Vehicle registration plates of Tennessee

2007 Tennessee license plate

The U.S. state of Tennessee first required its residents to register their motor vehicles and display license plates in 1915.

Passenger baseplates 1915 to present

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 1956 (dated 1957) issue was the state's first license plate that complied with these standards.

First issued	Design	Slogan	Serial format	Serials issued	Notes
1915	Embossed white lettering on dark blue base	none	12345	unknown	Expiration date "DEC 31 1915" on bottom
1916	Embossed black lettering on light green base	none	12345	unknown	Expiration date "DEC 31" on bottom
1917	Embossed white lettering on black base	none	12345	unknown
1918	Embossed black lettering on sea green base	none	12345	unknown
1919	Embossed white lettering on blue base	none	12345	unknown
1920	Embossed black lettering and border on gray base; "TENN" embossed vertically at left and date at right	none	12345	unknown
1921	Embossed black lettering and border on orange base; "TENN" embossed vertically at left and date at right	none	12345	unknown
1922	Embossed white lettering and border on dark green base; "TENN" embossed vertically at left and date at right	none	123456	unknown
1923	Embossed navy lettering and border on gray base; "TENN" embossed vertically at left and date at right	none	123456	unknown
1924	Embossed black lettering and border on bright yellow base; "TENN" embossed vertically at left and date at bottom center	none	123-456	unknown
1925	Embossed white lettering and border on maroon base; "TENN 25" embossed on bottom.	none	123-456	unknown
1926	Embossed white lettering and border on black base; "TENN 1926" embossed on bottom.	none	123-456	unknown	2 versions of each 1926-28 plates are shown, one with "FRONT" and one with "REAR".
1927	Embossed white lettering on lavender base with state map; "TENN" embossed on state map and "27" embossed on bottom right corner	none	123-456	unknown
1928	Embossed silver lettering and border on black base; "TENN 1928" embossed vertically on right	none	123-456	unknown
1929	Embossed white lettering and border on green base; "TENN 1929" embossed vertically on left	none	123-456	unknown
1930	Embossed blue lettering and border on silver base; "TENN" used as separater and date at right	none	123-456	unknown
1931	Embossed yellow lettering and border on black base; "TENN" embossed vertically at right and date used as separater	none	123-456	unknown
1932	Embossed silver lettering and border on black base; "TENN 32" embossed vertically at right	none	123-456	unknown
1933	Embossed cream lettering and border on black base; "33 TENN" embossed vertically at right	none	123-456	unknown
1934	Embossed white lettering and border on medium blue base; "34 TENN" used as separater	none	123-456	unknown
1935	Embossed silver lettering and border on black base; "35 TENN" embossed vertically on left	none	123-456	unknown
1936	Embossed blue numbers on silver state-shaped plate with border line; "TENNESSEE 1936" embossed in blue block letters centered at top	none	1-12345 10-1234	Coded by county of issuance (1 or 10)
1937	Embossed black numbers on yellow state-shaped plate with border line; "TENN. 1937" embossed in black block letters at bottom	none	1-12345 10-1234	Coded by county of issuance (1 or 10)
1937		none	C12-345	Coded by county of issuance (1 or 10)	Issued to vehicles heavier than 3,500 lb.
1938	Embossed blue lettering on silver state-shaped plate with border line; "TENN. 38" embossed in blue block letters at bottom	none	1-12345 10-1234	Coded by county of issuance (1 or 10)
1939	Embossed red lettering on silver state-shaped plate with border line; "1939 TENN." embossed in red block letters at bottom	none	1-12345 10-1234	Coded by county of issuance (1 or 10)
1940	Embossed orange lettering on black state-shaped plate with border line; "TENN. 40" embossed in orange block letters at bottom	none	1-12345 10-1234	Coded by county of issuance (1 or 10)
1941	Embossed white lettering on black state-shaped plate with border line; "1941 TENN." embossed in white block letters at bottom	none	1-12345 10-1234	Coded by county of issuance (1 or 10
1942-43	Embossed black lettering on white state-shaped plate with border line; "TENN. 42" embossed in black block letters at bottom	none	1-12345 1-1234	Coded by county of issuance (1 or 10)	Revalidated for 1943 with tabs.
1944	Embossed white lettering on black state-shaped plate with border line; "TENN. 44" embossed in white block letters at bottom	none	1-12345 10-1234	Coded by county of issuance (1 or 10)
1945	Embossed blue numbers on silver state-shaped plate with border line; "TENN. 1945" embossed in blue block letters centered at bottom	none	1-12345 10-1234	Coded by county of issuance (1 or 10)
1945		none	1D-1234 10D-123	Coded by county of issuance (1 or 10)	Issued on vehicles heavier than 3,500 lb.
1946	Embossed green numbers on silver state-shaped plate with border line; "TENN. 46" embossed in green block letters centered at bottom	none	1-12345 10-1234	Coded by county of issuance (1 or 10)
1946		none	1D-1234 10D-123	Coded by county of issuance (1 or 10)	Issued on vehicles heavier than 3,500 lb.
1947	Embossed white numbers on black state-shaped plate with border line; "1947 TENN." embossed in white block letters centered at bottom	none	1-12345 10-1234	Coded by county of issuance (1 or 10)
1947		none	1D-1234 10D-123	Coded by county of issuance (1 or 10)	Issued on vehicles heavier than 3,500 lb.
1948	Embossed black numbers on yellow state-shaped plate with border line; "TENN. 48" embossed in black block letters centered at bottom	none	1-12345 10-1234	Coded by county of issuance (1 or 10)
1948		none	1D-1234 10D-123	Coded by county of issuance (1 or 10)	Issued on vehicles heavier than 3,500 lb.
1949	Embossed yellow numbers on black state-shaped plate with border line; "1949 TENN." embossed in yellow block letters centered at bottom	none	1-12345 10-1234	Coded by county of issuance (1 or 10)
1949		none	1D-1234 10D-123	Coded by county of issuance (1 or 10)	Issued on vehicles heavier than 3,500 lb.
1950	Embossed black numbers on silver state-shaped plate with border line; "TENN. 50" embossed in black block letters centered at bottom	none	1-12345 10-1234	Coded by county of issuance (1 or 10)
1950		none	1D-1234 10D-123	Coded by county of issuance (1 or 10)	Issued on vehicles heavier than 3,500 lb.
1951	Embossed white numbers on orange state-shaped plate with border line; "51 TENN." embossed in white block letters centered at bottom	none	1-12345 10-1234	Coded by county of issuance (1 or 10)
1951		none	1D-1234 10D-123	Coded by county of issuance (1 or 10)	Issued on vehicles heavier than 3,500 lb.
1952	Embossed black numbers on white state-shaped plate with border line; "TENN. 52" embossed in black block letters centered at bottom	none	1-12345 10-1234	Coded by county of issuance (1 or 10)
1952		none	1D-1234 10D-123	Coded by county of issuance (1 or 10)	Issued on vehicles heavier than 3,500 lb.
1953	Embossed blue numbers on silver state-shaped plate with border line; "53 TENN." embossed in blue block letters centered at bottom	none	1-12345 10-1234	Coded by county of issuance (1 or 10)
1953		none	1D-1234 10D-123	Coded by county of issuance (1 or 10)	Issued on vehicles heavier than 3,500 lb.
1954	Embossed yellow numbers on black state-shaped plate with border line; "TENN. 54" embossed in yellow block letters centered at bottom	none	1-12345 10-1234	Coded by county of issuance (1 or 10)
1954		none	1D-1234 10D-123	Coded by county of issuance (1 or 10)	Issued on vehicles heavier than 3,500 lb.
1955	Embossed red numbers on white state-shaped plate with border line; "55 TENN." embossed in red block letters centered at bottom	none	1-12345 10-1234	Coded by county of issuance (1 or 10)
1955		none	1D-1234 10D-123	Coded by county of issuance (1 or 10)	Issued on vehicles heavier than 3,500 lb.
1956	Embossed white numbers on dark blue state-shaped plate with border line; "TENN. 56" embossed in white block letters centered at bottom	none	1-12345 10-1234	Coded by county of issuance (1 or 10)
1956		none	1D-1234 10D-123	Coded by county of issuance (1 or 10)	Issued on vehicles heavier than 3,500 lb.
1957	Embossed white numbers on black plate with border line; embossed white state outline around numbers; "TENN. 57" embossed in white block letters centered at bottom	none	1/A 1234 10/ 1234 10/A 1234	Coded by county of issuance (1 or 10)
1958	Embossed black numbers on white plate with border line; "TENN" embossed in black block letters centered at top, surrounded by state outline; "19" embossed in top left corner and "58" in top right corner	none	1A-12-34 10-A1-23	Coded by county of issuance (1 or 10)
1959	Embossed white numbers on black plate with border line; "TENN" embossed in white block letters centered at top, surrounded by state outline; "59" embossed in top left corner	none	1A-1234 10-1234 10-A123	Coded by county of issuance (1 or 10)
1960	Embossed black numbers on white plate with border line; "TENN" embossed in black block letters centered at top, surrounded by state outline; "60" embossed in top right corner	none	1A-1234 10-1234 10-A123	Coded by county of issuance (1 or 10)
1961	Embossed white numbers on black plate with border line; "TENN" embossed in white block letters centered at top, surrounded by state outline; "61" embossed in top left corner	none	1A-1234 10-1234 10-A123	Coded by county of issuance (1 or 10)
1962-65	Embossed black numbers on white plate with border line; "TENN" embossed in black block letters centered at top, surrounded by state outline; "62" embossed in top right corner	none	1-1234 1A-1234 1AB-123 10-1234 10-A123 10-AB12	Coded by county of issuance (1 or 10)	Revalidated for 1963, 1964 and 1965 with stickers.
1966-70	Embossed black numbers on white plate with border line; "TENN" embossed in black block letters centered at top, surrounded by state outline; county name on sticker in debossed box centered at bottom (cutting off border line); smaller debossed boxes for revalidation stickers at top corners	none	AB-1234	AA-0001 to TZ-9999
1971-75	As 1966–70 base, but with full border line around plate and no county-name sticker	none	1-A1234 1-AB123 10-A123 10-AB12	Coded by county of issuance (1 or 10)
1971-75		none	ABC-123	AAA-001 to approximately ANA-999^[1]	Supplemental plates issued in counties that had exhausted their allocations of county-code plates.
1976-82	Embossed dark blue numbers on white plate; pale yellow state seal screened behind numbers; blue banner graphic screened at top containing "TENNESSEE" in white serifed letters in the center; debossed boxes for revalidation stickers at bottom corners	"Volunteer State" screened in blue serifed letters centered at bottom	1-A1234 1-AB123 10-A123 10-AB12	Coded by county of issuance (1 or 10)	First base not to feature the state shape since 1935, and first to use the full state name since 1936. Staggered registration introduced, with month sticker in box at bottom left.
1976-82			ABC-123	AAA-001 to approximately BPA-999^[1]	Supplemental plates issued in counties that had exhausted their allocations of county-code plates.
1983-87	Embossed blue numbers on white plate; "Tennessee" screened in green serifed letters centered at top; debossed boxes for revalidation stickers at bottom corners	"Volunteer State" screened in green serifed letters centered at bottom, surrounded by green state outline	1-A1B23 1-ABC12 10-1A23 10-12A3 10-123A 10-12AB	Coded by county of issuance (1 or 10)
1983-87			ABC-123	BRK-001 to approximately CZS-999^[1]	Supplemental plates issued in counties that had exhausted their allocations of county-code plates.
1988-93	Embossed red numbers on white plate; blue circle with three white stars (from the state flag) screened in the center; "Tennessee" screened in blue serifed letters centered at top; county name on blue sticker in debossed box centered at bottom; smaller debossed boxes in all four corners	none	ABC 123	ABB 001 to ZZZ 999 (see right)	Revalidation stickers placed in boxes at top corners; boxes at bottom corners reserved for county and city tax decals. Serials began at DBB 001 and ran to ZZZ 999, followed by BBB 001 through CZZ 999; vowels and Y were not used until 1993, when Y and then A were used as the first letter (the last serial issued was in the APP series).
1994-2000	Embossed red numbers on white plate; Tennessee State Capitol screened in blue in the center; "BicenTENNial" screened at top, offset to left, with "TENN" in blue serifed letters and the remainder in red handwritten font; "1796" and "1996" screened in blue to the right; county name on blue sticker in debossed box centered at bottom; smaller debossed boxes in all four corners	"VOLUNTEER STATE" screened in red serifed letters centered below "BicenTENNial" and years	123 ABC	001 ABB to 999 ZZZ (see right)	Commemorated Tennessee's 200 years of statehood. Arrangement of revalidation stickers and county and city tax decals same as on 1988–93 base. Serials began at 001 BBB and ran to 999 ZZZ; vowels and Y were not used until 1997, when Y, A, E and U were used as the first letter in that order (the last serial issued was in the UKX series).
2001-06	rising sun over state silhouette	Sounds good to me / Volunteer State	ABC 123	AAA 000 to ?	County sticker applied at bottom. Color of Tennessee-shaped graphic had to be brightened mid-issue to avoid interference with serial numbers. Last plate to be embossed. Later issues include digitally screen-printed barcode.
2007-10	rolling hills	The Volunteer State	123-ABC	001-BBB to 999-ZZZ	County sticker applied at bottom. First plate to be digitally screen-printed. All issues contain barcode. Vowels not used in serials.
2011-present	rolling hills	The Volunteer State	A12-34B 1A2-3B4	A00-01A to Z99-99Z 0A0-0A0 to present	Added www.tnvacation.com in the bottom part of the plate. Once A12-34B serial format ran out in 2016, state switched to 1A2-3B4 format.

County coding

From 1939 through 1965 and from 1971 through 1988, Tennessee license plates began with a one- or two-digit county code. The order of the codes was based on the respective populations of each county.

The codes remained constant from 1939 through 1965, then were re-allocated according to population shifts in 1971, 1976 and 1983.^[2]

County	1939-65	1971-76	1976-83	1983-88
Anderson	29	8	10	13
Bedford	25	42	38	44
Benton	71	75	71	70
Bledsoe	88	84	83	82
Blount	10	9	8	10
Bradley	19	17	13	12
Campbell	31	27	35	28
Cannon	80	80	80	80
Carroll	35	38	36	43
Carter	21	15	17	18
Cheatham	68	78	66	55
Chester	61	77	77	77
Claiborne	49	51	52	48
Clay	92	86	87	86
Cocke	46	40	37	38
Coffee	41	24	25	26
Crockett	62	62	62	68
Cumberland	58	50	48	40
Davidson	1	2	2	2
Decatur	83	82	78	79
DeKalb	66	73	75	76
Dickson	39	52	47	37
Dyer	18	22	26	29
Fayette	48	33	44	46
Fentress	72	64	67	71
Franklin	37	31	33	35
Gibson	13	12	14	19
Giles	24	44	46	47
Grainger	70	65	63	62
Greene	12	13	15	16
Grundy	82	71	76	73
Hamblen	27	20	19	20
Hamilton	4	4	4	4
Hancock	87	85	86	89
Hardeman	52	47	45	52
Hardin	56	54	54	54
Hawkins	43	21	24	23
Haywood	47	39	51	57
Henderson	57	56	56	56
Henry	26	45	42	41
Hickman	67	70	72	67
Houston	90	92	89	90
Humphreys	74	72	65	65
Jackson	81	79	81	83
Jefferson	44	48	39	36
Johnson	73	74	74	74
Knox	3	3	3	3
Lake	76	76	82	87
Lauderdale	42	46	50	49
Lawrence	36	26	29	30
Lewis	85	87	85	81
Lincoln	28	36	40	45
Loudon	40	37	41	42
Macon	65	66	70	66
Madison	7	7	7	11
Marion	54	49	49	50
Marshall	32	55	55	58
Maury	9	14	16	17
McMinn	23	19	22	24
McNairy	50	53	53	53
Meigs	89	90	91	88
Monroe	51	41	43	39
Montgomery	11	10	9	9
Moore	91	95	95	94
Morgan	69	63	64	63
Obion	17	30	27	33
Overton	77	61	60	61
Perry	86	89	90	92
Pickett	94	93	93	95
Polk	63	67	73	75
Putnam	34	23	21	22
Rhea	53	57	57	51
Roane	33	16	18	21
Robertson	15	29	28	27
Rutherford	8	11	11	8
Scott	75	59	61	60
Sequatchie	93	88	88	85
Sevier	38	34	31	25
Shelby	2	1	1	1
Smith	55	68	68	69
Stewart	79	83	84	84
Sullivan	5	5	5	5
Sumner	14	18	12	7
Tipton	30	25	32	31
Trousdale	84	91	92	91
Unicoi	59	60	59	64
Union	78	81	79	78
Van Buren	95	94	94	93
Warren	45	43	34	34
Washington	6	6	6	6
Wayne	64	69	69	72
Weakley	22	35	30	32
White	60	58	58	59
Williamson	20	32	23	14
Wilson	16	28	20	15

Optional types

Type	Design	Serial format	Serials issued
Ducks Unlimited	Embossed black on white; "TENNESSEE" screened in green at top; green Ducks Unlimited logo at left; green bar at bottom containing "Ducks Unlimited" in white	D/U1234	D/U0001 to D/U9999
Ducks Unlimited		1234D/U	0001D/U to present
Freemasonry	Screened black on white; "TENNESSEE" screened in blue at top; blue square containing yellow Square and Compasses at left; blue bar at bottom containing "MASON" in yellow	M/L1234	M/L0001 to present

Non-passenger baseplates 1955 to present

Type	First issued	Design	Serial format	Serials issued
Motorcycle	2001	Embossed black on white with border line; "TENNESSEE" screened at top; "TN" embossed at bottom	ZA1234	ZA0001 to approximately ZD9500
	2002	As above, but without embossed "TN"	ZA1234	ZD9501 to ZW9999
	2005	As above, but without embossed "TN"	1234ZA	0001ZA to 9999ZL
	2007	Screened black on white; "TENNESSEE" screened at top	1234ZA	0001ZM to 9999ZV
	2008		1ZA234	0ZA001 to 9ZV999
	2012		12ZA34	00ZA01 to present

References

1 2 3 "Tennessee License Plates". licenseplates.tropikordia.com. Retrieved June 1, 2015.
↑ "Tennessee County Codes". 15q.net. Retrieved June 1, 2015.

External links

Vehicle registration plates of the United States

States	Alabama Alaska Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware Florida Georgia Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virginia Washington West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming

Federal district	Washington, D.C.

Insular areas	American Samoa 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

Sovereign states	Antigua and Barbuda Bahamas Barbados Belize Canada Costa Rica Cuba Dominica Dominican Republic El Salvador Grenada Guatemala Haiti Honduras Jamaica Mexico Nicaragua Panama Saint Kitts and Nevis Saint Lucia Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Trinidad and Tobago United States

Dependencies and other territories	Anguilla Aruba Bermuda Bonaire British Virgin Islands Cayman Islands Curaçao Greenland Guadeloupe Martinique Montserrat Puerto Rico Saint Barthélemy Saint Martin Saint Pierre and Miquelon Saba Sint Eustatius Sint Maarten Turks and Caicos Islands United States Virgin Islands

State of Tennessee

Nashville (capital)

Topics	History Geography Tennesseans African Americans Constitution Elections Governors Lieutenant Governors General Assembly Supreme Court Tennessee National Guard Law Enforcement Tourist attractions

Grand Divisions	East Tennessee Middle Tennessee West Tennessee

Regions	Blue Ridge Mountains Cumberland Mountains Cumberland Plateau Highland Rim Mississippi Plain Nashville Basin Ridge-and-Valley Appalachians Tennessee Valley Tri-Cities

Largest cities	Bartlett Bristol Chattanooga Clarksville Cleveland Franklin Hendersonville Jackson Johnson City Kingsport Knoxville Memphis Murfreesboro Nashville

Counties	Anderson Bedford Benton Bledsoe Blount Bradley Campbell Cannon Carroll Carter Cheatham Chester Claiborne Clay Cocke Coffee Crockett Cumberland Davidson Decatur DeKalb Dickson Dyer Fayette Fentress Franklin Gibson Giles Grainger Greene Grundy Hamblen Hamilton Hancock Hardeman Hardin Hawkins Haywood Henderson Henry Hickman Houston Humphreys Jackson Jefferson Johnson Knox Lake Lauderdale Lawrence Lewis Lincoln Loudon Macon Madison Marion Marshall Maury McMinn McNairy Meigs Monroe Montgomery Moore Morgan Obion Overton Perry Pickett Polk Putnam Rhea Roane Robertson Rutherford Scott Sequatchie Sevier Shelby Smith Stewart Sullivan Sumner Tipton Trousdale Unicoi Union Van Buren Warren Washington Wayne Weakley White Williamson Wilson

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