Vehicle registration plates of Montana

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

Passenger baseplates 1919 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 1955 (dated 1956) issue was the first Montana license plate that complied with these standards.

Image	Dates issued	Design	Slogan	Serial format	Serials issued	Notes
150px	1919	Embossed black lettering and rims on white base.		0000
150px	1922	Embossed brown lettering on orange base.		0000
150px	1923	Embossed red lettering on white base.		0000
150px	1925	Embossed white lettering on red base.		0000
150px	1926	Embossed white lettering on black base.		0-000
150px	1927	Embossed black lettering on green base.		0-000
150px	1930	Embossed black lettering on orange base.		00-000
	1938	Embossed black numbers on orange plate with state-shaped border; embossed black buffalo skull used as separator; "MONTANA–38" embossed in black block letters below numbers	none	1-12345 1/0-1234	Coded by county of issuance (1 or 1/0)
	1939	Embossed orange numbers on black plate with state-shaped border; "MONTANA–39" embossed in orange block letters below numbers	none	1-12345 10-1234	Coded by county of issuance (1 or 10)
	1940	Embossed white numbers on blue plate with state-shaped border; "MONTANA–40" embossed in white block letters below numbers	none	1-12345 10-1234	Coded by county of issuance (1 or 10)
150px	1941	Embossed blue numbers on white plate with state-shaped border; "MONTANA–41" embossed in blue block letters below numbers	none	1-12345 10-1234	Coded by county of issuance (1 or 10)
150px	1942–43	Embossed white numbers on black plate with state-shaped border; "MONTANA–42" embossed in white block letters below numbers	none	1-12345 10-1234	Coded by county of issuance (1 or 10)	Revalidated for 1943 with red tabs, due to metal conservation for World War II.
150px	1944	White numbers on green plate; "MONTANA-1944" in white block letters centered at bottom	none	1-12345 10-1234	Coded by county of issuance (1 or 10)	Manufactured on soybean-based fiberboard due to ongoing metal conservation.
	1945	As 1942–43 base, but with "MONTANA–45" below numbers	none	1-12345 10-1234	Coded by county of issuance (1 or 10)
	1946–47	Embossed black numbers on white plate with state-shaped border; "MONTANA–46" embossed in black block letters below numbers	none	1-12345 10-1234	Coded by county of issuance (1 or 10)	Revalidated for 1947 with windshield stickers.
	1948	As 1942–43 base, but with "MONTANA–48" below numbers	none	1-12345 10-1234	Coded by county of issuance (1 or 10)
150px	1949	As 1946–47 base, but with "MONTANA–49" below numbers	none	1-12345 10-1234	Coded by county of issuance (1 or 10)
	1950	As 1942–43 base, but with "MONTANA–50" centered below numbers	"THE TREASURE STATE" embossed in white block letters above numbers	1-12345 10-1234	Coded by county of issuance (1 or 10)
	1951–52	Embossed yellow numbers on blue plate with state-shaped border; "MONTANA–51" embossed in yellow block letters centered below numbers	"THE TREASURE STATE" embossed in yellow block letters above numbers	1-12345 10-1234	Coded by county of issuance (1 or 10)	Revalidated for 1952 with windshield stickers.
	1953–54	As 1942–43 base, but with "MONTANA–53" centered below numbers	"THE TREASURE STATE" embossed in white block letters above numbers	1-12345 10-1234	Coded by county of issuance (1 or 10)	Revalidated for 1954 with silver tabs.
	1955–56	Embossed white numbers on red plate with state-shaped border; "MONTANA–55" embossed in white block letters centered below numbers	"THE TREASURE STATE" embossed in white block letters above numbers	1-12345 10-1234	Coded by county of issuance (1 or 10)	Revalidated for 1956 with silver tabs.
150px	1957–58	Embossed white numbers on black plate with border line; "MONTANA–57" embossed in white block letters centered at bottom	none	1/ 12345 1/0 1234	Coded by county of issuance (1 or 1/0)	Revalidated for 1958 with silver tabs.
	1959–62	Embossed black numbers on unpainted aluminum plate with state-shaped border; "MONTANA" embossed in wide black block letters centered below numbers; embossed "59" to right of state name	none	1·12345 10·1234	Coded by county of issuance (1 or 10)	Revalidated for 1960 with yellow tabs, for 1961 with black tabs, and for 1962 with blue tabs.
	1963–66	As 1959–62 base, but with embossed "63" to right of state name	"TREASURE STATE" embossed in narrow black block letters centered above numbers	1·12345 10·1234	Coded by county of issuance (1 or 10)	Revalidated for 1964 with black tabs, for 1965 with blue tabs, and for 1966 with yellow tabs.
	1967	Embossed yellow numbers on light blue plate with state-shaped border; "MONTANA" embossed in wide yellow block letters centered below numbers; embossed "67" to right of state name	"BIG SKY COUNTRY" embossed in narrow yellow block letters centered above numbers	1·12345 10·1234	Coded by county of issuance (1 or 10)
150px	1968–69	Embossed green numbers on white plate with state-shaped border; "MONTANA" embossed in wide green block letters centered below numbers; debossed "68" to right of state name	"BIG SKY COUNTRY" embossed in narrow green block letters centered above numbers	1·12345 10·1234	Coded by county of issuance (1 or 10)	Revalidated for 1969 with stickers.
	1970–72	Embossed blue numbers on white plate with state-shaped border; "MONTANA" embossed in wide blue block letters centered below numbers; debossed "70" to right of state name	"BIG SKY COUNTRY" embossed in narrow blue block letters centered above numbers	1·12345 10·1234	Coded by county of issuance (1 or 10)	Revalidated for 1971 and 1972 with stickers.
	1973–74	Debossed white numbers on green plate with state-shaped border; debossed white buffalo skull in bottom left corner; "MONTANA" debossed in wide white block letters centered below numbers; debossed "73" to right of state name	"BIG SKY COUNTRY" debossed in narrow white block letters centered above numbers	1·12345 10·1234	Coded by county of issuance (1 or 10)	Revalidated for 1974 with stickers.
150px	1975	Debossed white numbers on blue plate with state-shaped border; debossed white buffalo skull in bottom left corner; "MONTANA" debossed in wide white block letters centered below numbers; debossed "75" to right of state name	"BIG SKY COUNTRY" debossed in narrow white block letters centered above numbers	1·12345 10·1234	Coded by county of issuance (1 or 10)
150px	1976–91	Embossed sky blue numbers on white plate with screened red state-shaped border; red "76 Bicentennial" logo and sky blue buffalo skull screened at top left and bottom left corners respectively; red band screened above numbers containing "MONTANA" in white block letters; screened sky blue "'76" in bottom right corner	"BIG SKY" screened in sky blue block letters centered below numbers	1·123456 10·12345	Coded by county of issuance (1 or 10)	A straight-line die was originally used for the number '1', before being replaced by a serifed version.
150px	1991–2000	Embossed dark blue numbers on sky blue and white gradient plate; white and pale blue state outline screened around plate and yellow, orange and purple band, resembling a mountain range, screened above numbers; "MONTANA" screened in white block letters in top left corner	"Big Sky" screened in sky blue handwritten font in bottom right corner, along with a sky blue buffalo skull	1P·1234A 10·1234A	Coded by county of issuance (1 or 10)
150px	2000–06		Big Sky	1·A12345 10·A1234	Coded by county of issuance (1 or 10)
	2006–09	Black on grey and white gradient with mountain graphic	Big Sky Country	1C-12345 1C-1234A 10-12345	Coded by county of issuance (1 or 10)	Serial divider is silhouette of buffalo skull.
150px	2010–present	Solid blue with white state outline and lettering	Treasure State	1-12345A 10-1234A	Coded by county of issuance (1 or 10)	Serial divider is silhouette of buffalo skull.

Optional types

Image	Type	Dates issued	Design	Slogan	Serial format	Serials issued	Notes
	Montana Centennial	1987–89	Embossed blue numbers on graphic plate with gold background, white state shape and brown mountain range at top; "MONTANA" screened in bottom right corner, with a brown Montana Centennial logo for the 'O' and brown serifed letters for the remainder	"100 YEARS" screened in two rows of brown serifed letters in bottom left corner	1ABC12 10AB12	Coded by county of issuance (1 or 10)	Remained valid until 1996.

County coding

County code number	County	County Seat
1	Silver Bow	Butte
2	Cascade	Great Falls
3	Yellowstone	Billings
4	Missoula	Missoula
5	Lewis and Clark	Helena
6	Gallatin	Bozeman
7	Flathead	Kalispell
8	Fergus	Lewistown
9	Powder River	Broadus
10	Carbon	Red Lodge
11	Phillips	Malta
12	Hill	Havre
13	Ravalli	Hamilton
14	Custer	Miles City
15	Lake	Polson
16	Dawson	Glendive
17	Roosevelt	Wolf Point
18	Beaverhead	Dillon
19	Chouteau	Fort Benton
20	Valley	Glasgow
21	Toole	Shelby
22	Big Horn	Hardin
23	Musselshell	Roundup
24	Blaine	Chinook
25	Madison	Virginia City
26	Pondera	Conrad
27	Richland	Sidney
28	Powell	Deer Lodge
29	Rosebud	Forsyth
30	Deer Lodge	Anaconda
31	Teton	Choteau
32	Stillwater	Columbus
33	Treasure	Hysham
34	Sheridan	Plentywood
35	Sanders	Thompson Falls
36	Judith Basin	Stanford
37	Daniels	Scobey
38	Glacier	Cut Bank
39	Fallon	Baker
40	Sweet Grass	Big Timber
41	McCone	Circle
42	Carter	Ekalaka
43	Broadwater	Townsend
44	Wheatland	Harlowton
45	Prairie	Terry
46	Granite	Philipsburg
47	Meagher	White Sulphur Springs
48	Liberty	Chester
49	Park	Livingston
50	Garfield	Jordan
51	Jefferson	Boulder
52	Wibaux	Wibaux
53	Golden Valley	Ryegate
54	Mineral	Superior
55	Petroleum	Winnett
56	Lincoln	Libby

External links

• Montana license plates 1969-present
• License plates of Montana