Vehicle registration plates of Massachusetts

Massachusetts was the first U.S. state to issue license plates, on September 1, 1903.^[1] Plates are currently issued by the Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles (RMV).

Massachusetts

Current series
Slogan	The Spirit of America
Size	12 in × 6 in 30 cm × 15 cm
Material	Aluminum
Introduced	1987 (1987) (vanity plates and some non-passenger types; used as standard passenger base from 1993 onwards)
Availability
Issued by	Massachusetts Department of Transportation, Registry of Motor Vehicles
History
First issued	September 1, 1903 (1903-09-01)
v t e

On November 12, 2019, Massachusetts became the final state to issue temporary license plates (designated as type PAS, subtype TP), which can be printed at home & put in the RMV sleeve & affixed to the back of the vehicle. Temporary plates are initially good for 20 days but can be renewed once after 17 days if permanent plates haven't arrived yet.

All plates since 1978 are currently valid. Prior to 1993, only rear plates were required; since the first "Spirit of America" plate was issued in 1986, front and rear plates have been required since. As such, the 1978-1993 issues continue to only require the rear plate, while the "Spirit of America" issues since 1986 require front and rear plates.

Passenger baseplates

1903 to 1966

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 6 inches (15 cm) in height by 12 inches (30 cm) in width, with standardized mounting holes.^[2] The 1955 (dated 1956) issue was the first Massachusetts license plate that complied with these standards.

Image	Dates issued	Design	Serial format	Serials issued	Notes
	1903–07	White serial on blue porcelain plate; "MASS. AUTOMOBILE REGISTER" at top	12345	1 to 26207^[1]
	1908	Blue serial on white porcelain plate; vertical "MASS" and "1908" at left and right respectively	12345	1 to approximately 17500	First dated plate.
	1909	White serial on blue porcelain plate; vertical "MASS" and "1909" at left and right respectively	12345	1 to approximately 23500
	1910	Blue serial on white porcelain plate; vertical "MASS" and "1910" at left and right respectively	12345	1 to approximately 29000
12345	1911	White serial on blue porcelain plate; vertical "MASS" and "1911" at left and right respectively	12345	1 to approximately 33000
	1912	Blue serial on white porcelain plate; vertical "MASS" and "1912" at left and right respectively	12345	1 to approximately 41000
	1913	White serial on blue porcelain plate; vertical "MASS" and "1913" at left and right respectively	12345	1 to approximately 54500
	1914	Blue serial on white porcelain plate; vertical "MASS" and "1914" at left and right respectively	12345	1 to approximately 62000
	1915	White serial on blue porcelain plate; vertical "MASS" and "1915" at left and right respectively	12345	1 to approximately 79500
	1916	Dark blue serial on cream flat metal plate; vertical "MASS" and "1916" at left and right respectively	123456	1 to approximately 102000
123,456	1917	Cream serial on dark blue flat metal plate; "MASS. 1917" centered at bottom	123,456	1 to approximately 127,000
	1918	Dark blue serial on cream flat metal plate; "MASS. 1918" centered at bottom	123,456	1 to approximately 142,000
123,456	1919	Cream serial on dark blue flat metal plate; "MASS. 1919" centered at bottom	123,456	1 to approximately 177,000
	1920	Embossed dark blue serial on white plate; "MASS. 1920" centered at bottom	123,456	1 to approximately 219,000	First embossed plate.
	1921	Embossed white serial on dark blue plate; "MASS. 1921" centered at bottom	123,456	1 to approximately 260,000
123,456	1922	As 1920 base, but with "MASS. 1922" at bottom	123,456	1 to approximately 321,000
123,456	1923	As 1921 base, but with "MASS. 1923" at bottom	123,456	1 to approximately 402,000
	1924	Embossed white serial on maroon plate; "MASS. 1924" centered at bottom	123,456	1 to approximately 473,000
123,456	1925	Embossed white serial on black plate; "MASS. — 1925" at bottom	123,456	1 to approximately 546,000
123,456	1926	Embossed white serial on blue plate; "1926 — MASS" at bottom	123,456	1 to approximately 598,000
	1927	Embossed white serial on maroon plate; "MASS — 1927" at bottom	123,456	1 to approximately 624,000
	1928	Embossed white serial on green plate; "1928", cod fish graphic and "MASS" at bottom	123,456	1 to approximately 644,000
	1929	Embossed white serial on blue plate; "MASS — 1929" at bottom	123,456	1 to approximately 712,000
	1930	Embossed white serial on maroon plate; "1930 — MASS" at bottom	123,456	1 to approximately 749,000
123,456	1931	Embossed white serial on green plate; "MASS — 1931" at bottom	123,456	1 to approximately 792,000
123,456	1932	As 1930 base, but with "1932 — MASS" at bottom	123,456	1 to approximately 740,000
123,456	1933	As 1931 base, but with "MASS — 1933" at bottom	123,456	1 to approximately 759,000
123,456	1934	As 1930 base, but with "MASS — 1934" at bottom	123,456	1 to approximately 749,000
	1935	As 1931 base, but with "1935 — MASS" at bottom	123,456	1 to approximately 734,000
123,456	1936	Embossed white serial on maroon plate; "MASS 36" centered at top	123,456	1 to approximately 729,000
123,456	1937	Embossed white serial on green plate; "37 MASS" centered at top	123,456	1 to approximately 755,000
	1938	Embossed white serial on maroon plate; "MASS 38" centered at bottom	123·456	1 to approximately 751·000
123·456	1939	Embossed white serial on green plate; "39 MASS" centered at bottom	123·456	1 to approximately 771·000
	1940	Embossed white serial on maroon plate; "MASS 40" centered at top	123·456	1 to approximately 779·000
	1941	Embossed white serial on green plate; "41 MASS" centered at bottom	123·456	1 to approximately 852·000
	1942–44	Embossed white serial on maroon plate; "MASS 42" centered at bottom	123·456	1 to approximately 828·000	Revalidated for 1943 and 1944 with wind- shield stickers, due to metal conservation for World War II.
123·456		As above, but green rather than maroon		828·001 to approximately 855·000
	1945	Embossed white serial on dark blue plate; "45 MASS" at top	123·456	1 to approximately 799·000
	1946	Embossed white serial on black plate; "46 MASS" at bottom	123·456	1 to approximately 843·000
	1947	Embossed white serial on dark green plate; "MASS 47" within embossed white bar centered at top	123·456	1 to approximately 897·000
	1948	Embossed white serial on maroon plate; "48 MASS" within embossed white bar centered at bottom	123·456	1 to approximately 948·000
No image	1949–50	Embossed white serial on black plate; "49 MASS" within embossed white bar centered at top	123·456	1 to 999·999	Revalidated for 1950 with windshield sticker.
			A12·345	K, H and J series
	1951–52	Embossed white serial on maroon plate; "MASS 51" within embossed white bar centered at bottom	123·456	1 to 999·999	Revalidated for 1952 with windshield sticker.
			A12·345	K, H, E and P series
	1953–54	Embossed white serial on black plate; "MASS 53" within embossed white bar centered at top	123·456	1 to 999·999	Revalidated for 1954 with windshield sticker.
			A12·345	K, H, E, P and L series
No image	1955–56	Embossed white serial on maroon plate; "55 MASS" within embossed white bar centered at bottom	123·456	1 to 999·999	Revalidated for 1956 with windshield sticker.
			A12·345	K, H, E, P, L, N and X series
	1957–58	Embossed white serial on black plate with border line; "MASS 57" within embossed white bar centered at top	123·456	1 to 999·999	First 6" x 12" plate. Revalidated for 1958 with windshield sticker.
			A12·345	K, H, E, P, L, N, X and U series
	1959–60	Embossed white serial on maroon plate with border line; "59 MASS" within embossed white bar centered at top	123·456 A12·345		Revalidated for 1960 with windshield sticker.
	1961–62	Embossed white serial on dark green plate with border line; "MASS 61" within embossed white bar centered at top	123·456 A12·345		Revalidated for 1962 with windshield sticker.
	1963	Embossed white serial on black plate with border line; "63 MASS" within embossed white bar centered at top	123·456 A12·345
	1964–65	Embossed white serial on maroon plate with border line; "MASS 64" within embossed white bar centered at top	123·456 A12·345		Revalidated for 1965 with windshield sticker.
	1966	Embossed white serial on dark green plate with border line; "66 MASS" within embossed white bar centered at top	123·456 A12·345

1967 to present

 

1966 vanity plate. Serials featuring the names of alcoholic beverages are no longer permitted.

 

"Spirit of America" low-number reserve plate.

Massachusetts implemented a monthly staggered registration system in 1969. Since then, serials on passenger plates have been coded by the month of expiration of the registration, determined by the last number in the serial (1 for January, 2 for February and so on up to 0 for October). From 1969 through 1977, serials with 'X' and 'Y' suffixes were used for November and December expirations respectively. Registrants are issued plates expiring the last day of the previous month (e.g. a motorist registering a vehicle in June will be issued May plates). If a vehicle is registered in December or January (so that November and December plates would be called for), leftover plates are issued from other months with manufacturing overruns.

In addition to the standard serial formats, Massachusetts also issues "reserve" plates. Reserve plates permit the plate holder to receive the same serial number when new plate styles are issued, or to transfer the serial number to family members. These plates are either all-numeric (1 through 99999) or consist of a single letter followed or preceded by a number (A 1 through Z 9999 and 1 A through 9999 Z). Reserve serials may also be of the forms A#A, A##A, #A#, and #AA#, where # represents any number, and A represents any letter. Low-number reserve plates – now called "Lottery Plates" by the RMV – are of the forms #, ##, ###, ####, A#, A##, #A, and ##A only. When a registrant cancels a low-number reserve registration, the number is placed in an annual lottery.^[3] Registration for the lottery generally begins each June, and the drawing must be held by September 15. Prior to the institution of this annual lottery^[when?], low-number reserve plates were issued only to well-connected individuals, and it is widely believed that drivers with low registration numbers were given preferential treatment by law enforcement. The annual lottery was instituted in response to complaints about the politics behind the issuance of low-number registrations.^{[citation needed]} As with standard registration plates, the final digit on low-number reserve plates indicates the month of expiration.

Two-year registrations are mandatory, with the exception of vehicles initially registered during December or January. Vanity plates and motorcycle plates must be renewed annually. All vanity plate registrations expire on November 30, and all motorcycle and commercial registrations expire on December 31.

Currently, the Livery plate is the only common license plate in Massachusetts that is allowed to have more than six characters in its serials. All Livery plate serials start with the letters "LV", even if not stamped.

Because the RMV utilizes "Plate Type" to describe the type of registration, it is theoretically possible to have two plates issued with seemingly the same serial. Some of the plate types, and their three-letter codes, are listed below:

• PAN - Passenger: Normal
• PAR - Passenger: Reserved
• PAS - Passenger: Specialty (Antique, Veteran, Environmental, Sports, Spay & Neuter, Breast Cancer, United We Stand, etc.)
• PAV - Passenger: Vanity
• PAY - Passenger: Year of Manufacture (Antique plate with year stamped; AN gets added to the beginning of plate number on registration)
• CON - Commercial: Normal (plates starting SR are for snow removal; HR for Hearse)
• COR - Commercial: Reserved
• COV - Commercial: Vanity
• MCN - Motorcycle: Normal
• MCR - Motorcycle: Reserved
• MCS - Motorcycle: Specialty
• MCV - Motorcycle: Vanity
• AHN - Camper: Normal
• AHR - Camper: Reserved
• AHV - Camper: Vanity
• AMN - Ambulance: Normal (includes Animal Ambulance)
• AMR - Ambulance: Reserved
• LVN - Livery: Normal
• LVR - Livery: Reserved
• LVV - Livery: Vanity
• SPN - School Pupil: Normal
• TAN - Taxi: Normal
• TAR - Taxi: Reserved
• TRN - Trailer: Normal (not used on Camper trailers)
• TRR - Trailer: Reserved
• VPN - Van Pool: Normal
• SBN - School Bus: Normal
• SBR - School Bus: Reserved
• BUN - Bus: Normal
• BUR - Bus: Reserved
• BUV - Bus: Vanity

Image	Dates issued	Design	Serial format	Serials issued	Notes
	1967–68	Embossed blue serial on reflective white plate with border line; "MASSACHUSETTS" centered at top	123·456	100·001 to 999·999	Revalidated with windshield stickers through the end of 1969, then coded by month of expiration (see above) and revalidated with plate stickers.
			A12·345	E10·001 to Y99·999
	1969–71		123·45A	Coded by month of expiration	Revalidated with plate stickers. All plates replaced 1972–73.
	1972–78	Embossed red serial on reflective white plate with border line; "MASSACHUSETTS" centered at bottom	1A·2345 12A·340 123·456 A12·345 123·45A	Coded by month of expiration	12A·340 serial format used only on plates expiring in October.^[4] Issued in alternating weeks from 1977, following the introduction of the green-on-white base (below), until supplies were exhausted. Replaced 1982–83.
	1977–93	Embossed green serial on reflective white plate with border line; "MASSACHUSETTS" centered at top	123·ABC	100·AAA to 999·VZZ (see right)	Only rear plates issued (except for reserved and non-passenger plates). On all plates, the last digit corresponded to the month of expiration, with November and December expirations discontinued except on non-passenger plates and on red-and-white plates until 1980–81. All-numeric plates were generally issued to holders of the same serials on the red-on-white base. Still currently revalidated.
	1983–93		123·456	100·000 to 999·999 (see right)
	1993–present	Embossed red serial on reflective white plate; "Massachusetts" and "The Spirit of America" screened in blue centered at top and bottom respectively	123·ABC	999·ZZZ to 100·WAA (reverse issue)	This base was first issued in 1987 for vanity plates and some non-passenger types, before becoming the standard passenger base in 1993. On all standard passenger plates, the last digit corresponds to the month of expiration. Letters I, O, Q and U are no longer in use.
			123·4AB	100·9AA to 999·9CZ; 100·0AA to 999·0AM; 100·5SA to ???·5S?
			1234 AB	??? to 9999 ZZ (January issued only through approx. 9991 TZ^[5])
			12A B34	10A A00 to 99Z Z00, then 10A A10 through 99Z Z10 and so on through 99Z Z90
			123 AB4	100 AA0 to 999 ZZ9 (October expirations for this series discontinued after NZ0 series due to confusion with previous 123·ABO format)
			1AB 234	1AA 100 to 9ZZ 999
			1ABC 23	1AAA 10 to present (January through September. October is an entire series ahead, and was moved on to the below formats after 9RZZ 90)
			12A 345	10A 100 to 99Z 990 (October only)
			123 A45	100 A00 to present (October only)

Current passenger baseplates

Currently, both the 1977 green-on-white base and the 1987 "Spirit" base are valid for registration. On the 1977 base, only rear plates were issued for most types (except for Reserved, Commercial and Taxi, for which front plates were also issued and must also be displayed today), whereas on the current "Spirit" base, both front and rear plates are issued. Registrants with 1977 plates have the option of replacing these with "Spirit" plates at no charge (though a different number will be used); however, most choose to keep their 1977 plates as a point of pride. In many cases, the 1977 plates are worn and illegible; legally per M.G.L. Chapter 90, a car with an illegible plate (regardless of age or color) must fail the state's annually required vehicle safety inspection. This is a safety fail, which under Massachusetts law prohibits operation of the vehicle until the issue is corrected.

Image	First year of issue	Description	Current serial format	Serials previously issued	Notes
	1987	Red on reflective white base with screened state name and slogan in blue	Coded with "n" by month of expiration (1 through 9 for January through September, 0 for October): 1ABC 2n (January through September expirations) 123 A4n (October expirations only)	Coded with "n" by month of expiration (1 through 9 for January through September. 0 is never used): 123 45n 12n ABC 123n AB 12A B3n 123 ABn 1AB 23n 12A 34n (Only used for October expirations, although other months might follow)
	1987	Low-number reserve: Red on reflective white base with screened state name and slogan in blue	Coded with "n" by month of expiration (1 through 9 for January through September. 0 is never used): A* (expires on December 31). n* 1n* 12n* 123n 1234n A n* A 1n* A 12n A 123n n A* 1n A* 12n A 123n A		* Available only via lottery.^[6]

Non-passenger plates

Image	Type	Dates issued	Design	Serial format	Serials issued	Notes
	Commercial	1987–91	As "Spirit of America" base, but with embossed "COMMERCIAL" in place of slogan	123·456	1 to 999·999	All Commercial plates expire on December 31.
		1991–93		A 1234 A12·345	A 1000 to C99·999
		1993–2007	As above, but with embossed "DEC" at top left		D 1000 to approximately M63·800
		2007–2020	As above, but with "DEC" screened rather than embossed		M63·801 to approximately V42·000
		2020-present	As above, but with "COMMERCIAL" screened rather than embossed		V42·001 to X63·755 (as of September 10, 2023)
	Trailer	1987–2004	As "Spirit of America" base, but with embossed "TRAILER" in place of slogan	123·456	1 to 999·999	All Trailer plates expire on November 30.
		2004–08		A 1234	A 1000 to Z 9999
		2008–21		A12·345	A10·000 to approximately F99·999
		2021-present		TZ 12345	TZ 10000 to TZ 91907 (as of April 23, 2023)

References

1. . Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles. Archived from the original on January 4, 2017. Retrieved August 18, 2017.
2. Garrish, Christopher (October 2016). "Reconsidering the Standard Plate Size". Plates. Vol. 62, no. 5. Automobile License Plate Collectors Association.
3. 2011 Low Plate Lottery Announcement
4. Tanner, Eric N. "Massachusetts License Plates". allaboutlicenseplates.com. Retrieved December 5, 2015.
5. Sage, Kit; Tanner, Eric. "licenseplates.cc Massachusetts highs page". Retrieved June 24, 2009.
6. "Passenger Plates Booklet" (PDF). massDOT Registry of Motor Vehicles Division. Commonwealth of Massachusetts. July 2014. Retrieved 7 October 2022.

External links

• Massachusetts license plates 1969–present
• Passenger Plates Booklet July 2014. Registry of Motor Vehicles (MassDOT). Retrieved 2014-07-02.