Iowa Embossed

Adair Co.

County names originally appeared on stickers, but they began to be screened directly on the plates by the mid-to-late F suffix series. Chris jones reports 861 FLM had a Lee County sticker and 014 FYO had the Pottawattamie County designation screened on the plate

Dxx and Ixx series were skipped. The D series was used for trailer plates on the previous issue. I, O, and Q are not used in the first position on Iowa plates, but they are used in the second and third position. U and V were used in the second and third position on the original allotment of plates through EFF, but they have not been used in that position since. That means the highest plates with those letters in the third position should be EEU and EEV.

Iowa began issuing flat plates in the eight most populous counties (Polk, Linn, Scott, Woodbury, Dubuque, Pottawattamie, Black Hawk, and Johnson) with the HMZ series in Black Hawk Co., although at least one Cxx series flat plate has been reported from Story Co. (likely a test plate.) The other counties continued to issue embossed plates. Dale Schoening has seen 007 JXT as a flat (Emmet Co.). The switch to flat plates in all counties appears to have happened in the JXT-JYC range, although no clean break is identifiable. JXW was issued in both embossed and flat in Jones Co. JXX was issued in both formats in Lee Co. JXY was issued in flats in the early numbers in Lee Co., but Cedar Co. has higher number JXY plates embossed. Adair Co. has embossed JYC plates, but some higher JYC series flats have also been reported. 603 JYC (Davis Co.) was reported by Scott Fenzloff as a flat. All plates have been flat beginning with the JYD series.