The U.S. state of

New Hampshire New Hampshire is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...

first required its residents to register their

motor vehicle A motor vehicle, also known as motorized vehicle or automotive vehicle, is a self-propelled land vehicle, commonly wheeled, that does not operate on Track (rail transport), rails (such as trains or trams) and is used for the transportation of pe ...

s and display

license plate A vehicle registration plate, also known as a number plate (British English), license plate (American English), or licence plate ( Canadian English), is a metal or plastic plate attached to a motor vehicle or trailer for official identificati ...

s in 1905. , plates are issued by the

New Hampshire Department of Safety The New Hampshire Department of Safety is a government agency of the U.S. state of New Hampshire. The Department of Safety is under the executive direction of Commissioner of Safety Robert L. Quinn. The main office of the Department of Safety is ...

through its Division of Motor Vehicles. Front and rear plates are required for most classes of vehicles, while only rear plates are required for motorcycles and trailers.

Passenger baseplates

1905 to 1972

In 1956, the United States, Canada, and Mexico came to an agreement with the

American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators The American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators (AAMVA) is a non-governmental, voluntary, tax-exempt, nonprofit educational association. AAMVA is a private corporation which strives to develop model programs in motor vehicle administration, ...

, the

Automobile Manufacturers Association The Automobile Manufacturers Association was a trade group of automobile manufacturers which operated under various names in the United States from 1911 to 1999. A different group called the Automobile Manufacturers' Association was active in the ...

and the

National Safety Council The National Safety Council (NSC) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, public service organization promoting health and safety in the United States. Headquartered in Itasca, Illinois, NSC is a member organization, founded in 1913 and granted a congressi ...

that standardized the size for license plates for vehicles (except those for

motorcycle A motorcycle (motorbike, bike, or trike (if three-wheeled)) is a two or three-wheeled motor vehicle steered by a handlebar. Motorcycle design varies greatly to suit a range of different purposes: long-distance travel, commuting, cruising ...

s) at in height by in width, with standardized mounting holes. The 1955 (dated 1956) issue was the first New Hampshire license plate that complied with these standards.

1973 to present

In 1977, the

U.S. Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...

ruled that vehicle owners may cover up the mottos that a state places on its license plates. The case began in 1974 when George Maynard, a

Jehovah's Witness Jehovah's Witnesses is a millenarian restorationist Christian denomination with nontrinitarian beliefs distinct from mainstream Christianity. The group reports a worldwide membership of approximately 8.7 million adherents involved in ev ...

from

Claremont, New Hampshire Claremont is the only city in Sullivan County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 12,949 at the 2020 census. History Pre-colonial native populations Before colonial settlement, the Upper Connecticut River Valley was home to the Pe ...

, and his wife taped over the "Live Free or Die" motto on their plates. Maynard, who argued that the motto violated his religious beliefs, subsequently spent 15 days in jail for refusing to pay the $75 fine imposed for covering up the motto (). Justice Burger stated, "The

First Amendment First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and rec ...

protects the right of individuals to hold a point of view different from the majority and to refuse to foster, in the way New Hampshire commands, an idea they find morally objectionable."

County coding

From 1949 to 1979, passenger plates in New Hampshire featured a two-letter code indicating the county in which the vehicle was registered, as follows:

County code allocations

Alphabetical cross-reference

In addition, XA–XN were used on interim plates issued to new registrants between December 1977 and December 1978, while the serial AC 000 was and still is used on sample plates.

Non-passenger plates

Gallery

References

External links

New Hampshire license plates, 1969–present
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vehicle Registration Plates Of New Hampshire

Transportation in New Hampshire 1905 introductions 1905 in transport New Hampshire transportation-related lists