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), to Frederick Tudor
v t e

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

Passenger baseplates

1903 to 1907

Image	Dates issued	Design	Serial format	Serials issued	Notes
	1903	White serial on blue porcelain plate; "MASS. AUTOMOBILE REGISTER" at top	12345	1 to 4959
	1904			5012 to 5560
				5630 to 6458
				6524 to 6896
				6993 to 7026
				7204 to 8361
				8694 to 8997
	1905			9011 to 9897
				10087 to 10305
				10308 to 11997
	1906			12055 to 12987
				13001 to 15806
				16040 to 16525
				16557 to 17249
				17448 to 17473
				17688 to 17932
				18093 to 18157
	1907			18359 to 19813
				19913 to 21016
				21234 to 21259
				21370 to 21637
				22171 to 22404
				22483 to 23046
				23100 to 23335
				23389 to 26207[1]

1908 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
	1908	Blue serial on white porcelain plate; vertical "MASS" and "1908" at left and right respectively	12345	1 to 17433	First dated plate.
	1909	White serial on blue porcelain plate; vertical "MASS" and "1909" at left and right respectively	12345	1 to 23464
	1910	Blue serial on white porcelain plate; vertical "MASS" and "1910" at left and right respectively	12345	1 to 29027
12345	1911	White serial on blue porcelain plate; vertical "MASS" and "1911" at left and right respectively	12345	1 to 32771
	1912	Blue serial on white porcelain plate; vertical "MASS" and "1912" at left and right respectively	12345	1 to 40626
	1913	White serial on blue porcelain plate; vertical "MASS" and "1913" at left and right respectively	12345	1 to 54042
	1914	Blue serial on white porcelain plate; vertical "MASS" and "1914" at left and right respectively	12345	1 to 61592
	1915	White serial on blue porcelain plate; vertical "MASS" and "1915" at left and right respectively	12345	1 to 79250
	1916	Dark blue serial on cream flat metal plate; vertical "MASS" and "1916" at left and right respectively	123456	1 to 101180
123,456	1917	Cream serial on dark blue flat metal plate; "MASS. 1917" centered at bottom	123,456	1 to 126,973
	1918	Dark blue serial on cream flat metal plate; "MASS. 1918" centered at bottom	123,456	1 to 141,672
123,456	1919	Cream serial on dark blue flat metal plate; "MASS. 1919" centered at bottom	123,456	1 to 177,214
	1920	Embossed dark blue serial on white plate; "MASS. 1920" centered at bottom	123,456	1 to 218,779	First embossed plate.
	1921	Embossed white serial on dark blue plate; "MASS. 1921" centered at bottom	123,456	1 to 259,577
123,456	1922	As 1920 base, but with "MASS. 1922" at bottom	123,456	1 to 321,095
123,456	1923	As 1921 base, but with "MASS. 1923" at bottom	123,456	1 to 401,403
	1924	Embossed white serial on maroon plate; "MASS. 1924" centered at bottom	123,456	1 to 478,484
123,456	1925	Embossed white serial on black plate; "MASS. — 1925" at bottom	123,456	1 to 545,396
123,456	1926	Embossed white serial on blue plate; "1926 — MASS" at bottom	123,456	1 to 597,345
	1927	Embossed white serial on maroon plate; "MASS — 1927" at bottom	123,456	1 to 623,766
	1928	Embossed white serial on green plate; "1928", cod fish graphic and "MASS" at bottom	123,456	1 to 647,690
	1929	Embossed white serial on blue plate; "MASS — 1929" at bottom	123,456	1 to 713,147
	1930	Embossed white serial on maroon plate; "1930 — MASS" at bottom	123,456	1 to 748,910
123,456	1931	Embossed white serial on green plate; "MASS — 1931" at bottom	123,456	1 to 794,371
123,456	1932	As 1930 base, but with "1932 — MASS" at bottom	123,456	1 to 743,729
123,456	1933	As 1931 base, but with "MASS — 1933" at bottom	123,456	1 to 758,948
123,456	1934	As 1930 base, but with "MASS — 1934" at bottom	123,456	1 to 748,877
	1935	As 1931 base, but with "1935 — MASS" at bottom	123,456	1 to 733,466
123,456	1936	Embossed white serial on maroon plate; "MASS 36" centered at top	123,456	1 to 728,351
123,456	1937	Embossed white serial on green plate; "37 MASS" centered at top	123,456	1 to 754,738
	1938	Embossed white serial on maroon plate; "MASS 38" centered at bottom	123·456	1 to 750·947
123·456	1939	Embossed white serial on green plate; "39 MASS" centered at bottom	123·456	1 to 770·203
	1940	Embossed white serial on maroon plate; "MASS 40" centered at top	123·456	1 to 778·478
	1941	Embossed white serial on green plate; "41 MASS" centered at bottom	123·456	1 to 851·278
	1942	Embossed white serial on maroon plate; "MASS 42" centered at bottom	123·456	1 to 854·111
123·456	1943–44	As above, but green rather than maroon			Revalidated for 1943-44 with windshield stickers, due to metal conservation for World War II.
	1945	Embossed white serial on dark blue plate; "45 MASS" at top	123·456	1 to 820·970
	1946	Embossed white serial on black plate; "46 MASS" at bottom	123·456	1 to 842·580
	1947	Embossed white serial on dark green plate; "MASS 47" within embossed white bar centered at top	123·456	1 to 896·180
	1948	Embossed white serial on maroon plate; "48 MASS" within embossed white bar centered at bottom	123·456	1 to 947·144
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 1993

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' suffixes were used for November and 'Y' for 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 just a single letter (A through Z, expires on December 31), 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 are also of the forms A#A, A##A, #A#, and #AA#, where # represents any number, and A represents any letter. Low-number reserve plates – now the "so-called 'Lottery Plates'" by the RMV – are of the forms A, #, ##, ###, 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. 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.

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 apportioned plate registrations expire on June 30, all trailer and passenger vanity plate registrations expire on November 30, and all motorcycle, commercial, and A format passenger reserved plate 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:

Image	Dates issued	Design	Serial format	Serials issued	Notes
37836	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	100·00E to 999·99Z	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	1E·0000 to 9X·9999	Coded by month of expiration.
			12A·340	10E·000 to 99R·990	October only, issued in alternating weeks from 1977, following the introduction of the green-on-white base (below), until supplies were exhausted. Replaced 1982–83.
			123·456	100·000 to 999·999	Coded by month of expiration.
V 329			A12·345	E10·000 to Y99·999	Coded by month of expiration.
			123·45A	100·00E to 999·99Y	Coded by month of expiration.
445·GMT	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)

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. 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. 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.

Image	Description	Serial formats	Serials issued	Notes
		Previous
		Coded with n by month of expiration (1 through 9 for January through September, 0 for October), coded with 0 for October only formats:
		Letters Q and U never used. Letters I and O used in 123·ABC and 1234 AB formats only.
	Embossed red serial on reflective white plate; "Massachusetts" and "The Spirit of America" screened in blue centered at top and bottom respectively	12n·ABC	Reverse issue from 999·ZZZ to 100·WAA
		123n AB	1000 AA to 9999 ZZ	January issued only through 9991 TZ, February issued only through 9992 YZ (all IA-IZ and OA-OZ prefixes were skipped)
		12A B3n	10A A00 to 99Z Z99	May issued only through 99Y Z85, June issued only through 99T Z86
215 BG2		123 ABn	100 AA0 to 999 NZ0 (October, see right)	October issued only through 999 NZ0 due to confusion and delay with the previous 123·ABO format
			111 AA1 to 999 ZZ9 (January through September)
		1AB 23n	1AA 100 to 9ZZ 990 (October)	June issued only through 8WK  396, July issued only through 9HL 357, August issued only through 8ZK 898
			1AA 111 to 9ZZ 999 (January through September)
		1ABC 20	1AAA 10 to 9RZZ 90 (9SAA 10 to 9ZZZ 90 were not used and October was moved on to the below format in November 2018)	October
		12A 340	11A 100 to 99Z 990	October only, although other months might follow
Image	Description	Serial formats	Serials issued	Notes
		Current
		Coded with n by month of expiration (1 through 9 for January through September, 0 for October), coded with 0 for October only formats:
		Letters I, O, Q, and U never used.
	Embossed red serial on reflective white plate; "Massachusetts" and "The Spirit of America" screened in blue centered at top and bottom respectively	1ABC 2n	As of March 8, 2024: 1AAA 11 to at least 5VCK 81 1AAA 12 to at least 3LEY 42 1AAA 13 to at least 3ZAK 43 1AAA 14 to 5BZZ 94 1AAA 15 to 4LZZ 95 1AAA 16 to 4DZZ 96 1AAA 17 to at least 5RNB 17 1AAA 18 to at least 5WEB 18 1AAA 29 to 6DZZ 39	January through September
		123 A40	As of March 8, 2024: 111 A10 to 479 Z90	October only, although other months might follow

Reserved plates

Image	Description	Serial formats	Serials issued	Notes
		Previous
		Coded with "n" by month of expiration (1 through 9 for January through September, 0 is never used):
	Low-number reserve: Embossed red serial on reflective white plate; "Massachusetts" and "The Spirit of America" screened in blue centered at top and bottom respectively	AnB	A1A to Z9Z	January through September only
		A1nB	A11A to Z99Z	January through September only
		1An	1A1 to 9Z9	January through September only
		1ABn	1AA1 to 9ZZ9	January through September only
Image	Description	Serial formats	Serials issued	Notes
		Current
		Coded with "n" by month of expiration (1 through 9 for January through September, 0 for October):
		* Available via lottery only.[4]
	Low-number reserve: Embossed red serial on reflective white plate; "Massachusetts" and "The Spirit of America" screened in blue centered at top and bottom respectively	A*	A to Z	Expires on December 31
10787		1234n	1 to 99999	1 through 999*
V 92		A 123n	A 1 to Z 9999	A 1 through Z 99*
		123n A	1 A to 9999 Z	1 A through 99 Z*

Vanity plates

Image	Dates issued	Design	Serial formats	Notes
	1987–present	Embossed red serial on reflective white plate; "Massachusetts" and "The Spirit of America" screened in blue centered at top and bottom respectively	AB 1234	All Passenger Vanity plates expire on November 30, even if it has a number.
			ABC 123
			ABCD 12
			ABCDE 1
OOOOOO			ABCDEF

Non-passenger plates

Image	Type	Dates issued	Design	Serial format	Serials issued	Notes
991·678	Commercial	1987–1991	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.
		1991–1993		A12·345	A 1000 to C99·999
		1993–2007	As above, but with embossed "DEC" at top left		D 1000 to M63·501
		2007–2019	As above, but with "DEC" screened rather than embossed		M63·841 to V39·426
		2019–present	As above, but with "COMMERCIAL" screened rather than embossed		V43·737 to at least X89·999 (as of January 27, 2024)
	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.
		2004–2005		A 1234	A 1000 to F 4023
		2005–2008			G 1657 to Z 9999
		2008–2021		A12·345	A10·000 to F23·483
		2021			F27·929 to F64·602
		2021–present		TZ 12345	TZ 10000 to TZ 91907 (as of April 23, 2023)
	Apportioned	1987–2018	As "Spirit of America" base, but with screened "APPORTIONED" in place of slogan	12345	10000 to 99999	All Apportioned plates expire on June 30.
		2018–2021		1234 A	1000 A to 9999 B
		2021–present		1AB 23C	1AA 10A to 1AH 73Y (as of November 21, 2023)