Vehicle registration plates of Wisconsin

The U.S. state of Wisconsin first required its residents to register their motor vehicles and display license plates in 1905. Plates are currently issued by the Division of Motor Vehicles of the Wisconsin Department of Transportation (DMV).

Passenger baseplates 1917 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 Wisconsin license plate to comply with these standards.

Image	Dates issued	Design	Slogan	Serial format	Serials issued	Notes
150px	1917	White on dark green		12345
150px	1919	Yellow on deep green		12345
150px	1931	Yellow on blue		123-456
150px	1941	Black on yellow	America's Dairyland	123456
	1953–54	Embossed black numbers on golden yellow plate; "WIS" embossed in black block letters in top left corner; month of expiration and "53" embossed in top right corner	"AMERICA'S DAIRYLAND" embossed in black block letters centered at bottom	A12-345	Letter corresponds to month of expiration (see right)	Letters A, B, C, D, E, H, J, K, L, P, T and V were used for January through December respectively; this practice continued until 1961. Revalidated for 1954 with red tabs.
150px	1955–56	Embossed green numbers on white plate; "WIS" embossed in green block letters in top left corner; month of expiration and "55" embossed in top right corner	"AMERICA'S DAIRYLAND" embossed in green block letters centered at bottom	A12-345 AA-1234	First letter corresponds to month of expiration	Double-letter serial format introduced in months where serials in the single-letter format had been exhausted. Revalidated for 1956 with yellow tabs.
	1957–58	Embossed black numbers on golden yellow plate; "WIS" embossed in black block letters at top, offset to left; month of expiration and "57" embossed in top right corner	"AMERICA'S DAIRYLAND" embossed in black block letters centered at bottom	A12-345 AA-1234	First letter corresponds to month of expiration	Revalidated for 1958 with white tabs.
150px	1959–60	Embossed dark green numbers on white plate; "WIS" embossed in dark green block letters at top, offset to left; month of expiration and "59" embossed in top right corner	"AMERICA'S DAIRYLAND" embossed in dark green block letters centered at bottom	A12-345 AA-1234	First letter corresponds to month of expiration	Revalidated for 1960 with orange tabs.
	1961–62	Embossed black numbers on light yellow plate; "WIS" embossed in black block letters in top left corner; month of expiration and "61" embossed in top right corner	"AMERICA'S DAIRYLAND" embossed in black block letters centered at bottom	A12-345	Letter corresponds to month of expiration	Revalidated for 1962 with stickers.
150px	1963–64	Embossed blue numbers on white plate; "WIS" embossed in blue block letters in top left corner; month of expiration and "63" embossed in top right corner	"AMERICA'S DAIRYLAND" embossed in blue block letters centered at bottom	A12-345	Letter corresponds to month of expiration	Revalidated for 1964 with stickers.
150px	1965–67	Embossed white numbers on maroon plate; "WIS" embossed in white block letters in top left corner; month of expiration and "65" embossed in top right corner	"AMERICA'S DAIRYLAND" embossed in white block letters centered at bottom	A12-345	Letter corresponds to month of expiration	Revalidated for 1966 and 1967 with stickers.
	1968–72	Embossed black numbers on yellow plate; "WISCONSIN" embossed in black block letters centered at bottom; month of expiration embossed in bottom left corner; "68" debossed in bottom right corner	"AMERICA'S DAIRYLAND" embossed in black block letters centered at top	A12-345 AA 1234	First letter corresponds to month of expiration
150px	1973–79	Embossed red numbers on white plate; "WISCONSIN" embossed in red block letters centered at bottom; month of expiration embossed in bottom left corner; "73" debossed in bottom right corner	"AMERICA'S DAIRYLAND" embossed in red block letters centered at top	A12-345 AA 1234	First letter corresponds to month of expiration
150px	1980–86	As 1968–72 base, but with "80" debossed in bottom right corner	"AMERICA'S DAIRYLAND" as on 1968–72 base	A12-345 AA 1234	First letter corresponds to month of expiration
150px	July 1986 – March 1987	Embossed dark blue numbers on white plate; "WISCONSIN" screened in dark blue italic block letters at top left and graphics screened at top right featuring a sailboat and sunset, flying geese, and a farm scene; green and dark blue lines separating state name and graphics from numbers	"America's Dairyland" screened in dark blue italic block letters centered at bottom	ABC-123	AAA-101 to AZZ-999	Recalled starting in August 1993 and replaced with plates with red numbers (below).
150px	March 1987 – December 1994	As above, but with red numbers			BAA-101 to NMD-999	Numbers changed from dark blue to red in response to concerns of confusion with Illinois plates of the time.
150px	December 1994 – June 2000				NME-101 to approximately WRZ-999	Narrower dies.
	June 2000 – present	As above, but with black numbers, state name in larger red letters, graphics revised and green line removed	As above, but in taller red letters	123-ABC	101-AAA to 999-YHF (as of December 3, 2015)	Baseplate design updated.

Optional types

Image	Type	Dates issued	Design	Slogan	Serial format	Serials issued	Notes
	Amateur Radio	? to present	Same design as standard passenger plate, but with "Amateur Radio" legend.		various	various
	Children's Trust Fund	? to present	Red on white with multicolored image of child at left.	Celebrate Children	12345K	10001K to present
	Sesquicentennial of Wisconsin's statehood	1997 – January 1, 1999, with remakes made until August 1, 2008	Embossed red numbers on lake scene.	1848 Sesquicentennial 1998	12345T	10001T to 99999T	Awarded "Plate of the Year" for best new optional license plate of 1997 by the Automobile License Plate Collectors Association, the first and, to date, only time Wisconsin has been so honored. Co-recipient with Manitoba.
					A1234T	A1001T to Z9999T
					AB123T	AA101T to DW999T

Non-passenger types

Image	Type	Dates issued	Design	Slogan	Serial format	Serials issued	Notes
150px	Bus	2004–present	As current passenger base, but with embossed black "BUS" in place of slogan	none	1234B 12345B	1001B to present
	Disabled person	? to 2012	As current passenger base, but with embossed black wheelchair at right	America's Dairyland	12345D	10001D to 99999D
		2012–present			12345D/S	10001D/S to present
	Farm	1994–2004	As 1987–2000 passenger base, but with embossed red "FARM" in place of slogan	none	1234F 12345F 123456F	1001F to approximately 130000F	All Farm plates expire at the end of February in even-numbered years. Narrower dies introduced 2001 when 100000F was reached.
		2004–08	As current passenger base, but with red numbers, plus embossed red "FARM" in place of slogan		123456F	130001F to approximately 162000F
		2008–present	As current passenger base, but with embossed black "FARM" in place of slogan, plus embossed black "FEB" in bottom left corner			200001F to present
	Motorcycle	1992–2003	Embossed green numbers on white plate; "WIS" and "APR" embossed in green block letters in bottom left and bottom right corners respectively; year sticker at bottom middle	none	12345	1 to 99999	All motorcycle plates expire on April 30 in even-numbered years.
					A1234	E101 to Z9999, then A101 to D9999
					AB123	AA101 to KU999
		April 2003–present	Embossed black numbers on white plate; "WISCONSIN" embossed in black block letters at top; "APR" embossed in same letters in bottom left corner; year sticker in bottom right corner	none	AB 123	KV 101 to ZZ 999
					1234 A	1001 A to 9999 Z
					123 AB	101 AA to present
	Trailer	? to present	As current passenger base, but with embossed black "TRAILER" in place of slogan	none	1234 Z/A
	Truck	2000–04	As current passenger base, but with embossed black "TRUCK" in place of slogan, plus sticker for weight class (A, B or C) at far left	none	123456	100001 to 999999	May be personalized. Serials AW1001 through DF9999 skipped to avoid confusion with Temporary plates.
		2004–present			AB1234	AA1001 to AV9999; DG1001 to present

External links

• Wisconsin license plates 1969-present