Minnesota License Plates

Minnesota High Plates	Print

As with Idaho, the introduction of flats has changed the registration characters from blue to black. The state map graphic separating the numbers and letters is still blue. The font being used closely matches the dies from the embossed plates.

Rob Wood reports passenger plates have JAN screened, but other months use a sticker placed over it. Guy Peterson reports a white month sticker with blue lettering. Nick Jankovich advises that some of the new B series plates were issued with the blue on white month stickers, while the A series plates continued to use the original white on blue.

Minnesota.com is now appearing in place of the regular state name.

Type	Plate	Notes	Reporter
Passenger	nnn-EEP	The letters I, O, and Q are not used. O and Q were used at one time, but not recently. Standard plates are now flat and have reverted to a 000-AAA pattern. The B series appeared before the A series because B series plates were sent to registrants who initiated orders through the mail and over the Internet. The A series began to appear for over the counter sales as each office ran out of embossed plates. Our thanks to Jeremy DeMai for this information! B series high - 093-BZX After the A series was exhausted, the C series began for over the counter sales. Now the D series is in use. In the previous alpha-numeric format, upon reaching PGR 999, the PGS series was skipped, so the next series started at PGT 001. From then on, the letter S was not used in any position. According to the state, this was because their telephone voice activation system was having difficulty understanding when the letter S was spoken over the phone. The state initially skipped the entire S series and went from RZZ 999 to TAA 001. After VZZ 999 the W series was skipped and went to XAA 001. The reason for this is because they were concerned that the W series would look too much like the DUI plates (locally called "W"hiskey plates). Whiskey plates use a WA0000 format, and they always start with W. After XZZ 999 was reached, the state apparently fixed the problem with their telephone system, and jumped back to the S series. It is unclear if the S was used in the second or third positions prior to this. The Y series was skipped because the state thought they would look too much like truck plates. Truck plates have a Y/A A0000 format, and the top letter of the stack is always Y. Apparently, the Z series was made, but the DMV isn't going to issue them. Management wants to keep them for testing, whatever that means. Minnesota is on a 7 year replacement cycle, so plates must be replaced upon reaching 7 years of age. Therefore, the lowest alpha-numeric plates still in use are in the Hxx series. The current low for Pass. plates is DFC-nnn reported by Nick Jankovich on 2010-03-16.	Lee Cryer 9/02/10
Non-passenger Plates
"Whiskey"	WJnnnn	Flat Black on white, "Minnesota" on top, "10,000 Lakes" on bottom. These plates are issued to drivers convicted of DWI, hence the nickname that is widely used in the state. Nick Jankovich has observed that this type appears to be going backwards snce the most recent he has seen were in the WJ series. Both the WJ and WK series are flat, but the earlier WL and WM series were embossed.	Nick Jankovich 3/18/10
Apportioned	PAK0088	Flat, weight sticker on right	Guy Peterson 3/22/10
City Bus	BY79964	Flat, graphic	Guy Peterson 3/01/10
Collector	317632	This series started in 1974 at 600-000 and went through the 700-000 range. Now it is starting over in the 300-000 range to prevent duplication with Tax Exempt plates in the 800-000 to 900-000 range. The new flat version does not have a hyphen between the numbers.	Nick Jankovich 4/10/10
Dealer	D 00752	Flat, all white with black numerals. Also, a small black border around the edge. D99999 was reached, numbers restarted at D00001	Guy Peterson 3/09/10
Dealer In Transit	I T 38649	Older embossed type	Nick Jankovich 2/20/10
Drive Away In-Transit	D R W 52278	Also called Transporter; R/W is stacked between the D and the numbers	Nick Jankovich 2/22/10
Farm Truck	TLD5824	Farm plates are now flat with graphics. Gone is the green serial. "Farm Truck" on the bottom.	Guy Peterson 3/22/10
Fleet	ABnnnn	Fleet plates are now flat on the graphic base and are used by companies such as Qwest, Comcast, UPS, and several other large companies. Some nnn FLF fleet (embossed) registration plates from several years ago may still be in circulation.	Rob Wood 9/26/09
Handicapped	8122HL	Handicapped symbol is embossed to the left of the numbers. Letters are no longer stacked on the new flat plates.	Nick Jankovich 4/30/10
Moped	36671MP	Flat, graphic	Guy Peterson 9/05/09
Motorcycle	58072MG	New style flat graphic plate. Lake and trees on top. "Motorcycle" on bottom. Month (always Feb.) screened in blue. Alpha suffix is no longer stacked.	Nick Jankovich 4/06/10
Recreational Trailer	RUnnnnn	Now flat, non stacked prefix with "Recreational Trailer" on the bottom.	Guy Peterson 4/02/10
School Bus	SB79320	Flat, new graphic design	Guy Peterson 12/14/09
Semi-Trailer	9960STG	Used to be in the 1234 S/T A format, with S/T stacked. Now unstacked, all in one line the same size.	Keith Foreman 2/27/10
Tax Exempt	934249	Same flat style as the new Dealers, including the thin border.	Nick Jankovich 3/31/10
Trailer	7563CTH	Flat	Dale Schoening 3/11/10
Transporter	DRW59725	Same flat style as the new Dealers, including the thin border. Also known as "Drive Away In-Transit"	Guy Peterson 3/23/10
Truck	YBD0860	Flat plate on graphic base. Still has weight sticker but no stacked characters. Previous type was non-graphic embossed with stacked letters. Y/B Annnn followed Y/A Z9999 on the previous type.	Nick Jankovich 5/24/10
Specialty Plates
Critical Habitat - Chickadee	4AB 610		Nick Jankovich 8/06/09
Critical Habitat - Deer	6AH 176	This is the latest version with a new numbering format. An interim issue of Critical Habitat deer was flat and changed to a 123JA format. Guy Peterson reports an old style flat Deer plate - 1AC 627. The low he has seen on the previous flat version was NZ911, and a high flat of 350JA. Older Critical Habitat deer plates appear in the A, D, G, and N series (AA 123 format) in the old embossed format with the deer on the left side. Other specialty plates appear in the 2 letter/3 number format. The B series is used on specialty plates such as Veteran, Firefighters, and other service-oriented plates. Jeremy DeMai reports that the Z series is starting to appear on some Veteran plates, so it is possible that the B series has been exhausted and the Z series is now being used for specialty plates of that type. The C and U series were used on University plates. The E series was skipped, probably because it is used on exempt plates. Exempt plates are used in the 2 letter/4 number format, so there is a possibility that the E series could still appear on special plates in the 2 letter/3number format. The H series was used for disabled plates, but only with a stacked suffix. It is unknown why the F series has not been used, but probably due to avoid potentially offensive combinations.	Nick Jankovich 3/10/10
Critical Habitat - Fishermen	3AH 543	Handicapped high - 01ZG	Nick Jankovich 4/02/10
Critical Habitat - Ladyslipper	5AJ 834		Nick Jankovich 4/29/10
Critical Habitat - Loon	2AP 209	Critical Habitat loon plates are flat and have appeared in the J, K, L, M, P, R, T, and V series in the screened format with the loon on the left side on the previous base. The S series was skipped. New Loon plates are in the 1AB 234 format.	Nick Jankovich 4/08/10
Ex-POW	P O W 1388	Ex-POW embossed at bottom of plate, "P/O/W" before numbers is stacked on angle, (not directly across or down)	Eric Sivertsen 12/16/09
Firefighter	BY 482	The red Minnesota firefighters' crest is on the plate, to the left of the plate number. Professional and Volunteer Firefigters have the same plates. Firefighter - Truck - F126 (Only 4 characters to allow room for a weight sticker on the right)	DAA 7/28/06
Gold Star	066GS	Parents with children killed in action	Guy Peterson 7/21/10
Proud To Be A Veteran	314PA	This is an optional that isn't for a specific conflict or service branch. American flag on left side.	Guy Peterson 9/22/09
Sesquicentennial	SD252	Flat Red, white, blue, with black screened characters David R. Wilson advises that according to the MN Statehood Sesquicentennial Final Report (and other news items) with photo, the first Sesqui plate was SQ001.	Guy Peterson 3/29/09
St. Olaf College	ZT571		Nick Jankovich 1/28/10
Support Our Troops	364BR	The current high in the B series seems to be a newly issued plate and it has the revised design with the red stripe in the center removed for better visibility, but it is unknown why B series are being issued now unless some existing plates are being replaced with the newer design. The C series was skipped originally and the D series features a slight revision in the design that was supposed to make the plates easier to read, but word is that it didn't help much. Now the C series is being issued. Jeff Nelson reports that a second revision of the design removed the middle red stripe of the flag, making the plates much more legible. Guy Peterson reports one of these in the nnnZA series on a 1 ton truck with a weight sticker. Support Our Troops - Handicapped - 50ZB 2010-02-12 Nick Jankovich	Nick Jankovich 3/04/10
Vietnam Veteran	1827VV		Nick Jankovich 8/03/10
World War II Vet	W W I I 4457	"Soldier" figure on the left and full size WWII prefix. Other graphic WWII plates have a "medal" on the left. These plates can be remade with the same number. The same applies to Vietnam Vet plates. Note: The current high is on the previous blue on white base, not the newest base. WW is above II before the serial number.	Eric Sivertsen 12/16/09

Minnesota High Plates