Vehicle registration plates of Mississippi
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The state of Mississippi began requiring its citizens to register their vehicles and display their license plates on their cars in 1912. Since then, the state has gone through a variety of license plate designs, and now has several different designs for passenger, commercial, and specialty plates.
Passenger license plates
- 1949
- The 1949 plates were black in color with embossed orange lettering and rim. The county name was stamped at the top left of the license plate, The letters "MISS" were arranged vertically between the "123" and "456" parts of the registration number.
- 1950
- The 1950 plates were the same design as the 1949 plates, except that they used a yellow background and black lettering.
- 1969
- The 1969 plates were brown in color with embossed white lettering and trim. The county name was stamped on the bottom of the license plate.
- 1977-1983
- For the first time, Mississippi began to use graphic designs on its license plates, introducing a magnolia blossom (the state flower and tree) set into the middle of the plate, with the state name in all red capital letters screened on the top and the county name in red letters screened onto the bottom. The state also began to use stickers to redeem the vehicle registration until the state went to a new design. The entire plate was surrounded by an embossed red rim, and the registration was also embossed.
- 1983-1992
- This design introduced the "Mississippi" script with the familiar large-serifed "S". It was colored dark blue on a white background, with dark blue embossed lettering for the registration letters. The county name was retained at the bottom of the plate, as were the registration stickers in the bottom corners of the plate.
- 1992-1997
- This design kept the script "Mississippi" in dark blue, but set it against a background of sky blue at the top fading into white at the bottom. All other lettering was embossed onto the plate in blue as well
- 1997-2002
- This design kept the script "Mississippi", but changed it to a green color. It also set the script against a background of yellow, white and green, with a magnolia blossom of the same three colors set in the middle of the design. The county lettering at the bottom was also embossed in green.
- 2002-
- The current Mississippi license plate retains the script "Mississippi" design in use since the 1980s, and sets it in dark green against a background of trees and water, which represent the large wooded areas of the state and the location of Mississippi on the Gulf of Mexico and Mississippi River. Like the previous issue, it also displays a magnolia in the center of the license plate, visible between the "123 ABC" registration scheme of numbers and letters. The registration and the county name are embossed in the dark forest green.
