Vehicle registration plates of Arizona

The U.S. state of Arizona first required its residents to register their motor vehicles in 1912. Registrants had to provide their own plates for display until 1914, when the state began to supply license plates to registrants. Plates are currently issued by the Motor Vehicle Division of the Arizona Department of Transportation (MVD).

The current "Grand Canyon State" slogan first appeared in 1940, appearing on all subsequent issues except for 1945.

Plates began to be county-coded in 1922 and were issued to all vehicle types until 1929, when commercial vehicles were given their own class of plate.

In Arizona, the license plate belongs to the vehicle owner. This allows for the transfer of a license plate from one vehicle to another.

As of FY 2009, the MVD has 6,693,413 license plates registered with the department.

Passenger plates 1914 to 1955

Image	Dates issued	Design	Slogan	Serial format	Serials issued	Notes
	1914	ARIZ embossed vertically along right side; year of issue embossed vertically along bottom	none	1234	unknown
	1915	ARIZ embossed vertically along right side; year of issue embossed vertically along bottom	none	1234	unknown
	1916	ARIZ embossed vertically along left side; year of issue embossed vertically along right side	none	1234	unknown
	1917	ARIZ embossed vertically along left side; bull logo embossed along middle; year of issue embossed along bottom	none	12345	unknown
	1918	ARIZ embossed vertically along right side; year of issue embossed along top	none	12345	unknown
	1919	ARIZ embossed vertically along left side; year of issue embossed along bottom	none	1234	unknown
	1920	ARIZ embossed vertically along left side; year of issue embossed vertically along right side.	none	1234	unknown
	1925	ARIZONA embossed along bottom right; year of issue embossed vertically along right side.	none	1-23456	unknown
	1941	Black digits on copper background; "ARIZONA-41" embossed at bottom.	GRAND CANYON STATE embossed and centered along top.	A/B 1234	Coded by county of issuance (A/B)
	1947	Red digits on white background; ARIZ. and last two numbers of year of issue embossed and centered along top.	GRAND CANYON STATE embossed and centered along bottom.	A/B 1234	Coded by county of issuance (A/B)
	1949	Green digits embossed on a waffled textured reflective white background; ARIZONA and last two numbers of year of issue embossed and centered along top.	GRAND CANYON STATE embossed and centered along bottom.	A-12345	Coded by county of issuance (A)
	1950–51	Black digits embossed on white background; ARIZONA and last two numbers of year of issue embossed and centered along top.	GRAND CANYON STATE embossed and centered along bottom.	A-12345	Coded by county of issuance (A)	Revalidated for 1951 with aluminum tabs.
	1952–53	White digits embossed on navy blue background; ARIZONA and last two numbers of year of issue embossed and centered along top.	GRAND CANYON STATE embossed and centered along bottom.	A-12345	Coded by county of issuance (A)	Revalidated for 1953 with black tabs.
	1954–55	Navy blue digits on white background; ARIZONA and last two numbers of year of issue embossed and centered along top.	GRAND CANYON STATE embossed and centered along bottom.	A-12345	Coded by county of issuance (A)	Revalidated for 1955 with aluminum tabs.

Passenger plates 1956 to present

In 1956, the U.S. states and Canadian provinces came to an agreement with the Automobile Manufacturers Association that standardized 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 1955 (dated 1956) issue was the first Arizona license plate that complied with these standards.

Image	Dates issued	Design	Slogan	Serial format	Serials issued	Notes
	1956–58	Embossed white numbers on black plate with border line; "ARIZONA 56" embossed in white block letters centered at top	"GRAND CANYON STATE" embossed in white block letters centered at bottom	A-12345	Coded by county of issuance (A)	Revalidated for 1957 and 1958 with stickers.
	1959–60	Embossed white numbers on blue plate with border line; "ARIZONA 59" embossed in white block letters centered at top	"GRAND CANYON STATE" embossed in white block letters centered at bottom	ABC-123	AAA-001 to approximately BDY-999	Revalidated for 1960 with stickers.
	1961–63	Embossed blue numbers on white plate with border line; "ARIZONA 61" embossed in blue block letters centered at top	"GRAND CANYON STATE" embossed in blue block letters centered at bottom	ABC-123	CAA-001 to approximately DMC-999	Revalidated for 1962 and 1963 with stickers.
	1964–65	Embossed white numbers on blue plate with border line; "ARIZONA 64" embossed in white block letters centered at top	"GRAND CANYON STATE" embossed in white block letters centered at bottom	ABC-123	EAA-001 to approximately FMJ-999	Revalidated for 1965 with stickers.
	1966–68	Embossed black numbers on white plate with border line; "ARIZONA 66" embossed in black block letters centered at top	"GRAND CANYON STATE" embossed in black block letters centered at bottom	ABC-123	HAA-001 to JZZ-999; NAA-001 to approximately NEF-999	Revalidated for 1967 and 1968 with stickers.
	1969–72	Embossed black numbers on yellow plate with border line; "ARIZONA 69" embossed in black block letters centered at top	"GRAND CANYON STATE" embossed in black block letters centered at bottom	ABC-123	KAA-001 to MZZ-999; YAA-001 to approximately YDF-999	Revalidated for 1970, 1971 and 1972 with stickers.
	1973–80	Embossed green numbers on pale orange plate with border line; "ARIZONA 73" embossed in green block letters centered at top	"GRAND CANYON STATE" embossed in green block letters centered at bottom	ABC-123	PAA-001 to approximately WNJ-999	Revalidated with stickers until 1990.
	1980–96	Embossed white numbers on maroon plate with border line; embossed white saguaro cactus used as divider between letters and digits; "ARIZONA" embossed in white block letters centered at top	"GRAND CANYON STATE" embossed in white block letters centered at bottom	ABC-123	AAA-001 to approximately NXG-999	Front and rear plates issued until around the ETT series (1989); rear plates only thereafter. Still currently revalidated.
	1996– 2008	Embossed dark green numbers on desert scene with turquoise, white and orange gradient sky, white setting sun and purple mountains and cacti; "ARIZONA" screened in wide dark green block letters, with white outlines, centered at top	"GRAND CANYON STATE" screened in narrow dark green block letters offset to right below numbers, on orange part of sky	123·ABC	101·AAA to 999·ZZZ	Awarded "Plate of the Year" for best new license plate of 1996 by the Automobile License Plate Collectors Association, the first time Arizona was so honored.
	2008– present	As above, but with numbers screened and security threads added to center of plate		ABC1234	AAA0001 to BSJ9999 (as of January 1, 2016)

Non-passenger types

1997 to present

Image	Type	First issued	Design	Serial format	Notes
	Alternative Fuel – Government		Blue on sky and clouds graphic	GA·12345
	Alternative Fuel – Passenger		Blue on sky and clouds graphic	AF·1234 AF·123A AF·12A3 AF1A23	Early plates had lighter-colored background. Serials became screened at around AF·00P1, then unspaced (without a separator after the AF prefix) at around AF00S1.
	Alternative Fuel – hybrid vehicle	2008	Blue on sky and clouds graphic	12L N34	Issuance ceased at 99L N99.
	Amateur Radio		As passenger base. Starting in 1955, a radio tower graphic appears to the left of the serial, and "GRAND CANYON STATE" is replaced with "AMATEUR RADIO OPERATOR"	The plate number is the FCC assigned call sign	One of the earliest special plates that is still available as February 2013.
	Apportioned		As passenger base, but with "APPORTIONED" in place of slogan	AA·12345	Began at AA·00001; currently issuing AG series. AC reserved for optional It Shouldn't Hurt to Be a Child plate, and AF skipped to avoid confusion with Alternative Fuel passenger plates. Serials became screened midway through the AD series.
	Commercial	October 1997	As passenger base	CA·12345	Began at CA·00001; currently issuing CJ series. Serials became screened early in the CF series.
	Disabled Person	2004	As passenger base	ABC12	Small wheelchair embossed to left of serial. First series used older dies.
	Disabled Person	2006	As passenger base	-1ABC	Large wheelchair embossed to left of serial with hyphen. First series used older dies.
	Historic Vehicle		All-embossed red on copper	1A2 ABC1	Dated-1977 base issued continuously through the present.
	Manufacturer		As passenger base	MT-1234
	Motorcycle			M/C1ABC
	Trailer	1997	As passenger base	A-12345 12345-A	Letters J through Y (excluding O, Q and U) were used in the A-12345 format. Serials became screened late in the T series.
	Transporter		As passenger base	XP-123A

1980 to 1996

Image	Type	Design	Serial format	Notes
	Apportioned	As passenger base, but with "APPORTIONED" in place of slogan	12A-345
	Commercial	As passenger base	1AB-234
	Trailer	As passenger base, but with "TLR." to left of state name	A-12345	Letters D, E, F and G were used.

Optional types

Arizona offers its motorists a number of optional issue designs that are available upon the payment of an additional fee.

Image	Type	First issued	Serial format	Notes
	Arizona Centennial	October 30, 2011	A1234Z	Awarded "Plate of the Year" for best new license plate of 2011 by the Automobile License Plate Collectors Association, the second time Arizona was so honored.
	Arizona Diamondbacks	April 4, 2007	DB12345
	Arizona Highways Magazine	early 2009	1AH2345
	Arizona Historical Society	June 2007	AH123
	Arizona State University		A1234 C1234 (series halted early for Pet plates) D1234
	Choose Life	early 2009	12CL34
	Conserving Wildlife		W/A12345
	Donate Life/Be an Organ Donor		B1ABC
	Early Detection Saves Lives	March 26, 2006	JK1234
	Environmental		E1234 1234E 123E4 12E34 1E234 EA·1234 (counting up from EV)
	Former Prisoner of War		A12
	Fraternal Order of Police		L/E1234
	Freedom	January 14, 2007	1FR2345
	Gold Star Family	May 2009	B123	Serials are surface-printed.
	Home of the Apache	March 2007	C123E4
	Honoring Fallen Officers	November 2007	FP12345	Serials are surface-printed.
	It Shouldn't Hurt to Be a Child		AC·12345
	It Shouldn't Hurt to Be a Child—Disabled Person		AC·1234	Wheelchair embossed to left of serial
	Live the Golden Rule	November 2007	LM12345	Serials are surface-printed.
	Medal of Honor		123
	National Guard		N1234
	Navajo Nation	September 2003	B/A1234
	Northern Arizona University		V1234
	Pets Enrich Our Lives	May 2005	C1234 1234C
	Phoenix Suns	May 5, 2009	1PS2345	Serials are surface-printed.
	Professional Fire Fighters		F/F1234
	Purple Heart		1234
	A State of Good Character	September 2005	A12B34
	Veteran		V/T1234
	Veteran—Disabled Person		V/T123	Wheelchair embossed to left of serial.
	University of Arizona		P1234
	University of Phoenix		F/A1234
	White Mountain Apache	November 2007	WM123 123WM	Serials are surface-printed.

External links

• Arizona Department of Transportation, Motor Vehicle Division—Special License Plates and Placards
• Arizona license plates 1969-present
• License Plates of Arizona
• Arizona License Plates