Vehicle registration plates of South Carolina

Current South Carolina license plate

The U.S. state of South Carolina first required its residents to register their motor vehicles and display license plates in 1917.

Passenger baseplates

1917 to 1975

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 South Carolina license plate that complied with these standards.

Dates issued	Design	Slogan	Serial format	Serials issued	Notes
1917	Black on white	none	12345	5001 to approximately 41000
1918	White on brown	none	12345	5001 to approximately 61000
1919	Dark blue on brown	none	12-345	5-001 to approximately 73-000
1920	White on black	none	12-345	5-001 to approximately 98-000
1921	Red on black	none	A12-345	Letter corresponds to weight class
1922	Embossed black numbers on white plate with border line; "SC 22" embossed at right	none	A12-345	Letter corresponds to weight class
1923	Embossed white numbers on black plate with border line; "SC 23" embossed at right	none	A12-345	Letter corresponds to weight class
1924	Embossed black numbers on orange plate with border line; "24" and black "SC" monogram embossed at right	none	A123-456	Letter corresponds to weight class
1925	Embossed white numbers on green plate with border line; white "SC" monogram and "25" embossed at right	none	A123-456	Letter corresponds to weight class
1926	Embossed red numbers on white plate with border line; "SC" embossed at right, with letters separated by embossed red Sabal palmetto containing debossed "26" in white	none	A123-456	Letter corresponds to weight class
1927	Embossed green numbers on white plate with border line; "SC" embossed at right, with letters separated by embossed green Sabal palmetto containing debossed "27" in white	none	A123-456	Letter corresponds to weight class
1928	Embossed black numbers on yellow plate with border line; "SOUTH CAROLINA 1928" embossed in black block letters at bottom	none	A123-456	Letter corresponds to weight class	First use of the full state name.
1929	Embossed black numbers on white plate with border line; "SOUTH CAROLINA 1929" embossed in black serifed letters at bottom	none	A-12-345	Letter corresponds to weight class
1930	Embossed white numbers on black plate with border line; "SOUTH CAROLINA 1930" embossed in white block letters at bottom	"IODINE" embossed vertically in white serifed letters at far right	A-12-345	Letter corresponds to weight class	The slogan referred to the high amounts of iodine found in South Carolina's produce. Similar slogans were used through 1933.
1931	Embossed green numbers on gray plate with border line; "S.C." embossed in green block letters in bottom left corner and "31" in bottom right corner	"THE IODINE STATE" embossed in green block letters at bottom, between state abbreviation and year	A-12-345	Letter corresponds to weight class
1932	Embossed black numbers on golden yellow plate with border line; "S.C." embossed in black block letters in top left corner and "32" in top right corner	"THE IODINE STATE" embossed in black block letters at top, between state abbreviation and year	A-12-345	Letter corresponds to weight class
January – October 1933	Embossed black numbers on white plate with border line; "SC 33" embossed in black block letters at far right	"THE IODINE PRODUCTS STATE" embossed in black block letters at bottom	A-12-345	Letter corresponds to weight class
November 1933 – April 1934	Embossed black numbers on yellow plate; "SC · EXPIRES APR 30 · 34" embossed in black block letters at top	none	A-12-345	Letter corresponds to weight class
May – October 1934	Embossed yellow numbers on black plate; "SC · EXPIRES OCT 31 · 34" embossed in yellow block letters at bottom	none	A-12-345	Letter corresponds to weight class
November 1934 – April 1935	Embossed white numbers on black plate; "SC · APRIL 30 · 35" embossed in white block letters at top	none	A-12-345	Letter corresponds to weight class
May – October 1935	Embossed black numbers on white plate; "SC · OCTOBER 31 · 35" embossed in black block letters at bottom	none	A-12-345	Letter corresponds to weight class
November 1935 – April 1936	Embossed yellow numbers on black plate with border line; "SC · APRIL 30 · 36" embossed in yellow block letters at top	none	A-12-345	Letter corresponds to weight class
May – October 1936	Embossed black numbers on yellow plate with border line; "SC · OCTOBER 31 · 36" embossed in black block letters at bottom	none	A-12-345	Letter corresponds to weight class
November 1936 – October 1937	Embossed black numbers on white plate with border line; "SC · OCTOBER 31 · 37" embossed in black block letters at bottom	none	A·12·345	Letter corresponds to weight class
1937–38	Embossed black numbers on golden yellow plate; "SOUTH CAROLINA 38" embossed in black block letters at bottom	none	A·12·345	Letter corresponds to weight class
1938–39	Embossed black numbers on white plate; "SOUTH CAROLINA 39" embossed in black block letters at bottom	none	A·12·345	Letter corresponds to weight class
1939–40	Embossed golden yellow numbers on black plate; "SC · OCTOBER 31 · 40" embossed in golden yellow block letters at bottom	none	A·12·345	Letter corresponds to weight class
1940–41	Embossed black numbers on golden yellow plate; "SOUTH CAROLINA 41" embossed in black block letters at bottom	none	A·12·345	Letter corresponds to weight class
1941–42	Embossed golden yellow numbers on black plate; "SOUTH CAROLINA 42" embossed in golden yellow block letters at top	none	A·12·345	Letter corresponds to weight class
1942–44	Embossed black numbers on golden yellow plate; "SOUTH CAROLINA 43" embossed in black block letters at bottom	none	A·12·345	Letter corresponds to weight class	Revalidated for 1944 with green tabs, due to metal conservation for World War II.
1945	Embossed yellow numbers on green plate; "SOUTH CAROLINA 45" embossed in yellow block letters at top	none	A·12·345	Letter corresponds to weight class
1946	Embossed silver numbers on black plate; "SOUTH CAROLINA 46" embossed in silver block letters at bottom	none	A·123·456	Letter corresponds to weight class
1947	Embossed black numbers on golden yellow plate; "SOUTH CAROLINA 47" embossed in black block letters at top	none	A·123·456	Letter corresponds to weight class
1948	Embossed yellow numbers on black plate; "SOUTH CAROLINA 48" embossed in yellow block letters at bottom	none	A·123·456	Letter corresponds to weight class
1949	Embossed white numbers on black plate; "SOUTH CAROLINA 49" embossed in white block letters at top	none	A·123·456	Letter corresponds to weight class
1950	Embossed black numbers on white plate; "SOUTH CAROLINA 50" embossed in black block letters at bottom	none	A·123·456	Letter corresponds to weight class
1951	Embossed white numbers on black plate; "SOUTH CAROLINA 51" embossed in white block letters at top	none	A·123·456	Letter corresponds to weight class
1952	Embossed yellow numbers on black plate; "SOUTH CAROLINA 52" embossed in yellow block letters at bottom	none	A·123·456	Letter corresponds to weight class
1953	Embossed black numbers on golden yellow plate; "SOUTH CAROLINA 53" embossed in black block letters at top	none	A·123·456	Letter corresponds to weight class
1954	Embossed white numbers on black plate; "SOUTH CAROLINA 54" embossed in white block letters at bottom	none	A·123·456	Letter corresponds to weight class
1955	Embossed black numbers on white plate; "SOUTH CAROLINA 55" embossed in black block letters at top	none	A·123·456	Letter corresponds to weight class
1956	Embossed black numbers on yellow plate; "SOUTH CAROLINA 56" embossed in black block letters at bottom	none	A-123456	Letter corresponds to weight class
1957	Embossed white numbers on blue plate; "SOUTH CAROLINA 57" embossed in white block letters at top	none	A-123456	Letter corresponds to weight class
1958	Embossed blue numbers on white plate; "SOUTH CAROLINA 58" embossed in blue block letters at bottom	none	A-123456	Letter corresponds to weight class
1959	As 1957 base, but with "59" in place of "57"	none	A-123456	Letter corresponds to weight class
1960	As 1958 base, but with "60" in place of "58"	none	A-123456	Letter corresponds to weight class
1961	Embossed red numbers on white plate with border line; "SOUTH CAROLINA 61" embossed in red block letters at top	none	A-123456	Letter corresponds to weight class
1962	Embossed white numbers on red plate with border line; "SOUTH CAROLINA 62" embossed in white block letters at bottom	none	A-123456	Letter corresponds to weight class
1963	Embossed white numbers on green plate with border line; "SOUTH CAROLINA 63" embossed in white block letters at top	none	A-123456	Letter corresponds to weight class
1964	Embossed white numbers on black plate with border line; "SOUTH CAROLINA 64" embossed in white block letters at bottom	none	A-123456 AA-1234	First letter corresponds to weight class	Two-letter serial format introduced for each weight class, though the single-letter format continued to be used.
1965	Embossed black numbers on white plate with border line; "SOUTH CAROLINA 65" embossed in black block letters at top	none	A-123456 AA-1234	First letter corresponds to weight class
1966	Embossed white numbers on blue plate with border line; "SOUTH CAROLINA 66" embossed in white block letters at bottom	none	A 123456 AA 1234	First letter corresponds to weight class
1967	Embossed dark blue numbers on white plate with border line; "SOUTH CAROLINA" and "1967" embossed in dark blue block letters centered at top and bottom respectively	none	A 123456 AA 1234	First letter corresponds to weight class
1968	Embossed white numbers on black plate with border line; "SOUTH CAROLINA" and "AUTO" embossed in white block letters centered at top and bottom respectively; "19" embossed in bottom left corner and "68" in bottom right corner	none	A 123456	Letter corresponds to weight class
1969	Embossed white numbers on blue plate with border line; "SOUTH CAROLINA" and "1969" embossed in white block letters centered at top and bottom respectively	none	A 123456 AA 1234	First letter corresponds to weight class
1970	Embossed white numbers on green plate with border line; "SOUTH CAROLINA" embossed in white block letters centered at top	"300 YEARS" embossed in white block letters centered at bottom, with "1670" in bottom left corner and "1970" in bottom right corner	A 123456 AA 1234	First letter corresponds to weight class	Commemorated the 300th anniversary of the settlement of South Carolina.
1971	Embossed white numbers on dark red plate with border line; "SOUTH CAROLINA" and "1971" embossed in white block letters centered at top and bottom respectively	none	A 123456 AA 1234	First letter corresponds to weight class
1972	As 1968 base, but with "1972" embossed at bottom	none	ABC 123		For each three-letter series, only the numbers 101 to 250 were issued. This practice continued until 1976.
1973	As 1969 base, but with "1973" embossed at bottom	none	ABC 123
1974	As 1970 base, but with "1974" embossed at bottom	none	ABC 123
1975	As 1971 base, but in a brighter shade of red and with "1975" embossed at bottom	none	ABC 123

1976 to present

Dates issued	Design	Slogan	Serial format	Serials issued	Notes
1976 – December 1979	Embossed blue numbers on white plate; red Sabal palmetto and blue cannon screened in the center; "1775" and "1783" screened in blue on either side of cannon; red band screened at bottom containing "SOUTH CAROLINA" in white block letters in the center; debossed boxes for revalidation stickers at bottom corners	"Bicentennial" screened in blue block letters centered at top, with "1776" to the left and "1976" to the right	ABC 123	AAA 101 to WZZ 400; AAA 401 to WZZ 500	Commemorated both the US Bicentennial and the Revolutionary War. Numbers 101 to 400 issued for each three-letter series first, followed by numbers 401 to 500 from 1978.
January 1980 – December 1984	Embossed blue numbers on white plate; white state seal on pale blue state shape screened in the center; "South Carolina" screened in blue block letters centered at bottom; debossed boxes for revalidation stickers at bottom corners	none	ABC 123	AAA 101 to YZZ 500	Numbers 101 to 500 issued for each three-letter series.
January 1985 – December 1989	Embossed blue numbers on white plate; pale blue Sabal palmetto screened in the center; "SOUTH CAROLINA" screened in red serifed letters at top; debossed boxes for revalidation stickers at bottom corners	none	ABC 123	AAA 501 to ZZZ 999	Numbers 501 to 900 issued for each three-letter series, with 901 to 999 added in 1988.
January 1990 – December 1997	Embossed black numbers on white plate; Carolina wren on yellow jessamine vine screened at top; "SOUTH CAROLINA" screened in brown cursive letters centered at bottom; debossed boxes for revalidation stickers at bottom corners	none	ABC 123	AAA 101 to YZZ 500; AAA 501 to YZZ 900	Awarded "Plate of the Year" for best new license plate of 1990 by the Automobile License Plate Collectors Association, the first and, to date, only time South Carolina has been so honored. Numbers 101 to 500 issued for each three-letter series first, followed by numbers 501 to 900 from mid-1991.
January 1998 – October 2007	Embossed black numbers on reflective white plate; light blue mountain graphic screened at top and sides and Sabal palmetto in the center; "South Carolina" screened in light blue serifed letters centered at bottom; debossed boxes for revalidation stickers at bottom corners	"Smiling Faces. Beautiful Places." screened in black italic serifed letters at top	123 ABC	101 AAA to approximately 900 XBJ	Numbers 101 to 900 issued for each three-letter series, with 901 to 999 added in late 2007 at the XCR series.
October 2007^[1] – June 2008	As above, but with numbers screened rather than embossed		123 ABC	101 XBK to approximately 999 XXM
July 2008 – January 2016	Screened black numbers on multicolored sunset background with state flag motif at center	TRAVEL2SC.COM	ABC 123	AAA 101 to approximately LZC 999
February 2016 – present	Screened black numbers on white and blue background with state flag motif at center	While I Breathe, I Hope.	ABC 123	LZD 101 to NTU 999 (as of July 31, 2017)

Optional types

Image	Dates issued	Design	Slogan	Serial format	Serials issued	Notes
	February 2003 – October 2007	Embossed black numbers on light blue and white gradient plate; national and state flags on gold flagpole screened in the center; "South Carolina" screened in blue serifed letters centered at bottom	"IN GOD WE TRUST" screened in gold serifed letters centered at top, with gradient gold stripe below	123 4AB	100 1AA to approximately 400 0DT	No cost.
	October 2007 – present	As above, but with numbers screened rather than embossed		123 4AB	400 1DT to 999 9HN (as of November 22, 2015)	No cost.

Non-passenger plates

Type	Dates issued	Design	Serial format	Serials issued	Notes
Motorcycle	1995–2000	Embossed blue numbers on white plate with border line; "SOUTH CAROLINA" embossed at top	Z12345	Z10001 to Z99999	Serials ZA0001 through ZA9999 and Z/A10001 through Z/A99999 reserved for antique motorcycles.
	2000–07		ZA1234	ZB0001 to ZZ9999
	2007–08	As above, but with state name and letters in serial screened rather than embossed	Z/A12345	Z/B10001 to approximately Z/B40000
	2008–present	As above, but with all elements screened	Z/A12345	Z/B40001 to present
Truck	1996–2008	Embossed red numbers on white plate with border line; "SOUTH CAROLINA" embossed at top; "TRUCK" at bottom	P123456	P100001 to approximately P393500
	2008–15	As above, but with elements screened rather than embossed		P393501 to approximately P500000
	2015–present	Screened black numbers on white plate; "South Carolina" screened at bottom; "Property Carrying" screened at top with blue horizontal line above and red horizontal line below		P500001 to present

References

↑ "March of the Flats". The Andrew Turnbull Network. Retrieved May 28, 2017.

External links

Vehicle registration plates of the United States
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Federal district	Washington, D.C.
Insular areas	American Samoa The Marianas Guam Northern Mariana Islands Puerto Rico U.S. Virgin Islands
Other registration plates	Native American tribes Designs and serial formats
By year	1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016

Vehicle registration plates of North America
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State of South Carolina
Columbia (capital)
Regions	Atlantic Coastal Plain Blue Ridge Mountains Grand Strand High Hills of Santee Lake Murray Country Lowcountry Metrolina Midlands Ninety-Six District Olde English District Pee Dee Piedmont Sandhills Sea Islands Upstate
Larger cities	Charleston Columbia Greenville North Charleston Rock Hill Spartanburg
Smaller cities	Aiken Anderson Beaufort Bennettsville Camden Cayce Conway Easley Florence Forest Acres Gaffney Georgetown Greenwood Greer Goose Creek Hilton Head Island Isle of Palms Laurens Lexington Mauldin Myrtle Beach North Augusta North Myrtle Beach Orangeburg Simpsonville Summerville Sumter Union Walterboro West Columbia York
Towns	Abbeville Barnwell Batesburg-Leesville Bluffton Clemson Darlington Dillon Edgefield Fort Mill Fountain Inn Great Falls Hardeeville Irmo Jefferson Kingstree Liberty Marion McCormick Moncks Corner Mount Pleasant Newberry Pageland Pendleton Pickens Seneca Sullivan's Island Travelers Rest Walhalla Westminster Williamston
CDPs	Berea Carolina Forest Dentsville Gantt Garden City Ladson Parker Red Hill Saint Andrews Seven Oaks Socastee Taylors Wade Hampton
Counties	Abbeville Aiken Allendale Anderson Bamberg Barnwell Beaufort Berkeley Calhoun Charleston Cherokee Chester Chesterfield Clarendon Colleton Darlington Dillon Dorchester Edgefield Fairfield Florence Georgetown Greenville Greenwood Hampton Horry Jasper Kershaw Lancaster Laurens Lee Lexington Marion Marlboro McCormick Newberry Oconee Orangeburg Pickens Richland Saluda Spartanburg Sumter Union Williamsburg York
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