Vehicle registration plates of Ohio
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The U.S. state of
Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...
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 1908, although several cities within the state issued their own license plates from as early as 1902. , plates are issued by the Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles (BMV), a division of the
Ohio Department of Public Safety The Ohio Department of Public Safety (ODPS) is the administrative department of the Ohio state government responsible for the protection and safety of residents and visitors. The Department of Public Safety's headquarters is located in Columbus, ...
. Only rear plates have been required for all classes of vehicles, except commercial tractors, since July 1, 2020. However, vehicle owners can request specialized, personalized plate serials, in addition to their rear plates, for an extra charge. But eventually that 2nd plate option will phase out. All plates are manufactured by inmates at Ohio Penal Industries at the
Lebanon Correctional Institution The Lebanon Correctional Institution is a prison in the United States operated by the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction in Warren County's Turtlecreek Township, about four miles west of Lebanon and two miles east of Monroe and abo ...
; since 2015, they have been manufactured out of
aluminum Aluminium (aluminum in American and Canadian English) is a chemical element with the symbol Al and atomic number 13. Aluminium has a density lower than those of other common metals, at approximately one third that of steel. It has ...
, having been made of galvanized steel beforehand. The BMV issues a new license plate design about every five years, or with each new administration in the state government. A new "Sunrise in Ohio" plate design was unveiled by Governor
Mike DeWine Richard Michael DeWine (; born January 5, 1947) is an American politician and attorney serving as the 70th and current governor of Ohio. A member of the Republican Party, DeWine began his career as a prosecutor before being elected to the O ...
on October 21, 2021, and was made available to drivers December 29, 2021, replacing the "Ohio Pride" design which had been issued since April 2013.


History

On May 19, 1902,
Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...
became one of the first cities in the country to require motorists to display government-issued registration numbers on their vehicles. In the following years, various local governments in Ohio issued standard metal plates of varying design or numerals (to be mounted on a dark background), including: * Canton (1905) *
Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...
(1907–08) *
Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...
(initials only 1903–05; 1906–08; motorcycles in 1911, 1913), abbreviated "Cinti" *
Columbus Columbus is a Latinized version of the Italian surname "''Colombo''". It most commonly refers to: * Christopher Columbus (1451-1506), the Italian explorer * Columbus, Ohio, capital of the U.S. state of Ohio Columbus may also refer to: Places ...
(1907–08), abbreviated "Col's" *
Dayton Dayton () is the sixth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County. A small part of the city extends into Greene County. The 2020 U.S. census estimate put the city population at 137,644, while Greater Da ...
(1905, 1907, 1908; motorcycles in 1909, 1912, 1913) * Delhi Township, Hamilton County (1906–08), abbreviated "Delhi" *
East Liverpool East Liverpool is a city in southeastern Columbiana County, Ohio, United States. The population was 9,958 at the 2020 census. It lies along the Ohio River within the Upper Ohio Valley and borders Pennsylvania to the east and West Virginia to th ...
(Health Department vehicles in 1924) *
Elyria Elyria may refer to: *Elyria, Ohio Elyria ( ) is a city in the Greater Cleveland metropolitan statistical area and the county seat of Lorain County, Ohio, Lorain County, Ohio, United States, located at the forks of the Black River (Ohio), Black ...
(motorcycles in 1910) *
Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: People * Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname ** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland ** Lord Hamilt ...
(1907), abbreviated "Haml" *
Lima Lima ( ; ), originally founded as Ciudad de Los Reyes (City of The Kings) is the capital and the largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón River, Chillón, Rímac River, Rímac and Lurín Rivers, in the desert zone of t ...
(motorcycles in 1908, 1912–13) * Lorain (1907) *
Mansfield Mansfield is a market town and the administrative centre of Mansfield District in Nottinghamshire, England. It is the largest town in the wider Mansfield Urban Area (followed by Sutton-in-Ashfield). It gained the Royal Charter of a market tow ...
(1903) * Massillon (1906), abbreviated "M" *
Newark Newark most commonly refers to: * Newark, New Jersey, city in the United States * Newark Liberty International Airport, New Jersey; a major air hub in the New York metropolitan area Newark may also refer to: Places Canada * Niagara-on-the ...
(motorcycles in 1912–13) * Sandusky (1903) *
Springfield Springfield may refer to: * Springfield (toponym), the place name in general Places and locations Australia * Springfield, New South Wales (Central Coast) * Springfield, New South Wales (Snowy Monaro Regional Council) * Springfield, Queenslan ...
(unknown; motorcycles in 1913), abbreviated "Spfd" on motorcycles * Toledo (1904, 1907) *
Warren A warren is a network of wild rodent or lagomorph, typically rabbit burrows. Domestic warrens are artificial, enclosed establishment of animal husbandry dedicated to the raising of rabbits for meat and fur. The term evolved from the medieval A ...
(1908) In 1906, the state attempted to take over auto registration under the Ward Automobile Law, but litigation delayed the program until the
Ohio Supreme Court The Ohio Supreme Court, Officially known as The Supreme Court of the State of Ohio is the highest court in the U.S. state of Ohio, with final authority over interpretations of Ohio law and the Ohio Constitution. The court has seven members, a ...
ruled in favor of the law. The
Ohio Secretary of State The Secretary of State of Ohio is an elected statewide official in the State of Ohio. The Secretary of state is responsible for overseeing elections in the state; registering business entities (corporations, etc.) and granting them the author ...
's Automobile Division, precursor to the Bureau of Motor Vehicles, was established in 1907. The Ward Law went into effect on June 11, 1908, but the Automobile Division did not begin issuing plates for another 30 days due to a manufacturing defect. The first state vehicle registration was issued to Cincinnati resident Thomas B. Paxton, Jr., for his
Franklin Franklin may refer to: People * Franklin (given name) * Franklin (surname) * Franklin (class), a member of a historical English social class Places Australia * Franklin, Tasmania, a township * Division of Franklin, federal electoral d ...
automobile. Locally issued and owner-provided license plates were phased out by 1909 for automobiles, but local plates continued to be used for motorcycles until 1914. One effect of the Ward Law was to eliminate a significant revenue stream for cities like Cincinnati, which took in about $5,000 a year (equivalent to $ today) from auto registrations. The Ward Law required automobile owners to display plates at both the front and the rear of the vehicle. Front and rear plates would be issued for passenger vehicles for over a century, through June 30, 2020, with the exception of 1944–46 when only rear plates were issued due to metal conservation for
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
. Ohio issued single-year plates from 1910 through 1973, except in 1943 and 1952 when windshield stickers were issued to revalidate the previous year's plates, again due to metal conservation (for World War II and the
Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...
respectively). Various Ohio license plate designs from 1908 to 1921 used distinctive monograms instead of a fully spelled-out state name. The 1938 plate commemorated the 150th anniversary of the creation of the
Northwest Territory The Northwest Territory, also known as the Old Northwest and formally known as the Territory Northwest of the River Ohio, was formed from unorganized western territory of the United States after the American Revolutionary War. Established in 1 ...
(from which the state of Ohio was formed), and thus was the first plate in the state to feature a graphic and a slogan. In 1953, the Bureau of Motor Vehicles commemorated the state's sesquicentennial by issuing a special front plate bearing the state shape and the word "sesqui-centennial" instead of the passenger serial, which was carried only on the rear plate. From 1935 through 1979, serials were allocated in blocks to each of the state's 88 counties. Serials were originally up to five characters in length and featured one or two letters. Increased demand resulted in the introduction of six-character serials in 1949, followed by all-numeric serials in 1962. The scheme was finally abandoned in 1980. 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 1956 (dated 1957) issue was the first Ohio license plate that fully complied with these standards: the state had been issuing plates 6 inches in height by 12 inches in width since 1926, and all plates of the 1952 (dated 1953) and 1955 (dated 1956) issues were to these dimensions, but none had had standard mounting holes. In 1967, the state began issuing special plates to
DUI Driving under the influence (DUI)—also called driving while impaired, impaired driving, driving while intoxicated (DWI), drunk driving, operating while intoxicated (OWI), operating under the influence (OUI), operating vehicle under the infl ...
offenders with limited driving privileges. Judges in Ohio, however, rarely issued them until a 2004 state law made it mandatory for all DUI offenders with limited driving privileges to have them. After the last single-year plate was issued in 1973, the 1974 plate was revalidated for 1975 with a sticker placed at the bottom right corner. The first undated, multi-year plate was issued in 1976, while monthly staggered registration was introduced in 1979. Since 1983, plates have carried the county of issuance on a sticker. Originally, this was a long sticker centered at the bottom of the plate, displaying the county name. In 1992, the state introduced a numerical county-coding scheme (see the County Coding section below), with the county number being displayed on a red sticker at the bottom left corner of the plate; this scheme was initially used only on specialty plates before being adopted on standard passenger plates when the Bicentennial base was introduced in October 2001. The scheme was discontinued on standard passenger plates in 2018 in favor of a return to county-name stickers, again centered at the bottom of the plate. On April 3, 2019, Governor
Mike DeWine Richard Michael DeWine (; born January 5, 1947) is an American politician and attorney serving as the 70th and current governor of Ohio. A member of the Republican Party, DeWine began his career as a prosecutor before being elected to the O ...
signed a two-year state transportation budget bill that included the elimination of the requirement for front license plates to be displayed. This became effective on July 1, 2020.


Passenger baseplates


1908 to 1973


1974 to present

All Ohio passenger plates issued since October 2001 are valid for display today, provided they have been continuously registered. "Ohio Gold" plates, issued from August 1996 through September 2001, are to be replaced during 2022 due to readability issues arising from degradation of the reflective sheeting through exposure to humidity, rain, snow, and road salt.


Alternative passenger plates

Ohio state law authorizes the Bureau of Motor Vehicles to issue a number of specialty passenger plates, as defined in , sections 4 and 5.


Renewal stickers


Non-passenger plates

From 1976 until 1996, license plates for
pickup truck A pickup truck or pickup is a light-duty truck that has an enclosed cabin, and a back end made up of a cargo bed that is enclosed by three low walls with no roof (this cargo bed back end sometimes consists of a tailgate and removable covering) ...
s and other light
truck A truck or lorry is a motor vehicle designed to transport cargo, carry specialized payloads, or perform other utilitarian work. Trucks vary greatly in size, power, and configuration, but the vast majority feature body-on-frame construction ...
-related vehicles (
SUV A sport utility vehicle (SUV) is a car classification that combines elements of road-going passenger cars with features from off-road vehicles, such as raised ground clearance and four-wheel drive. There is no commonly agreed-upon definiti ...
s and
conversion van A conversion van is a full-sized cargo van that is sent to third-party companies to be outfitted with various luxuries for road trips and camping. It can also mean a full-size passenger van in which the rear seating have been rearranged for taxi ...
s aside) were issued truck plates that said "Non Comm" (for "non-
commercial Commercial may refer to: * a dose of advertising conveyed through media (such as - for example - radio or television) ** Radio advertisement ** Television advertisement * (adjective for:) commerce, a system of voluntary exchange of products and s ...
truck") while semi-trucks were issued plates that said "Commercial". Since 1996, however, the more
consumer A consumer is a person or a group who intends to order, or uses purchased goods, products, or services primarily for personal, social, family, household and similar needs, who is not directly related to entrepreneurial or business activities. T ...
-oriented truck plates now say "Truck" instead of "Non-Comm." File:1972 OH church bus plate.jpg, Church bus (1972) File:Ohio 1973 House Vehicle license plate - Number 85067.jpg, House Vehicle (1973)


Temporary tags

Vehicles purchased from a dealership are given a 30-day or 45-day temporary tag. The paper tag is filled out by hand. Since March 2001, it has featured a hologram. On a 2001-series temporary tag, the plate number is preprinted, while the expiration date and vehicle details are written in permanent marker. As of August, 2020, the Ohio Department of Public Safety issues print-on-demand temporary tags and will phase out traditional paper tags in January 2021. Ohio temporary license plate, Ford (February 2002).png, 2002 Ohio temporary license plate, Ford (May 2010).png, 2010


County coding

In 1992, Ohio began using a numerical county-coding scheme to indicate the county of registration. The scheme assigns a two-digit number to each of the state's 88 counties in alphabetical order, beginning with 01 for Adams County and ending with 88 for
Wyandot County Wyandot County is a county located in the northwestern part of the U.S. state of Ohio. As of the 2020 census, the population was 21,900. Its county seat is Upper Sandusky. It was named for the Wyandot Indians, who lived here before and after ...
. The scheme has been used on specialty plates since its introduction, and was also used on standard passenger plates from 2001 until 2018. The county number is displayed on red stickers placed at the bottom left corner the plate. The stickers also display the county name, in small print below the number.


List of county numbers


Reserved series

On recent seven-character baseplates, the state has reserved certain letter series to be issued in coordination with specific
car dealership A car dealership, or car dealer, is a business that sells new or used cars, at the retail level, based on a dealership contract with an automaker or its sales subsidiary. Car dealerships also often sell spare parts and automotive maintena ...
s or leasing agencies.


References


External links


OPLATES.com
Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles customer website
Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles: Registration and Titling

Ohio BMV Chronological History 1908-2010
with a comprehensive listing of Ohio license plate designs since 1908

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vehicle Registration Plates Of Ohio
Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...
Transportation in Ohio History of Ohio Ohio transportation-related lists