Here'due south what license plates look like in every Us state — and the hidden meaning backside them

license plate collection 2

A drove of US license plates.
Leonard Zhukovsky/Shutterstock

US license plates are equally diverse every bit the states they come from. From plates that showcase state symbols to those that display famous landmarks or historical figures, each 1 has a story to tell.

Plates from mountainous states like Colorado and Nevada proudly brandish ranges such as the Rockies and the Sierra Nevadas. In states where farming is a common manufacture (Iowa, Wisconsin), y'all'll find plates that depict rural life.

Coil down to come across what license plates look similar in all l states and the District of Columbia.

ALABAMA

Alabama's "God Bless America" license plate.
Madeleine Deaton/Flickr

Technically a distinctive license plate rather than a standard-event one, the patriotic "God Bless America" plate  became and then popular in Alabama that the state decided non to accuse drivers extra for it. The upper right corner features a heart inscribed with Alabama'south nickname, the "Heart of Dixie."

In dissimilarity, the standard Alabama plate depicts a bucolic nature scene — a river and green hills backdropped by a gilded heaven.

ALASKA

Alaska'due south license plate includes an paradigm of the state flag.
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Alaska'southward current license plate features the state'due south nickname, "The Final Frontier," paired with an prototype of the state flag. The stars on the flag are the Big Dipper and Polaris (the Due north Star). They respectively symbolize force and Alaska's northern location.

ARIZONA

Arizona license plates show a desert scene.
Madeleine Deaton/Flickr

Arizona'south license plate informs people of the land'due south nickname (the "Grand Canyon Country") and showcases its famous desert landscape.

ARKANSAS

Arkansas license plates pay homage to the country's diamond mines.
Madeleine Deaton/Flickr

In Arkansas, typical license plates are characterized by a diamond graphic. The gem symbolizes one of the state'due south nearly significant natural resources. (Arkansas is home to Crater of Diamonds State Park.)

CONNECTICUT

The "constitution" in question is actually a set of local authorities rules circa 1639.
Madeleine Deaton/Flickr

License plates in Connecticut proclaim its legacy as the "Constitution Land."

Simply the constitution in question isn't the document that laid the groundwork for American commonwealth. The nickname actually refers to a prepare of local authorities rules circa 1639 chosen the Fundamental Orders.

District OF COLUMBIA

The Commune of Columbia'southward license plate boldly calls attending to residents' lack of congressional representation.
Madeleine Deaton/Flickr

The District of Columbia's license plate is a bit tongue-in-cheek. Washington's slogan, "Taxation without Representation," references the fact that District residents have no representatives in Congress.

FLORIDA

Florida oranges beautify the license plate of the Sunshine State.
Marcin Wichary/Flickr

Florida is known for its oranges, and so it make sense that the citrus fruits — fix confronting an outline of the land — adorn the Sunshine State'due south license plate.

GEORGIA

A Georgia peach is part of the state'southward license plate design.
Madeleine Deaton/Flickr

Like to Florida's license plate, Georgia's shows its most famous export — peaches — and an outline of the state.

HAWAII

Hawaii'south license plate signifies the state's status as a rainbow-viewing destination
Madeleine Deaton/Flickr

Hawaii's license plate is the almost magical of the lot. But the pretty prototype is far from arbitrary, signifying the Aloha State's condition as a rainbow-viewing destination. In fact,Honolulu, is known as the "rainbow capital of the world."

IDAHO

Idaho is known for its potatoes, but its license plates also avowal mountains and a woods.
Madeleine Deaton/Flickr

Idaho's license plate stresses its scenery even more than its spuds.

ILLINOIS

This was the Illinois plate pattern between 2001 and 2016.
Madeleine Deaton/Flickr

Until terminal year, Illinois' license plates focused solely on the state's identity as the "Land of Lincoln" (Abraham Lincoln lived in the state capital, Springfield, betwixt 1837 and 1861).

The clunkier new design — which has been criticized past the public — crams one-half of Lincoln's face, Chicago's Willis Tower, and the Illinois Capitol Building onto one plate.

INDIANA

Indiana'south "Crossroads of America" license plate was issued between 1998 and 2002.
Frank Deanrdo/Flickr

Betwixt 1998 and 2002, Indiana issued this swish license plate begetting the state's motto, "The Crossroads of America." (The moniker dates to 1937 and is a reference to the numerous interstates that intersect Indiana.)

The electric current design, which features one of the covered bridges the state is known for, is a little cartoonish but has more than character.

IOWA

Iowa's license plate identifies the county a driver is from (in this case, Polk County).
Madeleine Deaton/Flickr

Iowa'southward license plate not only tells other drivers which country a resident's motorcar is from — information technology also identifies his or her county. The background is a composite city/country image.

KANSAS

The Kansas license plate includes the state motto, "Advertizing astra per aspera."
Madeleine Deaton/Flickr

Kansas' license plate includes half of the state seal, including the state motto "Ad astra per aspera" (Latin for "to the stars through difficulties").

KENTUCKY

Like Iowa's, Kentucky's license plate has a spot for county names.
Madeleine Deaton/Flickr

The Kentucky license plate, like Iowa's, has a spot for canton names. The slope blue hue is a fitting colour for the Bluegrass State.

LOUISIANA

Louisiana'south plate reflects the land'southward identity as a fishing and hunting destination.
Madeleine Deaton/Flickr

Louisiana's license plate is inscribed with one of the state's nicknames, "Sportsman's Paradise," which refers to the region's abundant spots to fish and chase.

The plate also depicts the state bird, the pelican.

MASSACHUSETTS

"The Spirit of America" is a shortened version of a Massachusetts land motto.
FaceMePLS/Flickr

Along with a patriotic color scheme, Massachusetts' license plate features the slogan "The Spirit of America." The phrase is a truncated version of the state's former motto, "The Spirit of Massachusetts is the Spirit of America."

MICHIGAN

Michigan's "Spectacular Peninsulas" plate is one of iv standard-issue designs.
Madeleine Deaton/Flickr

I of four standard-issue license plates in Michigan, the "Spectacular Peninsulas" plate displays some of the state'southward all-time-known features, including the eponymous peninsulas, the Great Lakes, and the Mackinac Bridge.

MISSISSIPPI

Mississippi's license plate displayed the Biloxi Lighthouse between 2007 and 2012.
Madeleine Deaton/Flickr

In 2007, Mississippi unveiled the Biloxi Lighthouse license plate, a tribute to the resilience of the state'due south gulf coast in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.

As of 2012, Mississippi plates instead honor blues singer BB King and his legendary guitar, "Lucille."

NEVADA

Between 2001 and 2017, Nevada's license plate featured the Sierra Nevada mountains.
Madeleine Deaton/Flickr

Betwixt 2001 and 2017, Nevada issued the "Dusk" license plate depicting the Sierra Nevada mountains.

Starting time in 2016, the state introduced the "Dwelling house Ways Nevada" plate, which is predominantly heaven-blue with a stylized, multicolored rendering of the mountains.

NEW HAMPSHIRE

New Hampshire's license plate bears the country motto, "Live Free or Die."
Madeleine Deaton/Flickr

New Hampshire's license plate bears the land's bold slogan, "Live Free or Dice." The motto was popularized by General John Stark, a hero of the American Revolution.

NEW JERSEY

New Jersey's license plate is no-nonsense.
Madeleine Deaton/Flickr

New Bailiwick of jersey's license plate is no-nonsense. Other states annunciate their exports or their natural wonders on their plates, but Bailiwick of jersey's reputation equally the Garden State clearly precedes it.

NEW MEXICO

A New Mexico vanity plate.
Ryan McFarland/Flickr

With its captivating green, yellow, and red colour combo, New Mexico'south license plate lives upward to the state'due south nickname, the "Land of Enchantment." Featuring the state blossom, the yucca, it'southward as well the only American license plate to specify "United states of america."

NEW YORK

New York'due south license plate is "Empire Aureate."
Oliver/Flickr

The regal, two-tone New York license plate supports the state'southward identity as the "Empire State." In fact, the orange colour is known as "Empire Aureate."

Northward CAROLINA

North Carolina discontinued the "First in Flight" license plate in 2015.
Madeleine Deaton/Flickr

In 2015, North Carolina discontinued the "First in Flight" license plate, which paid homage to the Wright Brothers' beginning flight at Kitty Hawk.

As historical testify revealed in 2013, the brothers might not take been the first to successfully fly a plane. Another contender for the laurels (amongst many) is Gustave Whitehead, a High german-born aviation pioneer from Connecticut.

Instead, North Carolina'due south plates at present boast that the country is "First in Freedom," in recognition of two 18th-century documents that predate the Declaration of Independence.

NORTH DAKOTA

North Dakota's license plate hasn't changed radically since the '90s.
Madeleine Deaton/Flickr

Since 1993, North Dakota's license plate has featured a bison and the state nickname, the "Peace Garden Land" (the International Peace Garden spans North Dakota and Manitoba, Canada).

The pattern has varied slightly over the years. On North Dakota'south latest plate, released in 2015, a photorealistic bison is positioned in the bottom right corner.

PENNSYLVANIA

Pennsylvania'due south license plate signifies the state's nickname with a keystone emblem.
Madeleine Deaton/Flickr

Instead of displaying its nickname, the "Keystone State," Pennsylvania's license plate subtly nods to the moniker with a small keystone-shaped emblem.

RHODE Isle

Rhode Island, the smallest state, has an appropriately compact license plate.
Madeleine Deaton/Flickr

America's smallest state has an appropriately compact license plate. A moving ridge graphic illustrates Rhode Island's "Bounding main State" identity.

SOUTH CAROLINA

South Carolina's license plate featured the "Sunrise" design from 2008 to 2016.
Madeleine Deaton/Flickr

From 2008 to 2016, South Carolina's license plate featured the "Sunrise" design. Information technology also incorporated the country tree, the sabal palmetto.

For the current design, the state ditched the sunrise but kept the palm tree.

S DAKOTA

S Dakota'southward license plate has included Mountain Rushmore for years.
Madeleine Deaton/Flickr

South Dakota's slogan, "Great Faces, Smashing Places," surely references the presidential heads of Mount Rushmore. The state'south most famous attraction has appeared on its license plates in some form for decades.

On the current version, the landmark looms large on the plate.

TENNESSEE

Tennessee's license plate depicts the land'south hilly terrain.
Madeleine Deaton/Flickr

Tennessee's license plate features a rolling-loma design. Information technology too displays the driver's county.

TEXAS

The "Lone Star Texas" design adorned the state's plates from 2009 to 2012.
Tim Parkinson/Flickr

Between 2009 and 2012, the "Lone Star Texas" plate — whose design included blueish mountains as well as the land'southward titular star — was standard-issue.

When the busy design was repealed, information technology was replaced with the "Texas Classic" plate, which comprises black lettering on a white groundwork.

UTAH

Utah's "Life Elevated Skier" plate, with vanity lettering.
DJ Waldow/Flickr

Residents of Utah have several standard-issue plate options. While the "Life Elevated Skier" pattern features someone skiing downwards one of the state'south famous slopes, the "Life Elevated Arches" version shows the Delicate Curvation, an iconic natural formation at Arches National Park.

VIRGINIA

A Virginia vanity plate.
Eli Christman/Flickr

Virginia's license plate includes the state's long-time slogan, "Virginia is for Lovers."

WISCONSIN

The Wisconsin license plate includes symbols of farm life.
Madeleine Deaton/Flickr

In Wisconsin, "America'south Dairyland," license plates include symbols of farm life, like a barn and a field.

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