Vehicle registration plates of Ohio facts for kids

In Ohio, all drivers must register their vehicles and display special license plates. This rule started in 1908. Before that, some cities in Ohio, like Cleveland, had their own license plates as early as 1902.

Today, the Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles (BMV) issues these plates. The BMV is part of the Ohio Department of Public Safety. Since July 1, 2020, most vehicles only need a license plate on the back. However, drivers can sometimes ask for a second, special plate for an extra cost.

Did you know that people in Ohio prisons make all the license plates? They work for Ohio Penal Industries at the Lebanon Correctional Institution. Since 2015, the plates have been made from aluminum. Before that, they were made from galvanized steel. The BMV usually creates a new license plate design every five years or when a new governor takes office.

Ohio's current license plate design is called "Sunrise in Ohio." Governor Mike DeWine showed it off on October 21, 2021. Drivers could start getting these new plates on December 29, 2021. This new design replaced the "Ohio Pride" plate, which had been used since April 2013.

How Ohio License Plates Started

On May 19, 1902, Cleveland was one of the first cities in the United States to require drivers to show special numbers on their vehicles. Over the next few years, many other cities and towns in Ohio also started issuing their own metal license plates. These plates had different designs and numbers.

In 1906, the state of Ohio tried to take over vehicle registration with a law called the Ward Automobile Law. But there were some legal challenges, and it took time for the law to be approved. Finally, the Ohio Supreme Court said the law was valid.

The state's Automobile Division was created in 1907. This group later became the Bureau of Motor Vehicles (BMV) that we know today. The Ward Law officially began on June 11, 1908. However, the Automobile Division couldn't issue plates right away because of a problem with how they were made.

The very first state vehicle registration was given to Thomas B. Paxton, Jr., from Cincinnati, for his Franklin car. By 1909, the state's plates replaced all the local city plates for cars. But motorcycles continued to use local plates until 1914.

Changes to Ohio License Plates Over Time

The Ward Law said that cars needed plates on both the front and back. For over 100 years, passenger cars in Ohio had both front and rear plates. The only time this changed was from 1944 to 1946. During World War II, only rear plates were issued to save metal for the war effort.

From 1910 to 1973, Ohio issued new license plates every year. But in 1943 and 1952, drivers used stickers on their windshields to show that their plates from the previous year were still valid. This was also done to save metal during World War II and the Korean War.

Early Ohio license plates, from 1908 to 1921, used special symbols or letters instead of writing out "OHIO" completely. The 1938 plate was special because it celebrated 150 years since the Northwest Territory was created. Ohio was formed from this territory. This was the first plate in Ohio to have a picture and a slogan! In 1953, the BMV celebrated Ohio's 150th birthday as a state. They issued a special front plate with the shape of Ohio and the words "sesqui-centennial."

A golf cart in Put-in-Bay displaying an Ohio Bicentennial passenger plate.

From 1935 to 1979, license plate numbers were given out in groups for each of Ohio's 88 counties. At first, numbers had one or two letters and up to five characters. As more people got cars, six-character numbers were introduced in 1949. Then, in 1962, plates started having only numbers. This system of giving numbers by county stopped in 1980.

In 1956, the United States, Canada, and Mexico agreed to make license plates a standard size. Most car plates became 6 inches tall and 12 inches wide. The 1956 (dated 1957) Ohio plate was the first to fully follow these new rules.

Since 1983, plates have included a sticker showing the county where the car was registered. At first, this was a long sticker with the county name at the bottom. In 1992, Ohio started using a number system for counties. A red sticker with a two-digit number showed the county. This system was first used on special plates. Then, it was used on regular plates from 2001 to 2018. After 2018, regular plates went back to using county name stickers.

On April 3, 2019, Governor Mike DeWine signed a new law. This law said that cars no longer needed a front license plate. This change started on July 1, 2020.

Ohio Passenger License Plates

Ohio has had many different license plate designs over the years. Here are some of the main ones:

Plates from 1908 to 1973

Image	Years Used	Design	Slogan	Number Style	Notes
	1908–09	White numbers on a dark blue plate; "OH" symbol on the right	none	12345
	1910	White numbers on a wood-colored plate; "OHIO" and "1910" on the sides	none	12345
	1911	Black numbers on a white plate; "OHIO" and "1911" on the sides	none	12345
12345	1912	Green numbers on a white metal plate; "OHIO" and "1912" on the sides	none	12345
12345	1913	Maroon numbers on a white metal plate; "OHIO" and "1913" on the sides	none	12345
	1914	Red numbers on a white metal plate; "OHIO" symbol and "1914" on the left	none	123456
	1915	Black numbers on a white metal plate; "OHIO" symbol and "1915" on the left	none	123456
123456	1916	White numbers on a black metal plate; "OHIO 1916" on the left	none	123456
	1917	Black numbers on a yellow metal plate; "OHIO" and "1917" on the sides	none	123456
123456	1918	Raised white numbers on a dark green plate; "OHIO" symbol and "1918" on the right	none	123456	This was the first plate with raised (embossed) numbers.
	1919	Raised white numbers on a maroon plate; "OHIO" symbol and "1919" on the left	none	123456
123456	1920	Raised white numbers on a dark blue plate; "OHIO" symbol on the left and "19" over "20" on the right	none	123456
	1921	Raised white numbers on a forest green plate; "OHIO" symbol on the left and "19" over "21" on the right	none	123456
	1922	Raised dark blue numbers on a white plate; "OHIO-1922" at the bottom	none	123.456
	1923	Raised red numbers on a gray plate; "OHIO-1923" at the bottom	none	123.456
	1924	Raised white numbers on a dark blue plate; "OHIO-1924" at the bottom	none	123-456
				★12-345
	1925	Raised black numbers on a cream plate; "OHIO-1925" at the bottom	none	123-456 ★12-345
	1926	Raised white numbers on a brown plate; "OHIO-1926" at the bottom	none	123-456 ★12-345 A12-345
	1927	Raised black numbers on a gray plate; "OHIO-1927" at the bottom	none	123-456 ★12-345 A12-345
	1928	Raised white numbers on a dark blue plate; "OHIO-1928" at the bottom	none	123-456 ★12-345 A12-345
	1929	Raised black numbers on a light green plate; "OHIO-1929" at the bottom	none	123-456 A12-345
	1930	Raised white numbers on a maroon plate; "OHIO-1930" at the bottom	none	123-456 A12-345
No image	1931	Raised black numbers on a gray plate; "OHIO-1931" at the bottom	none	123-456 A12-345
No image	1932	Raised white numbers on a dark blue plate; "OHIO-1932" at the bottom	none	123-456 A12-345
	1933	Raised black numbers on an orange plate; "OHIO-1933" at the top	none	123-456 A12-345
	1934	Raised white numbers on a maroon plate; "OHIO-1934" at the bottom	none	123-456 A12-345
	1935	Raised yellow numbers on a dark blue plate with a border; "OHIO - 1935" at the bottom	none	A·1234 AB·123	Numbers were given out in groups by county.
	1936	Raised blue numbers on a white plate with a border; "OHIO - 1936" at the bottom	none	A·1234 AB·123	Numbers were given out in groups by county.
	1937	Raised maroon numbers on a white plate with a border; "OHIO - 1937" at the bottom	none	A·1234 AB·123	Numbers were given out in groups by county.
	1938	Raised black numbers on a white plate with a border; covered wagon picture at the bottom; "OHIO·38" on the right	"150 ANNIV· N·W·TERR·" on the left	A·1234 AB·123	Celebrated 150 years since the Northwest Territory was created.
	1939	Raised blue numbers on a white plate with a border; "OHIO - 1939" at the bottom	none	A·1234 AB·123	Numbers were given out in groups by county.
	1940	Raised white numbers on a dark blue plate with a border; "OHIO - 1940" at the bottom	none	A·1234 AB·123	Numbers were given out in groups by county.
	1941	Raised white numbers on a maroon plate with a border; "OHIO - 1941" at the bottom	none	A·1234 AB·123	Numbers were given out in groups by county.
	1942–43	Raised dark green numbers on a white plate with a border; "OHIO - 1942" at the bottom	none	A·1234 AB·123	Used for 1943 with windshield stickers to save metal during World War II.
	1944	Raised white numbers on a dark blue plate with a border; "OHIO - 1944" at the bottom	none	A·1234 AB·123	Numbers were given out in groups by county.
	1945	Raised black numbers on a white plate with a border; "OHIO - 1945" at the bottom	none	A·1234 AB·123	Numbers were given out in groups by county.
	1946	Raised red numbers on a white plate with a border; "OHIO - 1946" at the bottom	none	A·1234 AB·123	Numbers were given out in groups by county.
	1947	Raised white numbers on a dark green plate with a border; "1947 - OHIO" at the bottom	none	A·1234 AB·123	Numbers were given out in groups by county.
	1948	Raised black numbers on a light yellow plate with a border; "OHIO - 1948" at the bottom	none	A·1234 AB·123	Numbers were given out in groups by county.
	1949	Raised light yellow numbers on a black plate with a border; "1949 - OHIO" at the bottom	none	A·12345 AB·1234	Numbers were given out in groups by county.
	1950	Raised black numbers on a yellow plate with a border; "OHIO - 1950" at the bottom	none	A·12345 AB·1234	Numbers were given out in groups by county.
	1951–52	Raised white numbers on a dark blue plate with a border; "1951 - OHIO" at the bottom	none	A·12345 AB·1234	Used for 1952 with windshield stickers to save metal during the Korean War.
	1953	Raised yellow numbers on a dark green plate with a border; "1803 - OHIO - 1953" at the bottom	none	A·12345 AB·1234	Celebrated Ohio's 150 years as a state.
	1954	Raised white numbers on a maroon plate with a border; "OHIO - 1954" at the bottom	none	A·12345 AB·1234	Numbers were given out in groups by county.
	1955	Raised white numbers on a dark blue plate with a border; "1955 - OHIO" at the bottom	none	A·12345 AB·1234	Numbers were given out in groups by county.
	1956	Raised white numbers on a dark green plate with a border; "OHIO - 1956" at the bottom	none	A·12345 AB·1234	Numbers were given out in groups by county.
	1957	Raised white numbers on a maroon plate with a border; "1957 - OHIO" at the bottom	none	A·12345 AB·1234	Numbers were given out in groups by county.
	1958	Raised white numbers on a dark blue plate with a border; "OHIO - 1958" at the bottom	none	A·12345 AB·1234	Numbers were given out in groups by county.
	1959	Raised red numbers on a white plate with a border; "1959 - OHIO" at the bottom	none	A·12345 AB·1234	Numbers were given out in groups by county.
	1960	Raised blue numbers on a yellow plate with a border; "OHIO - 1960" at the bottom	none	A·12345 AB·1234	Numbers were given out in groups by county.
	1961	Raised white numbers on a green plate with a border; "1961 - OHIO" at the bottom	none	A·12345 AB·1234	Numbers were given out in groups by county.
	1962	Raised white numbers on a maroon plate with a border; "OHIO - 1962" at the bottom	none	12345 A·12345	Numbers were given out in groups by county.
	1963	Raised white numbers on a dark blue plate with a border; "1963 - OHIO" at the bottom	none	12345 A·12345	Numbers were given out in groups by county.
	1964	Raised white numbers on a dark green plate with a border; "OHIO - 1964" at the bottom	none	12345 A·12345	Numbers were given out in groups by county.
	1965	Raised red numbers on a white plate with a border; "1965 - OHIO" at the bottom	none	12345 A·12345	Numbers were given out in groups by county.
	1966	Raised white numbers on a red plate with a border; "OHIO 1966" at the bottom	none	12345 A 12345	Numbers were given out in groups by county.
	1967	Raised white numbers on a blue plate with a border; "67 OHIO" at the bottom	none	12345 A 12345	Over 1.4 million plates were destroyed in a fire at the prison plate shop in November 1966. Other states helped make replacement plates.
	1968	Raised red numbers on a white plate with a border; "OHIO 68" at the bottom	none	12345 A 12345	Most plates were made in New York while Ohio's plate shop was being fixed.
	1969	Raised blue numbers on a white plate with a border; "69 OHIO" at the bottom	none	12345 A 12345	Some plates were still made in New York. Ohio's plate shop was fully repaired by 1970.
	1970	Raised scarlet numbers on a gray plate with a border; "OHIO 70" at the bottom	none	12345 A 12345	These plates used the colors of Ohio State University to celebrate its 100th birthday.
	1971	Raised black numbers on a yellow plate with a border; "71 OHIO" at the bottom	none	12345 A 12345
	1972	Raised yellow numbers on a dark blue plate with a border; "OHIO 72" at the bottom	none	12345 A 12345
	1973	Raised white numbers on a green plate with a border; "73 OHIO" at the bottom	"SEAT BELTS FASTENED?" at the top	12345 A 12345

Plates from 1974 to Today

All Ohio passenger plates issued since October 2001 are still valid today if they have been registered continuously. Some older "Ohio Gold" plates, made from 1996 to 2001, needed to be replaced by 2022. This was because the reflective material on them had worn out.

Image	Years Used	Design	Slogan	Number Style	Notes
	1974–75	Raised green numbers on a reflective white plate with a border; "OHIO 74" at the bottom	"SEAT BELTS FASTENED?" at the top	123456 A 12345	Used for 1975 with stickers.
	1976–79	Raised red numbers on a reflective white plate with a border; "OHIO" at the bottom	none	123456 A 12345
	1980–84	Raised blue numbers with an Ohio-shaped separator on a reflective white plate; "OHIO" at the top	none	ABC•123	Letters I and O were only used as the second letter. County stickers were added in 1983.
	1985 – December 1990	Raised green numbers with an Ohio-shaped separator on a reflective white plate; "OHIO" at the top	none	123•ABC
	January 1991 – November 1995	Raised blue numbers with an Ohio-shaped separator on a reflective white plate; "OHIO" in blue at the top	"the heart of it all!" in red between the state name and numbers	ABC•123
	November 1995 – July 1996				Numbers were made with narrower tools. Both types of plates were valid until 2002.
	August 1996 – mid-1997	"Ohio Gold": Raised dark blue numbers on a reflective white and gold plate; "OHIO" in dark blue at the top	"the heart of it all!" in red between the state name and numbers	ABC 1234	These plates were only given to new car registrations. Gold plates were valid until 2022.
	Mid-1997 – September 2001		"BIRTHPLACE OF AVIATION" in red between the state name and numbers
	October 2001 – February 2004	"Bicentennial": Raised dark blue numbers on a reflective white plate with the Ohio Bicentennial Commission logo and red and blue bars	Ohio Bicentennial; Birthplace of Aviation	AB12CD	Letters I and O were not used in this number style.
	February 2004 – November 30, 2010	"Sunburst": Raised dark blue numbers on a reflective white plate with the state seal and red and blue bars	Birthplace of Aviation	ABC 1234	This plate was issued at the same time as the "Beautiful Ohio" plate starting in 2009.
	November 23, 2009 – April 14, 2013	"Beautiful Ohio": Raised dark blue numbers on a picture of rolling hills with a farm, city skyline, and a biplane	Beautiful Ohio; Birthplace of Aviation	ABC 1234	This plate was first an option, then became the standard plate in December 2010. It was designed by Frances Strickland.
	April 15, 2013 – December 28, 2021	"Ohio Pride": Raised dark blue numbers on a background of words and a red triangle like an airplane wing	Birthplace of Aviation; DiscoverOhio.com; Many other slogans	ABC 1234	Any remaining "Beautiful Ohio" plates were melted down and reused for this design. This plate was designed by Aaron Roberts. It was easy to read but some people said it was hard to see the words in the background.
	December 29, 2021 – present	"Sunrise in Ohio": Dark blue numbers printed flat on a picture of a sunrise with a city, hills, river, wheat field, and a child swinging from a tree. It also has a Wright Flyer, the shape of Ohio, and a red banner with the slogan at the top.	Birthplace of Aviation	ABC 1234	All new Ohio plates are now flat, not raised. Some early "Sunrise in Ohio" plates had a mistake where the Wright Flyer was flying backward. About 35,000 of these were made before the mistake was fixed. These plates will also be melted and reused.

Special Ohio License Plates

Ohio law allows the Bureau of Motor Vehicles to issue many different kinds of special passenger plates.

Image	Years Used	Design	Slogan	Number Style	Notes
	1967–present	Red numbers on a yellow plate	none	123456 1234567	These plates are for drivers who have special driving permissions after breaking certain rules. They have been issued since 1967, but became required for all such drivers in 2004.

Renewal Stickers

Designs of tax and renewal stickers used from 1968 to 1991

Designs of renewal stickers used since 1991

Drivers in Ohio use small stickers to show that their license plate registration is up to date. These stickers are placed on the license plate. The designs of these stickers have changed over the years.

Other Types of Ohio Plates

Ohio also issues different types of license plates for vehicles other than regular passenger cars. These include plates for commercial trailers, motorcycles, and trucks.

Image	Type of Vehicle	Years Used	Design	Number Style	Notes
	Apportioned	2013–2021	Looks like the "Ohio Pride" passenger plate, but with "APPORTIONED" at the bottom	PBC 1234
	Commercial Trailer	2013–2021	Looks like the "Ohio Pride" passenger plate, but with "TRAILER" at the bottom	TBC 1234
	Motorcycle	2004–10	Similar to the "Sunburst" passenger plate	12ABC
		2009–13	Similar to the "Beautiful Ohio" passenger plate
		2013–15	Similar to the "Ohio Pride" passenger plate
		2015–present		ABC12
	Non-Commercial Trailer	2013–2021	Looks like the "Ohio Pride" passenger plate	SBC 1234
	Truck	1996–2001	Looks like the "Ohio Gold" passenger plate, but with "TRUCK" instead of the county name at the bottom	PBC 1234
		2001–04	Looks like the "Bicentennial" passenger plate, but with "TRUCK" instead of the blue band at the bottom
		2004–10	Looks like the "Sunburst" passenger plate, but with "TRUCK" instead of the blue band at the bottom
		2009–13	Looks like the "Beautiful Ohio" passenger plate, but with "TRUCK" instead of the pictures at the bottom
		2013–2021	Looks like the "Ohio Pride" passenger plate, with "TRUCK" at the bottom

From 1976 to 1996, plates for pickup trucks and other light trucks (like SUVs) said "Non Comm" (meaning "non-commercial truck"). Large semi-trucks had plates that said "Commercial." Since 1996, most truck plates for everyday use simply say "Truck."

Temporary Tags

When you buy a vehicle from a car dealership, you get a temporary paper tag. This tag is valid for 30 or 45 days. The dealership fills out the tag by hand. Since March 2001, these tags have included a special hologram. The plate number is already printed on the tag, and the expiration date and vehicle details are written on it. Since August 2020, the Ohio Department of Public Safety has been moving towards printing temporary tags directly from a computer. They plan to stop using the old paper tags by January 2021.

County Numbers on Plates

In 1992, Ohio started using a special number system to show the county where a vehicle was registered. Each of Ohio's 88 counties was given a two-digit number, starting with 01 for Adams County and ending with 88 for Wyandot County.

This number system has been used on special license plates since it started. It was also used on regular passenger plates from 2001 to 2018. The county number is shown on small red stickers placed on the bottom left corner of the plate. These stickers also have the county name written in small letters below the number.

List of Ohio County Numbers

Images for kids

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  Church bus (1972)

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  House Vehicle (1973)

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  Non Commercial (1991-1995)

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  2002

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  2010