "GA 41" at top	Peach State	123-45A 123-4EX	Coded by weight class (A)	First reflectorized passenger plate in the United States, and also the first to use a sticker of any kind.[1][2]
	1942	Reflective white and red on dark blue with border line; "1942" at top and "GEORGIA" at bottom	none	A12-345	Coded by weight class (A)	Revalidated for 1943 with date strips.
	1944	Reflective yellow on black with border line; "GA 44" at left	none	A123456	Coded by weight class (A)
	1945	White embossed lettering and border on black base	none	A-12345 A/B-12345	unknown
	1946	Black embossed lettering and border on unpainted aluminum base	none	A-12345 A/B-12345	unknown
	1947	Brown embossed lettering and border on cream base	Peach state	A-12345 A/B-12345	unknown
	1948	Black embossed lettering and border on unpainted aluminum base	Peach state	A-12345 A/B-12345	unknown
	1949	Red embossed lettering and border on unpainted aluminum base	Peach state	A-12345 A/B-12345	unknown
	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
	1952	White embossed lettering and border on black base	Peach state	A-12345 A/B-12345	unknown
	1953	Orange embossed lettering and border on black base	Peach state	A-12345 A/B-12345	unknown
	1954	Black embossed lettering and border on yellow 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
	1956	White 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.[3]
	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 2000, beginning with the XAQ series.
	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, peach tree, and peaches	Peach State GEORGIA	ABC1234	PAA0000 to PEZ9999; PMA0000 to QAL9999 or higher (except QAA0000 to QAH9999), then CAR0000 and up (currently CGP9999 as of May 17, 2017, alternating with plain peach plates)	On both these bases, "In God We Trust" can be printed at the bottom in place of the county name. Flat dies changed in mid 2016 on both bases. Somewhere in between PQQ and RAC (left) and QAJ and RBA (below)
	May 2012 – present	Black on white; peach in center	GEORGIA	ABC1234	PFA0000 to PLZ9999; QAA0000 to QAH9999 or higher, then CAR0000 and up (currently CGP9999 as of May 17, 2017, alternating with peach tree plates)

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.^[4][5]

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.^[6] 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