USA License Plates

Front plate: not required.
Look for: the yellow design in newer coverage (2021 on), the greener one in older coverage.

Front plate: required.
Look for: the yellow plate, by far the most common.

Front plate: not required.
Look for: the purple patch.

Front plate: not required.
Look for: maroon text at the top center.

Front plate: required.
Look for: a bit of red at the top center. Often it just looks plain white.

Front plate: required.
Look for: dark green at the top.

Front plate: required.
Tip: looks like Illinois, Iowa and Minnesota plates, so check other clues.

Front plate: not required.
Look for: gold mixed with dark blue.

Front plate: not required.
Look for: green around the orange in the middle.
Tip: Georgia's plate is white around its peach.

Front plate: not required.
Look for: a white plate with a peach in the middle.
Tip: Florida's is green around the orange.

Front plate: required.
Look for: the rainbow arc, often visible through the blur.

Front plate: required.
Tip: think of it as the Paraguayan flag plate.

Front plate: required.
Look for: maroon text, which sets it apart from Connecticut and Iowa.

Front plate: not required.
Look for: the "In God We Trust" plate with deep blue on the left. Not standard issue, but very common.
Standard plate: light blue at the top, a bit of brown at the bottom center.

Front plate: required.
Look for: faded green at the bottom of the standard plate.
Tip: Maine's green is darker. The blue and white plates look like Illinois, Connecticut and Minnesota.

Front plate: not required.
Tip: looks like the old Rhode Island plate, but with the colors reversed.

Front plate: not required.
Tip: looks like Michigan, but the blue part is bigger.

Front plate: not required.
Look for: a faded pinkish yellow bottom, maybe a bit of red at the top center. Often looks plain white; colors are clearer in older coverage.

Front plate: required.
Look for: very deep green.
Tip: Iowa's green is lighter.

Front plate: required.
Look for: the red brown part at the bottom center.

Front plate: required.
Look for: red text, usually visible through the blur.

Front plate: not required.
Look for: the yellow plate with a bridge. Rarer, but an instant Michigan.
Tip: the white and blue plate looks like Kentucky, but Michigan's blue part is smaller.

Front plate: required.
Look for: a bit of blue at the bottom center (Iowa has none). The top blue part is smaller than on Illinois and Connecticut.

Front plate: not required.
Newer coverage (2024 on): plain white, sometimes a bit of dark blue.
Older coverage (2019 to 2023): two big light brown patches split by white. Common in parking lots.

Front plate: required.
Look for: thin red and blue strips (red is easier to spot) and a colored sticker dead center.

Front plate: required.
Look for: the plain dark blue default plate, though it is rarer than defaults elsewhere.
Tip: if every car has a different plate, it is probably Montana.

Front plate: required.
First plate: white with a dark blue and yellow strip at the top. Can look like West Virginia.
Newer coverage: looks white, sometimes with one or two dark blue spots in the middle.

Front plate: required.
Look for: mostly blue with a yellow strip at the bottom.

Front plate: required.
Look for: a patch of green on the right.

Front plate: required.
Tip: very common and easy to spot.

Front plate: not required.
Look for: the yellow plate. The turquoise one is common too.

Front plate: required.
Look for: either design. Both show up about equally.

Front plate: not required.
Look for: red text at the bottom and faint blue in the middle.

Front plate: required.
Tip: brighter blue and an orange bottom strip set it apart from Nevada.

Front plate: not required (since July 2020).
Look for: the second design in older coverage.

Front plate: not required.
Look for: light blue all around a white center.

Front plate: required.
Look for: the tree, a big green oval.

Front plate: not required.
Look for: blue, white and yellow from top to bottom.

Front plate: required.
Look for: a faint blue wave pattern.
Newer coverage (2023 on): the new plate can look all blue.

Front plate: not required.
Look for: two blue strips split by a white middle.
Tip: when the strips blur together it can look like Montana or Tennessee.

Front plate: required.
Look for: blue above brown or grey.

Front plate: not required.
Tip: looks like Montana's plate, but far more common.

Front plate: required.
Look for: black text, sometimes. Often it looks plain white.

Front plate: required.
Look for: the Arch plate, very common. The second plate shows up a fair amount too.

Front plate: required.
Look for: a fully green plate.

Front plate: required.
Look for: a plain white plate, maybe stickers in both top corners.

Front plate: required.
Look for: very light blue, sometimes a bit of red text at the top left.

Front plate: required.
Tip: hard to spot, often looks plain white.

Front plate: not required.
Look for: faint yellow at the bottom and a sticker in a bottom corner.
Tip: Nebraska looks similar, but its sticker is at the top right.

Front plate: required.
Look for: red text at the top left.

Front plate: required.
Tip: little Street View coverage, but the plate is easy to spot.