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License Plate Visual Guide

Designs last verified: August 2026

The spotting guide covers which plates are rare and where to look. This page is the other half — what each state's plate actually looks like, so you can match a design at a glance instead of squinting at a moving car to read the state name.

51 states below (all 50, plus DC) have a confirmed, currently-issued design with a properly sourced photo — see the credits at the bottom for exactly where each one came from.

The “Other” tab in-game also scores Canadian province and Mexican state plates as bonus finds — those get their own pages, since they're a different enough set to be worth browsing separately.

Current standard-issue license plate from Alabama
AlabamaA Gulf Coast sunset over dunes and sea oats, with a small heart reading "Heart of Dixie" tucked in the corner — Alabama's long-running nickname.
Current standard-issue license plate from Alaska
AlaskaGold background, blue serial. The small flag icon splitting the plate number is Alaska's Big Dipper and North Star — same design as the state flag.
Current standard-issue license plate from Arizona
ArizonaA saguaro cactus in the foreground and purple mountains at sunset — the same desert-sunset scene Arizona's plate has used since the mid-1990s.
Current standard-issue license plate from Arkansas
ArkansasA diamond watermark sits behind the serial — a nod to Crater of Diamonds State Park, the only spot in the US where the public can dig for real diamonds.
Current standard-issue license plate from California
CaliforniaWhite plate, red cursive script, blue serial — one of the most recognizable plates on the road simply because California has more registered cars than any other state.
Current standard-issue license plate from Colorado
ColoradoA green Rocky Mountains skyline runs across the top edge — simple, but instantly readable at highway speed.
Current standard-issue license plate from Connecticut
ConnecticutA blue-to-white sky gradient with a small state-outline icon in the corner and "Constitution State" — Connecticut's nickname from its early state constitution.
Current standard-issue license plate from District of Columbia
District of Columbia"END TAXATION WITHOUT REPRESENTATION" has been on DC's plates since 2017 — a protest that DC residents pay federal taxes but have no voting member of Congress.
Current standard-issue license plate from Delaware
DelawareGold serial on navy blue, unchanged in essence for decades. "The First State" refers to Delaware being first to ratify the US Constitution, in 1787.
Current standard-issue license plate from Florida
FloridaA green state silhouette behind a pair of oranges — Florida's citrus industry, right there on the plate.
Current standard-issue license plate from Georgia
GeorgiaGeorgia currently issues two standard designs at once: the long-running peach plate, and a new "250 Years" plate marking the Revolutionary War semiquincentennial — both shown here.
Current standard-issue license plate from Hawaii
HawaiiA rainbow arcs behind the serial on white — about as far from a car-reachable plate as this game gets, since nothing drives to Hawaii.
Current standard-issue license plate from Idaho
IdahoA red-to-blue sky gradient over silhouetted mountains and pines, with "Famous Potatoes" along the bottom — Idaho grows about a third of the country's potatoes.
Current standard-issue license plate from Illinois
IllinoisA gray silhouette of Abraham Lincoln anchors the left edge, with the Chicago skyline and the state capitol dome worked into the background — "Land of Lincoln."
Current standard-issue license plate from Indiana
IndianaA red covered bridge over a stream, framed by pine trees — the design Hoosiers picked themselves in a 2016 public vote, on the road since 2017.
Current standard-issue license plate from Iowa
IowaA wind turbine sits over a farm-and-skyline silhouette — Iowa gets a larger share of its electricity from wind than almost any other state.
Current standard-issue license plate from Kansas
KansasA silhouette of the Kansas Statehouse dome, topped by the archer statue "Ad Astra," with "to the stars" spelling out the state motto — a public vote picked this design, which finished rolling out in 2024.
Current standard-issue license plate from Kentucky
KentuckyA light-blue-to-white gradient with the state outline on the left — Kentucky's plates are county-coded, with the county name printed in a box at the bottom.
Current standard-issue license plate from Louisiana
LouisianaRed cursive script on white, with a round "America 250" medallion splitting the serial for the country's semiquincentennial. "Sportsman's Paradise" has run along the bottom for decades.
Current standard-issue license plate from Maine
MainePlain navy serifed type on white — no graphic, just "Maine" and "Vacationland" stacked top and bottom. About as minimal as state plates get.
Current standard-issue license plate from Maryland
MarylandA strip of the black-and-gold, red-and-white Maryland state flag pattern runs along the bottom — one of the few plates that borrows directly from its state flag.
Current standard-issue license plate from Massachusetts
MassachusettsWhite plate, blue script, red serial — "The Spirit of America" has been Massachusetts's plate slogan since the design settled in the early 1990s.
Current standard-issue license plate from Michigan
MichiganA white-to-blue gradient with the state tourism logo's cursive "Pure Michigan" script at top and "michigan.org" along the bottom.
Current standard-issue license plate from Minnesota
MinnesotaA teal lake-and-loon scene behind a small state silhouette, with "10,000 Lakes" along the bottom — Minnesota actually has over 11,000, but the nickname stuck.
Current standard-issue license plate from Mississippi
MississippiA magnolia blossom sits inside a blue circle that doubles as the separator between letters and numbers — the magnolia is Mississippi's state flower.
Current standard-issue license plate from Missouri
MissouriWhite plate, navy serial, red-and-blue wavy stripes top and bottom with the state seal watermarked behind the numbers — "Show-Me State" replaced the bicentennial 1821–2021 design in a November 2024 redesign.
Current standard-issue license plate from Montana
MontanaA white outline of the state fills the left side, with a small bison skull icon splitting the serial — "Treasure State" for its mining history.
Current standard-issue license plate from Nebraska
NebraskaWhite background with a faint blue watermark of the "Genius of Creative Energy" statue that tops the state capitol dome — Nebraska's 2023–2029 standard series.
Current standard-issue license plate from Nevada
NevadaA sky-blue plate with a stylized, faceted mountain range in warm colors along the bottom — "Home Means Nevada" is drawn from the official state song.
Current standard-issue license plate from New Hampshire
New HampshireGreen serial on white, with a faint image of the Old Man of the Mountain rock formation behind the numbers — it collapsed in 2003 but still appears on the plate.
Current standard-issue license plate from New Jersey
New JerseyA yellow-to-cream gradient with a small black state silhouette splitting the serial — one of the few plates with no slogan graphic beyond "Garden State."
Current standard-issue license plate from New Mexico
New MexicoA teal plate with the gold Zia sun symbol from the state flag centered in the serial — New Mexico currently offers this "turquoise" design alongside two other standard options.
Current standard-issue license plate from New York
New YorkWhite plate, navy serial split by a small state outline, with Niagara Falls, the Statue of Liberty, and the NYC skyline worked into the bottom edge — "Excelsior," the state motto, meaning "ever upward." Introduced June 2020.
Current standard-issue license plate from North Carolina
North CarolinaA blue biplane silhouette over "First in Flight" — the Wright brothers' 1903 flight at Kitty Hawk, still the standard plate's defining image.
Current standard-issue license plate from North Dakota
North DakotaA badlands sunset scene with a bison in silhouette at bottom right — "Legendary North Dakota" and "Peace Garden State" both appear on the plate.
Current standard-issue license plate from Ohio
OhioA sunrise over a farm field, city skyline, and the Wright Flyer overhead — "Birthplace of Aviation," since the Wright brothers were from Dayton (though they flew first in North Carolina).
Current standard-issue license plate from Oklahoma
OklahomaA dark red plate with a blue star marked "46" — Oklahoma was the 46th state admitted to the Union, in 1907. Introduced in 2024 under the slogan "Imagine That."
Current standard-issue license plate from Oregon
OregonA green Douglas fir splits the serial against pale mountains — Oregon's standard plate design dates back to 1989 and has barely changed since.
Current standard-issue license plate from Pennsylvania
PennsylvaniaA blue-and-gold plate with a small state-outline keystone icon and "visitPA.com" — Pennsylvania began phasing in a Liberty Bell redesign in 2025, so both are currently on the road.
Current standard-issue license plate from Rhode Island
Rhode IslandA pale blue wave pattern behind the serial with a small anchor icon at top left — "Ocean State," for the bay that cuts deep into the country's smallest state.
Current standard-issue license plate from South Carolina
South Carolina"Where the Revolutionary War Was Won" over a patriot planting the blue Moultrie flag — South Carolina's role in weakening British forces before Yorktown. Became the standard plate January 1, 2026, alongside "In God We Trust."
Current standard-issue license plate from South Dakota
South DakotaA full-color photo of Mount Rushmore fills the plate behind the serial — "Great Faces. Great Places."
Current standard-issue license plate from Tennessee
TennesseeA navy plate with a white state-outline border and the tri-star emblem from the state flag centered below the serial — "The Volunteer State."
Current standard-issue license plate from Texas
TexasWhite plate, black serial, a single star at top left — about as plain as it gets, but the plain white background makes Texas plates easy to pick out at a glance.
Current standard-issue license plate from Utah
UtahDelicate Arch rendered in orange against a blue sky — one of two standard designs Utah currently issues at no extra cost (the other has a ski theme).
Current standard-issue license plate from Vermont
VermontGreen and white with a small maple leaf icon at top left — a simple, high-contrast design that's stayed close to unchanged since 1990.
Current standard-issue license plate from Virginia
VirginiaWhite plate, blue serial, "Virginia is for Lovers" along the bottom — one of the longest-running state tourism slogans in the country, in use since 1969.
Current standard-issue license plate from Washington
WashingtonA snow-capped Mount Rainier fills the background behind the serial — "Evergreen State."
Current standard-issue license plate from West Virginia
West VirginiaA dark blue header band on white, with a tiny state-outline icon splitting the serial — "Wild, Wonderful" has been West Virginia's tourism slogan since the 1970s.
Current standard-issue license plate from Wisconsin
WisconsinA red barn and rolling green hills run along the top edge — "America's Dairyland," Wisconsin's long-standing nickname for its dairy industry.
Current standard-issue license plate from Wyoming
WyomingNavy blue modeled on the state flag, with the bucking-horse rider and a bison silhouetted over the state seal — a 2025 redesign that replaced the classic white-background bucking-horse plate most references still show.

Image credits

Most photos on this page are sourced from Wikimedia Commons and used under their original license. A handful of states (Alabama, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, New York, South Carolina, and Wyoming) weren't available there with confidence, so those images come straight from each state's own DMV, revenue, or transportation department site instead. Click a state's source link to see where its image came from.