Vehicle registration plates of the United States for 1979

All of the 50 constituent states of the United States of America plus several of its territories and the District of Columbia issued individual passenger license plates for the year 1979.

Passenger baseplates ImageRegionDesignSloganSerial formatSerials issuedNotesAlabamaDark blue embossed digits on reflective white; red Alabama State Capitol graphic in lower center; blue "ALABAMA" in serifed letters centered at top; blue rectangle centered at bottom"Heart of Dixie" in white letters on red heart at the upper left cornerABC 123AAA 001 to approximately HDZ 999Issued from October 1976 to December 1981. Early plates carried the county of issuance on a sticker over the blue rectangle. Later plates used taller serial dies. Letters I and Q not used in serials.AlaskaEmbossed red numbers on reflective white plate; standing brown Kodiak bear screened in the center between letters and digits, with pale brown mountain and forest landscape in the background; "ALASKA" embossed in red serifed letters centered at topNoneABC 123AAA 100 to ASZ 999Issued from 1976 to 1980. Letters I, O and Q not used in serial format.American SamoaArizonaEmbossed green numbers on reflective pale orange plate with border line; "ARIZONA 73" centered at top"GRAND CANYON STATE" centered at bottomABC-123PAA-001 to approximately WNJ-999Issued from 1973 to 1980; revalidated with stickers until 1990.ArkansasEmbossed red numbers on reflective white plate; "Arkansas" screened in blue centered at top"Land of Opportunity" screened in blue centered at bottomABC 123 POP 999Issued from 1978 to 1988.CaliforniaGold on blue, embossed state nameNone123 ABC000 AAA to 999 ZZZIssued from 1969 to 1980; monthly staggered registration introduced 1976. I, O and Q not used as first letters in the 123 ABC serial format. Narrower serial dies introduced at the beginning of the WLA series in late 1977, in preparation for the 1ABC123 format.Canal ZoneGreen on white Funnel For World Commerce123451979: Rectangular black on red validation sticker with small "Canal Zone" at top, "79" in center, and small "No" and serial number at bottomColoradoEmbossed white on reflective green; mountains at topNoneAB-1234County-codedConnecticutEmbossed reflective (glass-beaded) white numbers on blue plate with border line; "CONNECTICUT" centered at bottom"CONSTITUTION STATE" at topAB·12341TP·5000 to YZ·9999; ZG·1000 to ZZ·9999Issued from 1976 to 1980.DelawareScreened gold numbers on reflective dark blue plate with gold border; "DELAWARE" centered at bottom"THE FIRST STATE" centered at top123456 4 to 9999991-2Several variations of the font used for the serial exist. Some replacement plates have riveted numbers.District of ColumbiaEmbossed blue numbers on reflective white plate, embossed blue U.S. Capitol dome graphic used as separator, screened red stripes above and below numbers, "WASHINGTON, D.C." centered at bottom, "3-31" sticker at bottom left, and debossed sticker box at bottom right"NATION'S CAPITAL" centered at top123-456500-001 to 562-000Issued from April 1, 1978 to March 31, 1979. Monthly staggered registration introduced August 1, 1983. All plates replaced between 1984 and 1986.FloridaEmbossed green numbers on reflective white plate; orange state map screened to left of center behind numbers; "FLORIDA" centered at topCounty name centered at bottomABC 123FBP 000 to YZZ 999;AIA 000 to YQZ 999Issued from February 1979 to February 1984. 'M' and 'Z' series in the ABC 123 serial format reserved for dealers and rental vehicles respectively. After YZZ 999 was issued in late 1982, serials with I and Q as the first and/or second letters were issued, before the 123 ABC format was introduced. Revalidated with stickers until 1992.GeorgiaEmbossed red on reflective white with border line; "GEORGIA" centered at top; "76" at top left; county name on sticker at bottomNoneABC 123TAA 001 toTZZ 999;WAA 001 to approximately WGZ 999Issued from 1979 to 1980. Letters A through E were used for vehicles weighing 3,000 lb or less; G and H for vehicles between 3,001 lb and 3,500 lb; L, M and N for vehicles between 3,501 lb and 4,000 lb; and R and S for vehicles 4,001 lb or greater.Guam"HAFA ADAI" centered at topHawaiiBlue on reflective white with border line; "HAWAII" centered at top; pink images of King Kamehameha I and Diamond Head screened in background; red hibiscus screened in top left corner and "76" in top right corner"ALOHA STATE" centered at bottom1A-1234A-12345County-codedIssued from 1976 to 1980.IdahoEmbossed green numbers on white plate with border line; "IDAHO" centered at top"FAMOUS POTATOES" centered at bottom 12345 A1234 12345 A1234 AB123Coded by county of issuance ( or )Issued from 1975 to 1982IllinoisDark blue on reflective white; state name screened in dark blue at top"Land of Lincoln" centered at bottom123 4561 to999 999First multi-year base, and first to feature monthly staggered registration. Manufactured in Texas using that state's number dies, and issued in the colors of Illinois College in honor of its sesquicentennial. Vanity plates introduced 1980. Replaced from 1984 to 1986.IndianaBrown serial on reflective white, yellow and brown background"1779 George Rogers Clark" at bottom01234001234County-codedAwarded "Plate of the Year" for best new license plate of 1979 by the Automobile License Plate Collectors Association, the first and, to date, only time Indiana has been so honored. Plates expired from January 31 through June 30, 1980.IowaReflective white numbers on green plate with border line; "IOWA" and county name centered at top and bottom respectively; "79" at top right. Plate elements either embossed (above) or debossed (below)County name centered at bottomABC 123AAA 000 to approximately KCZ 999Issued from 1979 to 1985. County codes abolished after 57 years, replaced by county names at bottom of plate. Whether the plate was embossed or debossed depended on the county of issuance. The serial blocks initially assigned were the same as those on the 1975–78 base. Non-resident plates had blank bottoms.KansasEmbossed white numbers on dark blue plate with state-shaped border; "KANSAS 76" centered at topNone C12345Coded by county of issuance () and month of expiration (C)Issued from 1975 to 1980.KentuckyEmbossed dark blue numbers on white plate; "KY" at top left and top right; debossed box for expiration sticker centered at top; county-name sticker centered at bottomNoneABC-123AAA-000 to approximately GFZ-999Issued from 1977 to 1983; monthly staggered registration introduced.LouisianaEmbossed black numbers on reflective white plate with border line; "LOUISIANA" centered at bottom"SPORTSMAN'S PARADISE" centered at top123A456Letter corresponds to State Police troop area of issueIssued from 1978 to 1983.MaineEmbossed black numbers on reflective white plate with border line; "MAINE" centered at top"VACATIONLAND" centered at bottom12345 A1 A to 52000 NIssued from 1979 to June 30, 1987.MarylandEmbossed red numbers on white plate; border line around plate and around sticker spot at top right; "MARYLAND" centered at topNoneABC 123AAA 001 to approximately HNB 999Issued from April 1975 to March 1980.MassachusettsEmbossed green numbers on reflective white plate with border line; "MASSACHUSETTS" centered at topNone123·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.MichiganEmbossed reflective (glass-beaded) white numbers on black plate with border line; "19 MICHIGAN 79" at top"GREAT LAKE STATE" centered at bottomABC-123BBB-000 to ZZZ-999Issued from 1979 to 1982. Serials BBB-000 through NVM-999 were issued by county. Front and rear plates issued until April 1, 1981; only rear plates have been issued ever since.MinnesotaEmbossed blue numbers on reflective graphic plate featuring a lake scene with pale blue and white water, pale blue sky, green island and trees, and a small green canoe; "Minnesota" screened in blue centered at top"10,000 lakes" screened in blue centered at bottomABC 123CHA 001 to approximately FOR 999Issued from 1978 to 1982.MississippiEmbossed red numbers on reflective white plate with border line; green magnolia graphic screened in the center; "MISSISSIPPI" screened in green italic serifed letters centered at top; county name embossed in red block letters centered at bottom"The Hospitality State" centered in middleABC 123 Issued in blocks by countyFirst graphic plate; staggered registration also introduced. Awarded "Plate of the Year" for best new license plate of 1977 by the Automobile License Plate Collectors Association, the first time Mississippi was so honored. Some plates had the magnolia graphic in a darker shade of green.MissouriEmbossed reflective (glass-beaded) white numbers on blue plate with border line; "MISSOURI" centered at bottom, month of expiration at bottom left and "79" at bottom right NoneAA1-234First letter corresponds to month of expirationMontanaEmbossed sky blue numbers on reflective white plate with screened red state-shaped border; red "76 Bicentennial" logo and sky blue buffalo skull screened at top left and bottom left corners respectively; red band screened above numbers containing "MONTANA" in white block letters; screened sky blue "'76" in bottom right corner "BIG SKY" screened in sky blue block letters centered at bottom 1·12345610·12345Coded by county of issuance (1 or 10)A straight-line die was originally used for the number '1', before being replaced by a serifed version.NebraskaRed on reflective white with sky blue banner at bottom, Conestoga wagon graphic at top left and Native American chief graphic at top right1776 BICENTENNIAL 19761-A12341-AB12310-A12310-AB12-A1234-A1234Coded by county of issuance (1 or 10)Issued from 1976 to 1984. Only base on which Scotts Bluff County, as well as Sarpy County, used five-character serials with stacked county codes.NevadaDebossed white numbers on reflective blue plate with border line; "NEVADA" centered at top offset to leftNoneA12345AB1234ABC123Coded by county of issuanceIssued from 1974 to 1981.New HampshireEmbossed forest green numbers on reflective white plate with border line; "NEW HAMPSHIRE" centered at bottom"LIVE FREE OR DIE" centered at top1234561 to 999999Issued from January 1979 to December 1983.New JerseyEmbossed buff lettering on medium blue plate, non-reflective, "NEW JERSEY" embossed in plain block letters centered at top"GARDEN STATE" embossed in plain block letters centered at bottom123-ABC; New Jersey state icon used as dash100-LAA to 999-ZZZ2, 5Some of these plates were overpainted.New MexicoEmbossed red numbers on yellow plate, embossed Zia sun symbol used as separator, "NEW MEXICO" centered at bottom, stamped indentation at top center for county-name sticker"LAND OF ENCHANTMENT" centered between numbers and state nameABC-123CCX-001 to approximately EGZ-999Issued from 1978 to 1982.New YorkEmbossed dark blue numbers on reflective orange plate; border lines around plate and around registration sticker spot at bottom right; "NEW YORK" centered at bottomNone12-ABC123-ABC1County-codedNumbers 51 through 999 were used on the 12-ABC and 123-ABC serial formats. Narrower dies introduced 1979 to accommodate 1234-ABC format. All plates revalidated with windshield decals; plate stickers never used despite sticker box.North CarolinaEmbossed red numbers on reflective white plate with border line, "NORTH CAROLINA" at bottomNoneABC-123PNA-101 to approximately SXZ-999First base to be revalidated with stickers. Monthly staggered registration introduced 1981. Plates from AAA-101 through JAY-999 replaced 1982; all other plates replaced by 1992.North DakotaEmbossed green numbers on reflective white plate