Vehicle registration plates of Michigan

The U.S. state of Michigan began requiring its citizens to register their motor vehicles and display license plates in 1910.

Passenger baseplates 1962 to present^[1][2]

Image	Dates issued	Design	Slogan	Serial format	Notes
	1962	Green on White	Water Wonderland	AB-1234	Front and rear plates required. Validated by metal tabs in '63 & '64. '63 tabs were white on green, '64 tabs were yellow on olive.
	1965	Yellow on blue	Water-Winter Wonderland	AB-1234	Front & Rear Plates Req'd. First year using galvanized steel. First year using state school colors. 1965 honored University of Michigan.
	1966	Dark blue on "buff"	Water-Winter Wonderland	AB-1234	Front & Rear Plates Req'd.
	1967	Maize on dark blue	Water-Winter Wonderland	AB-1234	Front & Rear Plates Req'd. Colors honored University of Michigan during its sesquicentennial year.
	1968	Yellow on green	Great Lake State	AB-1234	Front & Rear Plates Req'd.
	1969	White on red	Great Lake State	AB-1234	Front & Rear Plates Req'd
	1970	White on light gold	Great Lake State	ABC-123	Front & Rear Plates Req'd. Colors are those of Oakland University. First year for ABC-123 format.
	1971	White on red	Great Lake State	ABC-123	Front & Rear Plates Req'd. Plates avail. by mail for the first time. Validated in '72 with black on yellow sticker.
	1973	White on dark blue	Great Lake State	ABC-123	Front & Rear Plates Req'd. Personalized & disabled plates avail. for first time. Some aluminum plates issued. Validated by sticker for '74 & '75.
	1976	White on blue and red	(no slogan)	ABC-123	Front & Rear Plates Req'd. All plates issued were aluminum. Awarded "Plate of the Year" for best new license plate of 1976 by the Automobile License Plate Collectors Association, the first and, to date, only time Michigan has been so honored. Validated by sticker for '77 & '78.
	1978	Reflective (glass beads) white on black	Great Lake State	ABC-123 123-ABC	Front & Rear Plates Req'd until 1 April 1981. Year-round registration began in 1980, with plates expiring on the registrants birthday. 123-ABC format used for the first time following the exhaustion of all ABC-123 plates. Validated with stickers through 1983.
	1983	Reflective (glass beads) white on blue	Great Lakes	123 ABC ABC 123 ABC1234 ABC 1234	Only rear plate req'd. Validated with stickers through 2007. ABC1234 and ABC 1234 were issued in 2005 and 2006, respectively, after ABC 123 and 123 ABC had been exhausted in 2004 and 1990, respectively.[3]
	1997—2007	Blue serial on background featuring a sunset and the Mackinac Bridge	Great Lakes Splendor	1AB C23	Optional plate. Issued until 2007, although can still be renewed with stickers.
	2007—present	Blue on reflective white, blue box with state name	www.Michigan.gov	ABC 1234	First standard base-plate reissue since 1983. Started at BAA 0001.
	2007—present	Black Serial; Background features buildings from the skylines of Detroit, Grand Rapids, Lansing, and Flint, the forests of Michigan, all five Great Lakes, and the Mackinac Bridge	Spectacular Peninsulas	1AB C23	Optional plate. Replacement for Great Lakes Splendor optional issue plate. Started at 0HA A00.

References

1. ^ Michigan Historical Center, Dept. of History, Arts & Libraries
2. ^ Automobile License Plate Collectors Assoc.
3. ^ http://www.15q.net/mi.html

External links

• Michigan license plates 1969-present
• Michigan License Plate Website