Rick Kretschmer's License Plate Archives

Introduction

Special interest and organizational member plates are common in most states today, and Pennsylvania is no exception, with several special interest plates and many hundreds of different organizational member plates available.  Modern organizational member plates were introduced in Pennsylvania in the early 1980s.  However, in the 1960s and earlier, it's been reported that Pennsylvania reserved blocks of regular-issue passenger plates for members of specific groups.  This practice was, as you can imagine, rather subtle and not well documented. 

My "Pictorial History" pages are intended to be a supplement to the information found in the ALPCA Archives.  I am providing additional details and additional photos not found in the archives, and clarifying information when appropriate.  When the ALPCA archives cover a subject in great detail, I do not repeat that detail here.  I sincerely hope that you find this information useful.  If you find an error or have additional information, or can provide a plate or a photo of a plate that I'm missing, please send me an e-mail.  There's a link to my e-mail address at the bottom of every page. 

Mouse over any image to see a description of the plate.  Click on any image to see an enlarged version. 

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Pennsylvania special interest plates:  limited edition, special fund, and extra-cost optional plates

Pennysylvania calls most of its special interest plates "special fund" plates, because proceeds are used to fund various state initiatives.  Special fund plates once had completely different and more colorful designs than standard license plates, which was a strong motivation for people to pay extra for them.  However, this has pretty much completely changed, as most special fund plates have been redesigned to look like regular Pennsylvania plates with a graphic design on the left side of the plate, similar to organizational member plates. 

Of the few special interest plates that are apparently not special fund plates, the state refers to one of these as a limited edition plate.  I'll just refer to the others as "extra-cost optional" plates. 

Limited edition plates were, and special fund and extra-cost optional plates are, available to all motorists without requiring affiliation with any organization or having made a prior donation to any organazation.  Proceeds from special fund plates are disbursed to specific causes by PennDOT only after the plate is purchased by the registrant. 

Limited edition, standard design plate (blue background)

The We The People plate commemmorates the 200th anniversary of the U.S. Constitution in 1987.  Pennsylvania refers to this plate type as a "limited edition" plate rather than a special fund plate.  However, the distinction between the two categories is obscure.  This plate was available to all motorists for an extra fee, but it was issued only for a few months in late 1987.  It largely conforms with the design of the standard 1987-2002 passenger base plate.  This is one of the very few yellow-on-blue Pennsylvania plate types that were still valid after the 1999-2002 statewide replate. 

Special fund plates with distinct designs

The first special fund plate was introduced in 1993.  Over the next seven years, several additional special fund plates were introduced.  All of these had designs that were completely different from each other and from standard-design Pennsylvania plates.  Most of these distinct design special fund plates are no longer issued, but all remain valid for use.  I'm sure the days are numbered for the one remaining distinct design special fund plate that's still being issued. 

• The owl plate was the first special fund plate, and was issued between 1993 and 1999.  Proceeds benefit the state Wild Resources Conservation Fund.  Plate numbers following the W/R prefix are five characters and were initially all-numeric, then four numbers followed by a letter.  This plate was discontinued and replaced with the otter plate, below; however, existing owl plates may continue to be renewed. 

• State-made Flagship Niagara novelty plate.  Not a valid license plate.  (A real one is shown above.)

  The Flagship Niagara plate was available for only a little over a year, from late 1995 to early 1997.  It was discontinued because it had significant legibility problems, but those plates already issued were and still are allowed to remain on the road.  I don't know what fund this plate supported.  Serial format consists of the prefix letters F/N followed by either four numeric digits, or three digits and a suffix letter, as shown above.  The state was stuck with a lot of leftover blank plates, and so they and others have used them to make novelty plates, which appear to be vanity plates but which were never legal for street use.  State-made novelty plates always have a June 1996 expiration stamped in the lower left corner, such as the one shown at right.  Real special fund license plates with distinct designs have never been issued with personalized plate numbers. 
• The tiger plate was introduced in 1996 and was available in a distinct design until April 2013.  Despite the Save Wild Animals text across the top of the pate, its actual purpose is to provide financial support for several zoos located in Pennsylvania.  It has been by far the most popular, and arguably the most beautiful, of the special fund plates.  The prefix letters P/Z are constant.  Serials consisting of four numeric digits, and three digits with a single letter in positions 4, 3, and 2 were all exhausted.  Then, the variable part of the serial went to five characters, with a letter at both ends and three numbers in the middle.  The tiger plate is now being issued on standard design plates, which are addressd below. 
• The D.A.R.E. plate was issued in a distinct design between 1996 and 2005.  "D.A.R.E." stands for Drug Abuse Resistance Education, which is printed across the top of the plate.  Proceeds benefit the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency's drug prevention program presented in elementary schools by police officers.  Plate numbers have four characters following the D/A prefix.  Initially, plate numbers were all numeric; then went to three numeric digits and a single letter in various positions.  In 2005, the D.A.R.E. plate was redone on the standard design plate. 
• The train plate was introduced in 1998 and is the only one still available.  This plate has the text Preserve Our Heritage across the top, and supports the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission's educational and exhibit programs.  Serial format consists of the fixed prefix letters R/R followed by four variable characters, initially four numeric digits and now three digits with a single letter in various positions. 
• The otter plate was introduced in 1999.  It replaced the owl plate as the plate that supports the Wild Resources Conservation Fund.  Plate numbers have four characters following the R/C prefix.  Initially, plate numbers were all numeric; but then went to three numeric digits and a single letter in various positions.  This design was discontinued in October 2017; now a corresponding standard-design plate is available. 

Special fund plates with vanity registration numbers were authorized by law beginning in July 2014.  However, to date, the state is only allowing vanity numbers on standard design special fund plates. 

Special fund plates with standard designs (tri-color solid bands)

In recent years, Pennsylvnaia has been determined to have all plate types share a single, standard design, and the special fund plates are among the plate types most impacted by this.  Several new special fund plates have been introduced in the standard design, and so far all but one special fund plate have been redesigned to use the standard design. 

• The D.A.R.E. plate (not shown) was inexplicably changed from being a distinct design plate to a standard design plate in 2005.  The standard design version has the abbreviation D.A.R.E. in red on the left side of the plate, and the text Drug Abuse Resistance Education along the bottom.  Plate numbers continued uninterrupted from the distinct design version, with prefix letters D/A followed by a variable serial in format 0x00.  Proceeds from this plate benefit the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency's drug prevention program presented in elementary schools by police officers.  The D.A.R.E. plate was discontinued in June 2014.  It appears that D.A.R.E plates already in use may continue to be renewed. 
• The Honoring Our Veterans plate was introduced as a new special fund plate in late 2012.  It's the only military-themed plate that's available to motorists who have neither served in the military nor had a close family member killed in action.   Proceeds benefit the Veterans Trust Fund, whatever that is.  Serial format consists of a five-digit number followed by suffix letters H/V. 
• The tiger plate (not shown) was changed in April 2013 from a beautiful distinct design plate to a comparatively plain and unattractive standard design plate, just showing a tiger's head in the allotted space on the left side of the plate.  This version has the text Support Your Zoo along the bottom, which is much more consistent with the plate's purpose than the text used on the the previous distinct design plate.  Proceeds from this plate support various zoos located in Pennsylvania.  The serial format for the standard design tiger plate consists of five numeric digits and suffx letters P/Z.  No doubt sales of the tiger plate have tanked since the redesign. 
• The otter plate (not shown) was introduced on the standard design in 2014, but was initially only used for vanity plates while stocks of the distinct-design plates with sequential numbers were used up.  That happened in the fall of 2017, and since then, sequentially-numbered otter plates are issued on the same standard design.  These have the stacked letters R/C followed by a five-digit number.  The standard-design version features a smaller image of the otter graphic on the left side of the plate, and the text Conserve Wild Resources along the bottom of the plate. 
• The Gettysburg plate was introduced as a new special fund plate in late 2014.  Proceeds from this plate also benefit the Veterans Trust Fund, but may only be used "for the cleaning, repair, and restoration of Pennsylvania monuments" at the Gettysburg National Military Park.  The plate shows an image of the Pennsylvania Memorial Monument on the left side of the plate, and the text Gettysburg 1863 along the bottom.  Serial format consists of a five-digit number followed by suffix letters G/B. 
• The Hunting Heritage plate was introduced as a new special fund plate in late 2014.  Proceeds from this plate go to the Pennsylvania Game Commission, which then distributes the funds among various nonprofit organizations that coordinate the donation of wild game to food banks or that promote sport hunting, hunter education, or wild game conservation.  The plate shows an image of a nine-point buck on the left side of the plate, and the rather crowded text Pennsylvania Hunting Heritage along the bottom.  Serial format consists of a five-digit number followed by suffix letters H/T. 
• The Honoring Our Veterans motorcycle plate (not shown) is the first and so far only special fund motorcycle plate.  It was introduced in the fall of 2015.  The plate features the same graphic as used on the full-sized plate, but it's so tiny it can't be seen without being inches away.  The plate number consists of the stacked and screened prefix letters H/V, which are also quite small, followed by an embossed four-digit number. 
• The Share the Road plate is the latest special fund plate, introduced mid-year 2016.  The plate feaures a graphic of a bicycle with the words Allow 4 Feet to Pass just under it.  The text Share the Road is printed along the bottom of the plate.  Proceeds go to PennDOT to fund bike lane-related costs. 

Special fund plates with vanity registration numbers were authorized by law beginning in July 2014.  However, to date, the state is only allowing vanity numbers on standard design special fund plates. 

Extra-cost optional plates with standard design (tri-color solid bands)

So far, Pennsylvania has issued two special interest plates that are not limited edition, special fund, organizational, or military service plates.  I just call these "extra-cost optional" plates, for lack of a better term.  Extra-cost optional plates are available to any motorist for a $20 fee in addition to normal registration fees. 

• The Teen Driver plate was introduced in late 2013.  The graphic on the left side of the plate resembles a yield sign, and contains the text Teen Driver / Please Be Courteous.  At the bottom of the plate is the familiar visitPA.com web address, but for unknown reasons, it's much larger on the Teen Driver plate than it is on standard passenger car plates.  Serial format consists of prefix letters T/D followed by a five-digit number.  Vanity registration numbers became available on this plate in July 2014. 
• The In God We Trust plate was introduced in late 2014.  The plate has an image of a bald eagle on the left, and the words In God We Trust in Old English script along the bottom.  Serial format consists of prefix letters G/T followed by a five-digit number.  Vanity registration numbers are also available on this plate. 

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Pennsylvania organizational member plates

Pennsylvania allows non-profit organizations to sponsor state-issued license plates promoting their organization and make them available to their members, employees, and/or donors. 

At least during the past few decades, National Guard plates and plates for members of the various military reserve forces are considered by the state to be organizational member plates, not miltary service plates.  Plates for members of veterans' organizations such as the American Legion and the Veterans of Foreign Wars are also organizational plates. 

Organizational member plates prior to 1983

(no picture available)

Distinct National Guard license plates are known to have been issued between 1930 and 1935.  These corresponded in appearance with various government official personal vehicle and government-owned vehicle plate types that were issued during the same period, so National Guard plates are probably more correctly considered to be a government plate type rather than an organizational plate type.  I assume that 1930s National Guard plates were issued to members of the Pennsylvania National Guard for use on their personal vehicles, but I don't know that for a fact.  In any case, National Guard plates from this era had the text Nat'l Guard across the bottom edge of the plate, and the state abbreviation Penna and the four-digit year running vertically down the sides of the plate.  Plate numbers were all-numeric. 

Otherwise, there are stories about seemingly-standard passenger car plates with specific letters being reserved for members of various civic organizations from the 1930s through 1960s.  One example cited is that passenger car plates with plate numbers beginning with the letters "ZZ" were issued to members of the Zem Zem Temple, which is a Shriners chapter located in Erie. 

Organizational member plates 1983-2000 (yellow background)

Pennsylvania's first modern organizational member plate, and the only one issued on the 1977 blue-on-yellow base, is the generic firefighter plate.  By generic, I mean that the plate does not identify any specific firefighting organization, although membership in or employment by a firefighting organization was required to obtain the plate.  This plate has an embossed maltese cross symbol on the left side of the plate, with the letters "FF" inside the cross.  These letters are considered part of the plate number.  The variable part of the plate number is a sequentially-assigned, five-digit number.  The text Fire Fighter is embossed across the bottom of the plate. 

Apparently, enough of these yellow-background firefighter plates were made prior to the introduction of the blue-background plate that no firefighter plates were ever made with a blue background. In other words, the yellow-background plates were issued from their introduction all the way until 1999. 

Early in the life of the yellow-background firefighter plates, vanity plate numbers were allowed.  Vanity firefighter plates still have the maltese cross with the prefix letters "FF", but in place of the five-digit serial number, letters or letters and numbers of the motorists' choosing were allowed.  Vanity plate numbers were never allowed on any other organizational plate until July 2014; however, those motorists who obtained vanity numbers on the firefighter organizational plate when it was permitted were allowed to keep them, even as the tri-color, fade bands plate replaced the yellow-background plate during 1999-2000. 

Organizational member plates 1984-2002 (blue background)

A variety of organizational member plates were introduced on the blue-background base from the mid-1980s through 1999; these were replaced with tri-color fade band plates during the 1999-2002 general replacement.  All of the various blue-background org plates have an embossed, two-color logo or other graphic image associated with the organization on the left side of the plate, and the organization's name or other identifying text across the top of the plate.  Most types have a stacked, two-letter serial prefix that's somehow related to the organzation, followed by a five-digit sequentially-issued number.  In some cases, the stacked letters are a serial suffix, and/or the sequential number is only four digits long.  The National Guard plate has two embossed graphics: a silhouette of a soldier on the left side of the plate, and a silhouette of a military aircraft on the right side. 

Organizational member plates 1999-present (tri-color fade bands)

The tri-color fade bands plate design was introduced in late 1999, and it replaced all of the previous yellow-background and blue-background plates (except for the "We the People" limited edition plate) during the 1999-2002 general replacement. 

Specifically regarding organizational member plates on this base, in general, the same embossed two-color logos were used as on the previous bases, but this time were colored blue on a white background.  The organization names also continued to be embossed but were relocated to the bottom of the plate.  Of course, there were some plates types made on this base for additional organizations that did not have plates on the previous bases. 

Prefix and suffix letters and numbering formats continued unchanged from the previous bases.  However, I'm not clear about how the plate numbers on this base did or didn't correspond to the plate numbers on the previous base.  In some cases, it seems that the lowest numbers on this base were higher than the highest numbers on the previous base, while in other instances, the numbers on this base seemed to start over at 00000.  In those instances, I'm guessing that organizational members retained the same number as before, but I don't know that for a fact. 

Firefighter vanity plates originally issued in the 1980s were reissued on the tri-color fade band base, but the size of both the embossed maltese cross and the embossed text Fire Fighter were inexplicably smaller than those on sequentially-numbered firefigher plates. 

For some organizations, these fade band plates continue to be issued today.  I'm assuming that this is because so many extra plates were made before the switch to the solid band design that they remain in inventory today, over nine years later. 

Organizational member plates 2005-present (tri-color solid bands)

Pennsylvania tweaked its standard plate design from having color bands that faded to white, to having solid color bands with a distinct boundary between the color bands and the white part of the plate.  In general, solid band plates first began to be issued in 2004 with 2005 expirations, but I'm not exactly sure when the first solid band organizational plates came out. 

Generally, solid band organizational plates differ from fade band organizational plates in that they have full-color logos and have the organzation's name screened across the bottom of the plate.  Apparently there's some rule that the organizations' full legal names must be used, rather than shortened or abbreviated names.  Also, unlike the previous embossed organzation names, the location of the screened names is limited to between the bolt holes at the bottom of the plate.  All of this means that some organization names are printed with very narrow fonts and are almost impossible to read at any distance. 

Notable exceptions to the color logos and screened organzational names are the generic firefighter and emergency medical services plates.  These continue to be made with embossed logos and embossed identifying text at the bottom of the plate.  The sequentially-numbered firefighter plates on the solid band base use the smaller maltese cross and smaller embossed text that had previously only been used on firefighter vanity plates. 

For several years, Pennsylvania offered a series NASCAR-themed plates with logos identifying specific drivers and race car numbers.  I believe these were all organizational plates for the Victory Junction Gang, which is a NASCAR-affiliated charitable group.  Unlike other organizational plates, these all have a color NASCAR logo at the bottom of the plate.  There were multiple versions of many of these plates; as NASCAR drivers changed teams and drove different numbered race cars, the logos on the plate changed.  NASCAR plates are now discontinued but those already issued remain in use. 

Organizational member plates with vanity registration numbers, which had not been permitted since the early days of the yellow-background firefighter plate, were authorized by law beginning in July 2014 for all organizational plates. 

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Pennsylvania military service plates

Pennsylvania began issuing military service plates in the late 1970s.  Until 2004, only two military service plate types were made with colors found on regular Pennsylvania license plates. 

Military service plates with distinct designs

The first Pennsylvania military service plate types introduced were the non-wheelchair Disabled Veteran and Prisoner of War plates, which were both in use by 1983.  I don't know which was first, or exactly when either was introduced.  The Medal of Honor plate was apparently available by 1986, if not sooner, and all other types came out sometime after 1986. 

With the exception of the Medal of Honor plate, all military service plates had red and/or blue embossed text, embossed red or blue serial numbers and logos, if any, on a white background.  Some plates had a reflective background while others had a painted background. 

Military service plates were not included in the statewide replate of yellow and blue plates 1999-2002, so these red, white, and blue designs continue to be used and in some cases issued. 

Below is a listing of Pennsylvania military service plates with designs that differ from standard plates: 

• Combat Wounded Veteran:  This plate type is issued to veterans who were awarded the Purple Heart.  As far as I know, there is only one version of this plate on the solid white background, but there was an earlier version made on the standard yellow-on-blue base, addressed in the next subsection.  They're now being issued in the tri-color stripe design, shown in another subsection below.  I'm not clear whether the white-background plates have been replaced or are still allowed to be used.  Low-numbered plates are apparently in use with the tri-color design, but I don't know whether they were across-the-board replacements for either the yellow-on-blue or red-and-blue-on-white versions or both, or they're remakes of individual older plates.  On the red, white, and blue base, the plate number consists of prefix letters P/H followed by a five-digit number.  An embossed Purple Heart medal is in the center of the plate, between the second and third digits of the plate number. 
• Disabled Veteran (without wheelchair):  The oldest version of this plate type has two sticker wells in the upper corners and the state name across the top, consistent with the yellow plates issued 1977-1984.  These are known with both serial formats DV-0000 and DV-00000.  Numbering on the five-digit plates with two sticker wells at the top began at 10000 and went up to the upper 10000s or lower 20000s, but for reasons unknown, there are also plates in this early version numbered in the lower 40000s.  A small batch of disabled veteran plates without the wheelchair graphic were made with the prefix letters small and stacked one above the other.  Another small batch has a keystone separator, rather than a dash separator, between the letters and numbers. 
• Disabled Veteran (with wheelchair):  Disabled veteran plates with the wheelchair graphic have stacked prefix letters D/V and are always numbered in the 80000 and 90000 series.  I believe this plate type came out in the mid-to-late 1980s, as there does not seem to be a version of the wheelchair type with two sticker wells at the top that would correspond to regular plates issued in early 1980s.  The most recent version of the wheelchair plate, first seen in 2013, has the state name screened at the top and the words Disabled Veteran screened at the bottom, leading me to conclude that this plate type will not convert to the tri-color stripe base. 
• Expeditionary Forces:  As far as I can tell, this plate is issued to military veterans who participated in an overseas war or other military conflict.  This overlaps with the plates for veterans of specific wars, but for some smaller conflicts this may be the only appropriate plate.  The most recent version of this plate, first seen in 2014, has the state name screened at the top and the words Expeditionary Forces screened at the bottom, leading me to speculate that this plate type might not convert to the tri-color stripe base.  This plate type uses prefix letters E/F followed by a four-digit number.  There's no logo, but the word Veteran appears vertically on the right side of the plate. 
• Korean War Veteran:  This plate type has an embossed map outline of a unified Korea on the left side, with the words No Longer Forgotten immediatley below.  Prefix letters are K/V. 
• Medal of Honor:  The Medal of Honor plate is the only military service plate not made on either a solid white background or using the colors of standard plates.  I generally don't like to show sample versions of plates when I'm discussing real, actually issued plates, but very few Pennsylvania Medal of Honor plates have ever been issued, while the sample version is fairly plentiful.  I recently (2013 or 2014) read there are currently no living Medal of Honor recipients residing in Pennsylvania, so there should be none of these currently in use.  An actual Medal of Honor plate would have the letters "CMH" (for Congressional Medal of Honor) to the left of the emblem in the center of the plate, and the recipient's initials to the right of the emblem. 
• Pearl Harbor Survivor:  These all-embossed plates have the stacked words Pearl Harbor Survivor on the left side of the plate, followed by prefix letters P/H S, where the P is stacked over the H and the S is centered vertically immediately to the right, followed by the numeric plate number.  The text December 7, 1941 is embossed in red upper-case letters at the top of the plate, with the state name emboosed in red upper-case letters at the bottom. 
• Persian Gulf War Veteran:  These have a blue embossed logo on the left side of the plate, and use prefix letters P/G.  Some low-numbered plates have the logo stamped upside-down. 
• Prisoner of War:  Obviously, this plate type is issued to former prisoners of war.  This is the only military veteran plate type that had red plate numbers, and the only one with a large, hollow keystone separator similar to that used on the 1977 passenger car base plate.  The plate number is six characters in length, with either the first three or the last three consisting of the letters "POW".  As of 2013, POW plates are now being issued in the tri-color stripe design. 
• Vietnam War Veteran:  Prefix letters V/W. 
• World War II Veteran:  Blue numbers and prefix letters W/W and a blue embossed logo on a white background.  WWII Veteran at the top of the plate and the state name at the bottom, both in embossed upper-case red letters. 

Military service plates with vanity registration numbers were authorized by law beginning in July 2014.  However, to date, the state is only allowing vanity numbers on standard design military service plates. 

Military service plates with the standard design, 198?-20?? (blue background)

(no picture available)

I believe only two military service plate types were made on the 1980s-1990s yellow-on-blue base. 

• Purple Heart:  Before the red, white, and blue Combat Wounded Veteran plate made its debut, there was an earlier yellow-on-blue Purple Heart version of the same plate.  The yellow-on-blue version was introduced sometime in the late 1980s.  The words Purple Heart are embossed at the top of the plate; the words "Combat Wounded Veteran" do not appear anywhere on the plate.  An embossed Purple Heart medal appears on the left side of the plate; the plate number consists of prefix letters P/H followed by a five-digit number.  I'm not clear if these are still on the road, and if not, when they were replaced.  I'm thinking that they were not replaced during the 1999-2002 statewide replate, but they may have been replaced by the tri-color stripe Combat Wounded Veteran plate shown in the subsection immmediately below. 
• U.S. Armed Forces Retired:  There seems to be very little information available about this plate type, and I do not know when it was introduced.  This plate featered an embossed U.S. flag with the words Still Serving above and below the flag, respectively.  The plate type legend U.S. Armed Forces Retired across the top of the plate employees a unique font where the first letter of each word is both larger and lower than the other letters.  The serial format employs prefix letters D/D followed by a five-digit number. 

Military service plates with the standard design, 1999-present (fade bands)

As far as I know, only one military service plate type was made on the 1999 tri-color, fade bands base. 

• U.S. Armed Forces Retired:  This plate retained its components from the previous yellow-on-blue base.  The same dies for the graphic U.S. flag and the plate type legend were again used.  Of course, the plate type legend was relocated to the bottom of the plate.  This plate type was apparently discontinued before it could be redesigned on the solid band base. 

Military service plates with the standard design, 2004-present (solid bands)

All new military service plate types introduced since 2004 have been made on the tri-color, solid band base plate.  All of these, with the exception of the military veteran motorcycle plate, have a color representation of the applicable medal or other logo on the left side of the plate.  In addition, at least two of the military service plate types introduced previously have now been redesigned on the tri-color, solid band base.  These redesigned types include Combat Wounded Veteran and Prisoner of War.  The Combat Wounded plate has a graphic Purple Heart medal on the left side, while the POW plate has a graphic medal in the center of the plate. 

Below is a listing of Pennsylvania military service plates made on the standard tri-color, solid band base plate.  Unless specified otherwise, all of these show a graphic image of the corresponding military medal or branch of service logo on the left side of the plate, and have a five-digit numeric plate number followed by a stacked two-letter suffix code that identifies the plate type.  The plate type is screened across the bottom of the plate. 

• Air Force Cross:  Suffix letters A/C. 
• Bronze Star:  Suffix letters B/Z. 
• Bronze Star for Valor:  Suffix letters B/V. 
• Combat Action Badge:  Five-digit number with first digit zero, followed by suffix letters C/O. 
• Combat Action Medal:  Five-digit number with first digit "6", followed by suffix letters C/O. 
• Combat Action Ribbon:  Five-digit number with first digit "4", followed by suffix letters C/O. 
• Combat Infantryman Badge:  Five-digit number with first digit "2", followed by suffix letters C/O. 
• Combat Medical Badge:  Five-digit number with first digit "8", followed by suffix letters C/O. 
• Combat Wounded Veteran:  Prefix letters P/H followed by a five-digit number. 
• Distinguished Flying Cross:  Suffix letters F/C. 
• Distinguished Service Cross:  Suffix letters S/C. 
• Gold Star Family:  Prefix letters G/S/F follwed by a four-digit number.  Graphic is a gold five-point star. 
• Korean Defense Service Medal:  Suffix letters K/D. 
• Navy Cross:  Suffix letters N/C. 
• Operation Enduring Freedom Veteran:  Suffix letters E/F. 
• Operation Iraqi Freedom Veteran:  Suffix letters I/F. 
• Silver Star:  Suffix letters S/I. 
• U.S. Air Force Veteran:  Suffix letters A/F. 
• U.S. Army Veteran:  Suffix letters A/R. 
• U.S. Coast Guard Veteran:  Suffix letters C/G. 
• U.S. Marine Corps Veteran:  Suffix letters M/C. 
• U.S. Military Airborne Units:  Suffix letters M/A.  Two Airborne logos are shown, one above the other, on the left side of the plate. 
• U.S. Navy Veteran:  Suffix letters N/A. 
• Veteran (generic, full-sized car or truck plate):  Suffix letters U/S.  Graphic is an American flag on a flagpole. 
• Veteran (generic, motorcycle plate):  Prefix letter V followed by a four-digit number; no graphic; Veteran embossed at bottom edge. 

Note that National Guard plates and plates for members of the various military reserve forces are considered by the state to be organizational member plates, not miltary service plates.  Plates for members of veterans' organizations such as the American Legion are also organizational plates.  The Honoring Our Veterans is a special fund plate available to all motorists. 

Military service plates with vanity registration numbers were authorized by law beginning in July 2014.  However, to date, the state is only allowing vanity numbers on standard design military service plates. 

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Page credits

Thanks to those who have directly contributed to the information on this page:  John McDevitt and Ed Burr. 

O'Connor photograph © copyright by Tim O'Connor.  All rights reserved.  Used with permission. 
McDevitt and Burr photographs are presumed to be copyrighted by John McDevitt and Ed Burr, respectively, and are used with permission.  Morgan and Saylor plates are from the collections of Mike Morgan and Jim Saylor, respectively. 

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This page last updated August 22, 2022