Login
Login

:Vehicle registration plates of Nebraska

{{short description|Nebraska vehicle license plates}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2021}}

{{Infobox vehicle registration plate

| image = File:Nebraska License Plate 2023 Design.jpg

| nickname =

| slogan_label =

| slogan =

| size = {{convert|12|x|6|in|mm|abbr=on|disp=br}}

| material = Aluminum

| serial_format = Douglas, Lancaster and Sarpy Counties:
ABC 123
All other counties (county-coded):
3-A1234
3-AB123
10-A123
10-AB12

| current_start_date = {{Start date|2023|01}}

| designer =

| issuer = Nebraska Department of Motor Vehicles

| manufacturer =

| start_date = {{Start date|1915}}

}}

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.{{cite web |title=Old Nebraska License Plates |url=http://leatherlicenseplates.com/old-nebraska-license-plates-vintage-nebraska-license-plates/ |publisher=LeatherLicensePlates.com |date= |access-date=May 25, 2017}}

{{As of|2024}}, 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 {{convert|6|in|cm}} in height by {{convert|12|in|cm}} in width, with standardized mounting holes.{{cite magazine |last=Garrish |first=Christopher |date=October 2016 |title=Reconsidering the Standard Plate Size |magazine=Plates |publisher=Automobile License Plate Collectors Association |volume=62 |number=5}} The 1955 (dated 1956) issue was the first Nebraska license plate that complied with these standards.

class="wikitable"
Image

!Dates issued

!Design

!Slogan

!Serial format

!style="width:100px;"|Serials issued

!Notes

150px

|1915

|Black on white; "NEB 1915" at right

|none

|12345

|1 to approximately 70000

|

150px

|1916

|White on navy blue; "NEB 1916" at right

|none

|123456

|1 to approximately 101000

|

150px

|1917

|Black on cream; "NEB 1917" at right

|none

|123456

|1 to approximately 148000

|

150px

|1918

|Yellow on black; "NEB 1918 at right"

|none

|123456

|1 to approximately 171000

|

150px

|{{nowrap|1919–20}}

|Black on light green; "NEB 1919" at right

|none

|123456

|1 to approximately 273000

|Revalidated for 1920 with dark blue tab.
50px

150px

|1921

|White on black; "NEB 1921" at right

|none

|123456

|1 to approximately 272000

|

150px

|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.

150px

|1923

|Green on black; "NEB 1923" at right

|none

|1-12345
10-1234

|Coded by county of issuance (1 or 10)

|

150px

|1924

|White on black; "NEB 1924" at right

|none

|1-12345
10-1234

|Coded by county of issuance (1 or 10)

|

150px

|1925

|Black on orange; "NEB 1925" at right

|none

|1-12345
10-1234

|Coded by county of issuance (1 or 10)

|

150px

|1926

|White on green; "NEB 1926" at right

|none

|1-12345
10-1234

|Coded by county of issuance (1 or 10)

|

150px

|1927

|White on maroon; "1927 NEB" at right

|none

|1-12345
10-1234

|Coded by county of issuance (1 or 10)

|

150px

|1928

|White on dark blue; "NEB 1928" at right

|none

|1-12345
10-1234

|Coded by county of issuance (1 or 10)

|

150px

|1929

|White on black; "1929 NEB" at right

|none

|1-12345
10-1234

|Coded by county of issuance (1 or 10)

|

150px

|1930

|Yellow on dark blue; "NEB 1930" at right

|none

|1-12345
10-1234

|Coded by county of issuance (1 or 10)

|

150px

|1931

|Red on gray; "1931 NEB" at right

|none

|1-12345
10-1234

|Coded by county of issuance (1 or 10)

|

150px

|1932

|White on blue; "NEB 1932" at right

|none

|1-12345
10-1234

|Coded by county of issuance (1 or 10)

|

150px

|1933

|Dark blue on orange; "1933 NEB" at right

|none

|1-12345
10-1234

|Coded by county of issuance (1 or 10)

|

150px

|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.

150px

|1935

|Black on gray; "NEBRASKA – 35" at bottom

|none

|1-12345
10-1234

|Coded by county off issuance (1 or 10)

|

150px

|1936

|Silver on black; "NEBRASKA – 36" at bottom

|none

|1-12345
10-1234

|Coded by county of issuance (1 or 10)

|

150px

|1937

|Black on gray; "37 – NEBRASKA" at bottom

|none

|1-12345
10-1234

|Coded by county of issuance (1 or 10)

|

150px

|1938

|Silver on black; "NEBRASKA – 38" at bottom

|none

|1-12345
10-1234

|Coded by county of issuance (1 or 10)

|

150px

|1939

|Black on gray; "NEBRASKA – 39" at top

|none

|1-12345
10-1234

|Coded by county of issuance (1 or 10)

|

150px

|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)

|

150px

|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)

|

150px

|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.

150px

|1945

|White on black; "NEBRASKA 45" at bottom

|none

|1-12345
10-1234

|Coded by county of issuance (1 or 10)

|

150px
150px

|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.

150px

|1948

|Dark blue on unpainted aluminum; "19 NEBRASKA 48" at bottom

|none

|1-12345
{{nowrap|10-12345}}

|Coded by county of issuance (1 or 10)

|

150px

|1949

|Maroon on unpainted aluminum; "19 NEBRASKA 49" at top

|none

|1-12345
{{nowrap|10-12345}}

|Coded by county of issuance (1 or 10)

|

150px

|1950

|Dark blue on white; "19 NEBRASKA 50" at top

|none

|1-12345
{{nowrap|10-12345}}

|Coded by county of issuance (1 or 10)

|

150px

|1951

|White on black; "NEBRASKA 51" at bottom

|none

|A1234A
AB123A

|Coded by county of issuance (A or AB)

|

150x150px
150px

|1952–53

|Black on golden yellow; "NEBRASKA 52" at bottom

|none

|1-12345
{{nowrap|10-12345}}

|Coded by county of issuance (1 or 10)

|Revalidated for 1953 with black tabs.

150px

|1954

|Golden yellow on black; "NEBRASKA 54" at top

|none

|1-12345
{{nowrap|10-12345}}

|Coded by county of issuance (1 or 10)

|

150px

|1955

|Black on golden yellow; "NEBRASKA 55" at bottom

|none

|1-12345
{{nowrap|10-12345}}

|Coded by county of issuance (1 or 10)

|

150px

|1956

|White on black with border line; "19 NEBRASKA 56" at top

|The Beef State

|{{nowrap|1-123456}}
{{nowrap|10-12345}}

|Coded by county of issuance (1 or 10)

|First 6" x 12" plate.

150px

|1957

|Green on white with border line; "19 NEBRASKA 57" at top

|The Beef State

|{{nowrap|1-123456}}
{{nowrap|10-12345}}

|Coded by county of issuance (1 or 10)

|

150px
150px

|1958–59

|Black on golden yellow with border line; "19 NEBRASKA 58" at top

|The Beef State

|{{nowrap|1-123456}}
{{nowrap|10-12345}}

|Coded by county of issuance (1 or 10)

|Revalidated for 1959 with aluminum tabs.

150px

|1960–61

|Golden yellow on black with border line; "19 NEBRASKA 60" at top

|The Beef State

|{{nowrap|1-123456}}
{{nowrap|10-12345}}

|Coded by county of issuance (1 or 10)

|Revalidated for 1961 with stickers.

150px

|1962–64

|Green on white with border line; "19 NEBRASKA" and green sticker box at bottom

|The Beef State

|{{nowrap|1-123456}}
{{nowrap|10-12345}}

|Coded by county of issuance (1 or 10)

|Revalidated for 1963 and 1964 with stickers.

150px

|1965

|Black on white with border line; "19 NEBRASKA 65" at bottom

|The Beef State

|{{nowrap|1-123456}}
{{nowrap|10-12345}}

|Coded by county of issuance (1 or 10)

|

=1966 to present=

class="wikitable"
Image

!Dates issued

!Design

!Slogan

!Serial format

!Serials issued

!Notes

150px

|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).{{cite web |last=Tanner |first=Eric N. |title=Nebraska Passenger License Plates |url=https://allaboutlicenseplates.com/displayPage.asp?country=US&p=Passenger&jurisdiction=Nebraska&code=ne |publisher=allaboutlicenseplates.com |access-date=November 11, 2020}} Revalidated for 1967 and 1968 with stickers.

150px

|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.

150px

|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
{{nowrap|{{small|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.

150px

|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
{{small|2/1}}-A1234
{{small|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.

150px

|January 1984 – December 1986

|Blue on reflective white

|none

|1-A1234
1-AB123
10-A123
10-AB12
{{small|5/9}}-A1234

|Coded by county of issuance (1 or 10)

|

150px

|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
{{small|5/9}}-A1234

|Coded by county of issuance (1 or 10)

|

150px

|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
{{small|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.

150px

|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
{{small|5/9}}-A1234

|Coded by county of issuance (1 or 10)

|

150px

|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
{{small|5/9}}-A1234

|Coded by county of issuance (1 or 10)

|

150px

|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
{{small|5/9}}-A1234

|Coded by county of issuance (1 or 10)

|

150px

|rowspan="2"|January 2002 – December 2004

|rowspan="2"|Black on reflective gradient yellow, orange and red with black prairie landscape graphic, three black silhouettes of sandhill cranes, and an orange sun

|rowspan="2"|www.state.ne.us

|ABC 123

|NAA 001 to mid-'O' series

|rowspan="2"|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.{{cite web |last=Turnbull |first=Andrew |title=March of the Flats |url=http://www.andrewturnbull.net/plates/flat.html |publisher=The Andrew Turnbull Network |access-date=May 25, 2017}}

150px

|3-A1234
3-AB123
10-A123
10-AB12

|Coded by county of issuance (3 or 10)

150px

|rowspan="2"|January 2005 – December 2010

|rowspan="2"|Dark blue on reflective gradient blue and white with red state outline and Conestoga wagon graphic

|rowspan="2"|www.nebraska.gov

|ABC 123

|Mid-'O' series to late 'R' series

|rowspan="2"|In Douglas, Lancaster and Sarpy Counties, the 'Q' series of serials was not used.

150px

|3-A1234
3-AB123
10-A123
10-AB12

|Coded by county of issuance (3 or 10)

150px

|rowspan="2"|January 2011 – December 2016

|rowspan="2"|Dark green on reflective gradient white and yellow with Western meadowlark and goldenrod

|rowspan="2"|nebraska.gov

|ABC 123

|Late 'R' series to early 'U' series

|rowspan="2"|

150px

|3-A1234
3-AB123
10-A123
10-AB12

|Coded by county of issuance (3 or 10)

150px

|rowspan="2"|January 2017 – December 2022

|rowspan="2"|Black on reflective white with Sower statue from the Nebraska State Capitol; state name in gold on navy blue bar at top

|rowspan="2"|"1867" and "2017"

|ABC 123

|Early 'U' series to early 'Y' series

|rowspan="2"|Commemorated Nebraska's 150 years of statehood. In Douglas, Lancaster and Sarpy Counties, the 'X' series of serials was reserved for trailer plates. County-coded plates originally used the state shape as the separator; this was replaced with a standard dash in May 2022 when the serial font on all plates changed to that used in Kentucky.

150px

|3-A1234
3-AB123
10-A123
10-AB12

|Coded by county of issuance (3 or 10)

|rowspan="2"|January 2023 – present

|rowspan="2"|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

|rowspan="2"|none

|ABC 123

|Early 'Y' series to YZZ 999; AAA 000 to AXF 152 {{small|(as of July 6, 2024)}}{{Cite web |title=Nebraska License Plates |url=https://www.licenseplates.cc/NE |website=www.licenseplates.cc |access-date=July 13, 2024}}

|rowspan="2"|In Douglas, Lancaster and Sarpy Counties, the 'Z' series of serials was reserved for certain non-passenger types, including local trucks.

|3-A1234
3-AB123
10-A123
10-AB12

|Coded by county of issuance (3 or 10)

=Optional plates=

class="wikitable"
Image

!Dates issued

!Design

!Slogan

!Serial format

!Serials issued

!Notes

150x150px

|2012

|Yellow Union Pacific locomotive and train left, plowed wheat field and city skyline right

|Union Pacific Railroad Museum

|123AB

|001AA to 660EN {{small|(as of January 26, 2024)}}

|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

class="wikitable"
Image

!Type

!Dates issued

!Design

!Serial format

!Notes

150px

|rowspan="6"|Motorcycle

|1999–2001

|Embossed red on white; "NEB" at top left

|1 {{small|M/C}} 12345
10 {{small|M/C}} 1234

|Coded by county of issuance.

150px

|{{nowrap|2002–04}}

|Embossed black on white; "NEB" at top left

|ABC 123
3 {{small|M/C}} 1234
10 {{small|M/C}} 1234

|ABC 123 serial format used in Douglas, Lancaster and Sarpy Counties; shared with passenger plates.

150px

|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.

150px

|2005–10

|Screened blue on white; "NEBRASKA" and "MC" at top left

|ABC 123
3-1234
10-1234

|

150px

|2011–16

|Screened dark green on white; "NEBRASKA" and "MC" at top left

|ABC 123
3-1234
10-1234

|

150px

|2017–present

|Screened black on white; "NEBRASKA" and "MOTORCYCLE" centered at top

|ABC 123
3-1234
10-1234

|

County coding

File:Nebraskaplatenumbers.png

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.{{cite web |url=http://www.dmv.nebraska.gov/dvr/plates/plthistory.html |title=History Of Nebraska Passenger Vehicle License Plates |publisher=Nebraska Department of Motor Vehicles |access-date=October 29, 2015 |archive-date=December 27, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151227071418/http://www.dmv.nebraska.gov/dvr/plates/plthistory.html |url-status=dead }} 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.{{cite web |last=Reback |first=Brian P. |title=Nebraska - county codes |url=http://www.bprlicenseplates.com/Nebraska%20-%20county%20codes.htm |publisher=bprlicenseplates.com |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150312143912/http://www.bprlicenseplates.com/Nebraska%20-%20county%20codes.htm |archive-date=March 12, 2015 |access-date=March 11, 2016}}

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.

class="wikitable sortable" align="center" width="300px" style="border: 1px solid #88a; padding: 5px; font-size: 95%; text-align: left;"
style="background-color: #ccf"

!County

!Numeric code

!Letter code, 1951

|Adams14A
|Antelope26AN
|Arthur91AR
|Banner85B
|Blaine86BA
|Boone23BN
|Box Butte65BX
|Boyd63BY
|Brown75BR
|Buffalo9BU
|Burt31BT
|Butler25BL
|Cass20C
|Cedar13CE
|Chase72CH
|Cherry66CR
|Cheyenne39CY
|Clay30CL
|Colfax43CF
|Cuming24CU
|Custer4CS
|Dakota70D
|Dawes69DA
|Dawson18DW
|Deuel78DE
|Dixon35DX
|Dodge5DG
|Douglas1X
|Dundy76DU
|Fillmore34F
|Franklin50FR
|Frontier60FN
|Furnas38FU
|Gage3G
|Garden77GA
|Garfield83GR
|Gosper73GS
|Grant92GN
|Greeley62GE
|Hall8H
|Hamilton28HA
|Harlan51HR
|Hayes79HY
|Hitchcock67HT
|Holt36HL
|Hooker93HK
|Howard49HW
|Jefferson33J
|Johnson57JH
|Kearney52K
|Keith68KE
|Keya Paha82KY
|Kimball71KM
|Knox12KN
|Lancaster2L
|Lincoln15LN
|Logan87LG
|Loup88LU
|Madison7M
|McPherson90MC
|Merrick46ME
|Morrill64MR
|Nance58N
|Nemaha44NE
|Nuckolls42NU
|Otoe11Z
|Pawnee54P
|Perkins74PE
|Phelps37PH
|Pierce40PR
|Platte10PL
|Polk41PK
|Red Willow48R
|Richardson19RC
|Rock81RK
|Saline22S
|Sarpy59SA
|Saunders6SU
|Scotts Bluff21SC
|Seward16SE
|Sheridan61SH
|Sherman56SR
|Sioux80SX
|Stanton53ST
|Thayer32T
|Thomas89TH
|Thurston55TU
|Valley47V
|Washington29W
|Wayne27WA
|Webster45WE
|Wheeler84WH
|York17Y

References

{{reflist}}

External links

  • [https://www.15q.net/ne.html Nebraska license plates, 1969–present]

{{Vehicle registration plates of the United States}}

{{North America in topic|Vehicle registration plates of}}

{{Nebraska}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vehicle Registration Plates Of Nebraska}}

Nebraska

Category:Nebraska transportation-related lists

Category:Transportation in Nebraska