Vehicle registration plates of Nebraska
The U.S. state of Nebraska first required its residents to register their motor vehicles in 1905. Registrants provided their own license plates for display until 1915, when the state began to issue plates.[1]
 | |
| Current series | |
|---|---|
| Size | 12 in × 6 in 300 mm × 150 mm |
| Material | Aluminum |
| Serial format | Douglas, Lancaster and Sarpy Counties: ABC 123 All other counties (county-coded): 3-A1234 3-AB123 10-A123 10-AB12 |
| Introduced | January 2023 |
| Availability | |
| Issued by | Nebraska Department of Motor Vehicles |
| History | |
| First issued | 1915 |
As of 2023, plates are issued by the Nebraska Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV). Front and rear plates are required for most classes of vehicles, while only rear plates are required for motorcycles and trailers. All state-issued plates were made of steel until 1947 when aluminum plates were introduced.
Passenger baseplates
1915 to 1965
In 1956, the United States, Canada and Mexico came to an agreement with the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators, the Automobile Manufacturers Association and the National Safety Council that standardized the size for license plates for vehicles (except those for motorcycles) at 6 inches (15 cm) in height by 12 inches (30 cm) in width, with standardized mounting holes.[2] The 1955 (dated 1956) issue was the first Nebraska license plate that complied with these standards.
| Image | Dates issued | Design | Slogan | Serial format | Serials issued | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
1915 | Black on white; "NEB 1915" at right | none | 12345 | 1 to approximately 70000 | |
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1916 | White on navy blue; "NEB 1916" at right | none | 123456 | 1 to approximately 101000 | |
 |
1917 | Black on cream; "NEB 1917" at right | none | 123456 | 1 to approximately 148000 | |
 |
1918 | Yellow on black; "NEB 1918 at right" | none | 123456 | 1 to approximately 171000 | |
  |
1919–20 | Black on light green; "NEB 1919" at right | none | 123456 | 1 to approximately 273000 | Revalidated for 1920 with dark blue tab. |
 |
1921 | White on black; "NEB 1921" at right | none | 123456 | 1 to approximately 272000 | |
 |
1922 | Black on white; "NEB 1922" at right | none | 1-12345 10-1234 |
Coded by county of issuance (1 or 10) | First use of county codes. |
 |
1923 | Green on black; "NEB 1923" at right | none | 1-12345 10-1234 |
Coded by county of issuance (1 or 10) | |
|
1924 | White on black; "NEB 1924" at right | none | 1-12345 10-1234 |
Coded by county of issuance (1 or 10) | |
 |
1925 | Black on orange; "NEB 1925" at right | none | 1-12345 10-1234 |
Coded by county of issuance (1 or 10) | |
 |
1926 | White on green; "NEB 1926" at right | none | 1-12345 10-1234 |
Coded by county of issuance (1 or 10) | |
 |
1927 | White on maroon; "1927 NEB" at right | none | 1-12345 10-1234 |
Coded by county of issuance (1 or 10) | |
 |
1928 | White on dark blue; "NEB 1928" at right | none | 1-12345 10-1234 |
Coded by county of issuance (1 or 10) | |
 |
1929 | White on black; "1929 NEB" at right | none | 1-12345 10-1234 |
Coded by county of issuance (1 or 10) | |
 |
1930 | Yellow on dark blue; "NEB 1930" at right | none | 1-12345 10-1234 |
Coded by county of issuance (1 or 10) | |
 |
1931 | Red on gray; "1931 NEB" at right | none | 1-12345 10-1234 |
Coded by county of issuance (1 or 10) | |
 |
1932 | White on blue; "NEB 1932" at right | none | 1-12345 10-1234 |
Coded by county of issuance (1 or 10) | |
 |
1933 | Dark blue on orange; "1933 NEB" at right | none | 1-12345 10-1234 |
Coded by county of issuance (1 or 10) | |
 |
1934 | White on dark green; "NEBRASKA – 34" at bottom | none | 1-12345 10-1234 |
Coded by county of issuance (1 or 10) | First use of the full state name. |
 |
1935 | Black on gray; "NEBRASKA – 35" at bottom | none | 1-12345 10-1234 |
Coded by county off issuance (1 or 10) | |
 |
1936 | Silver on black; "NEBRASKA – 36" at bottom | none | 1-12345 10-1234 |
Coded by county of issuance (1 or 10) | |
 |
1937 | Black on gray; "37 – NEBRASKA" at bottom | none | 1-12345 10-1234 |
Coded by county of issuance (1 or 10) | |
 |
1938 | Silver on black; "NEBRASKA – 38" at bottom | none | 1-12345 10-1234 |
Coded by county of issuance (1 or 10) | |
|
1939 | Black on gray; "NEBRASKA – 39" at top | none | 1-12345 10-1234 |
Coded by county of issuance (1 or 10) | |
 |
1940 | Orange on turquoise with State Capitol graphic; "NEBRASKA 40" at bottom | none | 1-12345 10-1234 |
Coded by county of issuance (1 or 10) | |
 |
1941 | Dark blue on orange with State Capitol graphic; "NEBRASKA 41" at bottom | none | 1-12345 10-1234 |
Coded by county of issuance (1 or 10) | |
 |
1942–44 | Red on white; "NEBRASKA 42" at bottom | none | 1-12345 10-1234 |
Coded by county of issuance (1 or 10) | Revalidated for 1943 with dark blue tabs, and for 1944 with orange tabs, due to metal conservation for World War II. |
 |
1945 | White on black; "NEBRASKA 45" at bottom | none | 1-12345 10-1234 |
Coded by county of issuance (1 or 10) | |
  |
1946–47 | White on brick red; "46 NEBRASKA" at top | none | 1-12345 10-12345 |
Coded by county of issuance (1 or 10) | Revalidated for 1947 with brown tabs. |
 |
1948 | Dark blue on unpainted aluminum; "19 NEBRASKA 48" at bottom | none | 1-12345 10-12345 |
Coded by county of issuance (1 or 10) | |
 |
1949 | Maroon on unpainted aluminum; "19 NEBRASKA 49" at top | none | 1-12345 10-12345 |
Coded by county of issuance (1 or 10) | |
 |
1950 | Dark blue on white; "19 NEBRASKA 50" at top | none | 1-12345 10-12345 |
Coded by county of issuance (1 or 10) | |
 |
1951 | White on black; "NEBRASKA 51" at bottom | none | A1234A AB123A |
Coded by county of issuance (A or AB) | |
 |
1952–53 | Black on golden yellow; "NEBRASKA 52" at bottom | none | 1-12345 10-12345 |
Coded by county of issuance (1 or 10) | Revalidated for 1953 with black tabs. |
 |
1954 | Golden yellow on black; "NEBRASKA 54" at top | none | 1-12345 10-12345 |
Coded by county of issuance (1 or 10) | |
 |
1955 | Black on golden yellow; "NEBRASKA 55" at bottom | none | 1-12345 10-12345 |
Coded by county of issuance (1 or 10) | |
 |
1956 | White on black with border line; "19 NEBRASKA 56" at top | The Beef State | 1-123456 10-12345 |
Coded by county of issuance (1 or 10) | First 6" x 12" plate. |
 |
1957 | Green on white with border line; "19 NEBRASKA 57" at top | The Beef State | 1-123456 10-12345 |
Coded by county of issuance (1 or 10) | |
  |
1958–59 | Black on golden yellow with border line; "19 NEBRASKA 58" at top | The Beef State | 1-123456 10-12345 |
Coded by county of issuance (1 or 10) | Revalidated for 1959 with aluminum tabs. |
 |
1960–61 | Golden yellow on black with border line; "19 NEBRASKA 60" at top | The Beef State | 1-123456 10-12345 |
Coded by county of issuance (1 or 10) | Revalidated for 1961 with stickers. |
 |
1962–64 | Green on white with border line; "19 NEBRASKA" and green sticker box at bottom | The Beef State | 1-123456 10-12345 |
Coded by county of issuance (1 or 10) | Revalidated for 1963 and 1964 with stickers. |
 |
1965 | Black on white with border line; "19 NEBRASKA 65" at bottom | The Beef State | 1-123456 10-12345 |
Coded by county of issuance (1 or 10) |
1966 to present
| Image | Dates issued | Design | Slogan | Serial format | Serials issued | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
1966–68 | Red on reflective white with state-shaped border; "NEBRASKA 66" at bottom, offset to right | Centennial | 1-A1234 1-AB123 10-A123 10-AB12 |
Coded by county of issuance (1 or 10) | Commemorated Nebraska's 100 years of statehood. Letters I, M, O, Q, W and X not used in serials; this practice continues today (except in Douglas, Lancaster and Sarpy Counties since 2002).[3] Revalidated for 1967 and 1968 with stickers. |
 |
1969–71 | Black on reflective white with state-shaped border; "NEBRASKA 69" at bottom, offset to right | Cornhusker State | 1-A1234 1-AB123 10-A123 10-AB12 |
Coded by county of issuance (1 or 10) | Revalidated for 1970 and 1971 with stickers. |
 |
1972–75 | Red on reflective white with state-shaped border; "NEBRASKA 72" at bottom, offset to right | Cornhusker State | 1-A1234 1-AB123 10-A123 10-AB12 5/9-A1234 |
Coded by county of issuance (1 or 10) | Revalidated for 1973, 1974 and 1975 with stickers. After reaching 59-ZZ99, Sarpy County introduced five-character serials with stacked county codes; these were used on each subsequent base until 2002. |
 |
1976–83 | Red on reflective white with sky blue banner at bottom, Conestoga wagon graphic at top left and Native American chief graphic at top right | 1776 BICENTENNIAL 1976 | 1-A1234 1-AB123 10-A123 10-AB12 2/1-A1234 5/9-A1234 |
Coded by county of issuance (1 or 10) | Only base on which Scotts Bluff County, as well as Sarpy County, used five-character serials with stacked county codes. |
 |
January 1984 – December 1986 | Blue on reflective white | none | 1-A1234 1-AB123 10-A123 10-AB12 5/9-A1234 |
Coded by county of issuance (1 or 10) | |
 |
January 1987 – December 1989 | Red on reflective white with yellow, orange and red sunset graphic at top | none | 1-A1234 1-AB123 10-A123 10-AB12 5/9-A1234 |
Coded by county of issuance (1 or 10) | |
| January 1990 – December 1992 | Black on reflective white with light blue, gold and black windmill graphic at top | none | 1-A1234 1-AB123 10-A123 10-AB12 5/9-A1234 |
Coded by county of issuance (1 or 10) | Early Lancaster County plates were manufactured in South Dakota using that state's serial dies. | |
|
January 1993 – December 1995 | Blue on reflective white with blue and yellow graphic at top featuring Chimney Rock and city skyline | none | 1-A1234 1-AB123 10-A123 10-AB12 5/9-A1234 |
Coded by county of issuance (1 or 10) | |
| January 1996 – December 1998 | Black on reflective white with black and orange graphic at top featuring Chimney Rock and city skyline | none | 1-A1234 1-AB123 10-A123 10-AB12 5/9-A1234 |
Coded by county of issuance (1 or 10) | ||
|
January 1999 – December 2001 | Red on reflective gradient blue and white with yellow Chimney Rock and light blue city skyline graphics | none | 1-A1234 1-AB123 10-A123 10-AB12 5/9-A1234 |
Coded by county of issuance (1 or 10) | |
|
January 2002 – December 2004 | Black on reflective gradient yellow, orange and red with black prairie landscape graphic, three black silhouettes of sandhill cranes, and an orange sun | www.state.ne.us | ABC 123 | NAA 001 to mid-'O' series | ABC 123 serial format introduced in Douglas, Lancaster and Sarpy Counties, the three most populous, while the county-code system was retained in all other counties. Plates with the ABC 123 format were originally issued with stickers at the bottom displaying the county name; these were discontinued due to poor quality. Serials became screened in May 2004.[4] |
|
3-A1234 3-AB123 10-A123 10-AB12 |
Coded by county of issuance (3 or 10) | ||||
|
January 2005 – December 2010 | Dark blue on reflective gradient blue and white with red state outline and Conestoga wagon graphic | www.nebraska.gov | ABC 123 | Mid-'O' series to late 'R' series | In Douglas, Lancaster and Sarpy Counties, the 'Q' series of serials was not used.[3] |
| 3-A1234 3-AB123 10-A123 10-AB12 |
Coded by county of issuance (3 or 10) | |||||
| January 2011 – December 2016 | Dark green on reflective gradient white and yellow with Western meadowlark and goldenrod | nebraska.gov | ABC 123 | Late 'R' series to early 'U' series | ||
| 3-A1234 3-AB123 10-A123 10-AB12 |
Coded by county of issuance (3 or 10) | |||||
| January 2017 – December 2022 | Black on reflective white with Sower statue from the Nebraska State Capitol; state name in gold on navy blue bar at top | "1867" and "2017" | ABC 123 | Early 'U' series to YDE 550 (as of June 27, 2023)[5] | Commemorates Nebraska's 150 years of statehood. In Douglas, Lancaster and Sarpy Counties, the 'X' series of serials was reserved for trailer plates.[3] Serial font changed in May 2022 to that used in Kentucky. | |
| 3-A1234 3-AB123 10-A123 10-AB12 |
Coded by county of issuance (3 or 10) | |||||
|
January 2023 – present | Dark blue on reflective white with the "Genius of Creative Energy" mosaic from the Nebraska State Capitol in the background; state name in dark blue at top | none | ABC 123 | YHA 000 to YZZ 999, then from AAA 000 to approximately ACX 734. (as of June 25, 2023)[6] | Z was skipped due to being set aside for non-passenger plates in the metro. [7] |
|
3-A1234 3-AB123 10-A123 10-AB12 |
Coded by county of issuance (3 or 10) |
Optional plates
| Image | Dates issued | Design | Slogan | Serial format | Serials issued | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Yellow Union Pacific locomotive and train left, plowed wheat field and city skyline right | Union Pacific Railroad Museum | 123AB | 001AA to 946CK (as of June 1, 2020) | Awarded "Plate of the Year" for best new license plate of 2012 by the Automobile License Plate Collectors Association, the first time Nebraska was so honored. |
Non-passenger plates
| Image | Type | Dates issued | Design | Serial format | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Motorcycle | 1999–2001 | Embossed red on white; "NEB" at top left | 1 M/C 12345 10 M/C 1234 |
Coded by county of issuance. |
|
2002–04 | Embossed black on white; "NEB" at top left | ABC 123 3 M/C 1234 10 M/C 1234 |
ABC 123 serial format used in Douglas, Lancaster and Sarpy Counties; shared with passenger plates. | |
|
2004 | Screened black on white; "NEBRASKA" and "MC" at top left | ABC 123 3-1234 10-1234 |
Serials continued from where the 2002–04 plates left off. | |
|
2005–10 | Screened blue on white; "NEBRASKA" and "MC" at top left | ABC 123 3-1234 10-1234 |
||
|
2011–16 | Screened dark green on white; "NEBRASKA" and "MC" at top left | ABC 123 3-1234 10-1234 |
||
|
2017–present | Screened black on white; "NEBRASKA" and "MOTORCYCLE" centered at top | ABC 123 3-1234 10-1234 |
County coding
Nebraska counties by license plate prefix
Nebraska established a county-code system for its passenger and motorcycle plates in 1922, with one- or two-digit codes assigned to each county in order of the number of registered vehicles in the county at that time.[8] These codes remained constant through 1950.
For 1951, letter codes were used. One-letter codes were assigned to the first counties whose names began with those letters, while all other counties were assigned two-letter codes consisting of the initial letter and the next available letter in their names (the letters I, O and Q were not used). There were three exceptions: Douglas County, the most populous in the state, was assigned single-letter X to increase capacity; Otoe County was assigned Z as O was not allowed; and Dodge County was assigned DG instead of DD as double-letter codes were also not allowed.[9]
The numeric code system was reintroduced in 1952, with the codes the same as before. It remains in use, except in Douglas, Lancaster, and Sarpy Counties, which adopted an uncoded ABC 123 serial format in 2002, the former county codes of these counties can still be used by residences for the same fee as personalized plate, and additionally on specialty plates.
County code 94 is used for sample plates, and is also internally assigned to plates issued directly by the DMV for certain plates such as State Government, and Apportioned plates and could be spotted in the inventory code printed on those plates. Additionally the DMV has internally assigned county code 99 to itself, which was used on "reciprocity" plates issued to out-of-state commercials trucks in the 1940s to the 1960s.
References
- "Old Nebraska License Plates". LeatherLicensePlates.com. Retrieved May 25, 2017.
- Garrish, Christopher (October 2016). "Reconsidering the Standard Plate Size". Plates. Vol. 62, no. 5. Automobile License Plate Collectors Association.
- Tanner, Eric N. "Nebraska Passenger License Plates". allaboutlicenseplates.com. Retrieved November 11, 2020.
- Turnbull, Andrew. "March of the Flats". The Andrew Turnbull Network. Retrieved May 25, 2017.
- "Nebraska License Plates". www.licenseplates.cc. Retrieved June 27, 2023.
- "Nebraska License Plates". www.licenseplates.cc. Retrieved June 25, 2023.
- "Nebraska License Plates". www.licenseplates.cc. Retrieved June 25, 2023.
- "History Of Nebraska Passenger Vehicle License Plates". Nebraska Department of Motor Vehicles. Retrieved October 29, 2015.
- Reback, Brian P. "Nebraska - county codes". bprlicenseplates.com. Archived from the original on March 12, 2015. Retrieved March 11, 2016.
External links
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