The U.S. state of Nebraska first required its residents to register their motor vehicles in 1905. Registrants provided their own license plates for display until 1915, when the state began to issue plates.
, plates are issued by the Nebraska Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV). Front and rear plates are required for most classes of vehicles, while only rear plates are required for motorcycles and trailers. A bill was passed by legislators in April 2025 to change the law of just issuing rear license plates. That law change is set to go into effect in 2029 when a new design print license plates will be released. All state-issued plates were made of steel until 1947 when aluminum plates were introduced.
Passenger baseplates
1915 to 1965 In 1956, the United States, Canada and Mexico came to an agreement with the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators, the Automobile Manufacturers Association and the National Safety Council that standardized the size for license plates for vehicles (except those for motorcycles) at in height by in width, with standardized mounting holes. The 1955 (dated 1956) issue was the first Nebraska license plate that complied with these standards. ImageDates issuedDesignSloganSerial formatSerials issuedNotes1915Black on white; "NEB 1915" at rightnone123451 to approximately 700001916White on navy blue; "NEB 1916" at rightnone1234561 to approximately 1010001917Black on cream; "NEB 1917" at rightnone1234561 to approximately 1480001918Yellow on black; "NEB 1918 at right"none1234561 to approximately 171000Black on light green; "NEB 1919" at rightnone1234561 to approximately 273000Revalidated for 1920 with dark blue tab.1921White on black; "NEB 1921" at rightnone1234561 to approximately 2720001922Black on white; "NEB 1922" at rightnone1-1234510-1234Coded by county of issuance (1 or 10)First use of county codes.1923Green on black; "NEB 1923" at rightnone1-1234510-1234Coded by county of issuance (1 or 10)1924White on black; "NEB 1924" at rightnone1-1234510-1234Coded by county of issuance (1 or 10)1925Black on orange; "NEB 1925" at rightnone1-1234510-1234Coded by county of issuance (1 or 10)1926White on green; "NEB 1926" at rightnone1-1234510-1234Coded by county of issuance (1 or 10)1927White on maroon; "1927 NEB" at rightnone1-1234510-1234Coded by county of issuance (1 or 10)1928White on dark blue; "NEB 1928" at rightnone1-1234510-1234Coded by county of issuance (1 or 10)1929White on black; "1929 NEB" at rightnone1-1234510-1234Coded by county of issuance (1 or 10)1930Yellow on dark blue; "NEB 1930" at rightnone1-1234510-1234Coded by county of issuance (1 or 10)1931Red on gray; "1931 NEB" at rightnone1-1234510-1234Coded by county of issuance (1 or 10)1932White on blue; "NEB 1932" at rightnone1-1234510-1234Coded by county of issuance (1 or 10)1933Dark blue on orange; "1933 NEB" at rightnone1-1234510-1234Coded by county of issuance (1 or 10)1934White on dark green; "NEBRASKA – 34" at bottomnone1-1234510-1234Coded by county of issuance (1 or 10)First use of the full state name.1935Black on gray; "NEBRASKA – 35" at bottomnone1-1234510-1234Coded by county off issuance (1 or 10)1936Silver on black; "NEBRASKA – 36" at bottomnone1-1234510-1234Coded by county of issuance (1 or 10)1937Black on gray; "37 – NEBRASKA" at bottomnone1-1234510-1234Coded by county of issuance (1 or 10)1938Silver on black; "NEBRASKA – 38" at bottomnone1-1234510-1234Coded by county of issuance (1 or 10)1939Black on gray; "NEBRASKA – 39" at topnone1-1234510-1234Coded by county of issuance (1 or 10)1940Orange on turquoise with State Capitol graphic; "NEBRASKA 40" at bottomnone1-1234510-1234Coded by county of issuance (1 or 10)1941Dark blue on orange with State Capitol graphic; "NEBRASKA 41" at bottomnone1-1234510-1234Coded by county of issuance (1 or 10)1942–44Red on white; "NEBRASKA 42" at bottomnone1-1234510-1234Coded by county of issuance (1 or 10)Revalidated for 1943 with dark blue tabs, and for 1944 with orange tabs, due to metal conservation for World War II.1945White on black; "NEBRASKA 45" at bottomnone1-1234510-1234Coded by county of issuance (1 or 10)1946–47White on brick red; "46 NEBRASKA" at topnone1-1234510-12345Coded by county of issuance (1 or 10)Revalidated for 1947 with brown tabs.1948Dark blue on unpainted aluminum; "19 NEBRASKA 48" at bottomnone1-12345Coded by county of issuance (1 or 10)1949Maroon on unpainted aluminum; "19 NEBRASKA 49" at topnone1-12345Coded by county of issuance (1 or 10)1950Dark blue on white; "19 NEBRASKA 50" at topnone1-12345Coded by county of issuance (1 or 10)1951White on black; "NEBRASKA 51" at bottomnoneA1234AAB123ACoded by county of issuance (A or AB)1952–53Black on golden yellow; "NEBRASKA 52" at bottomnone1-12345Coded by county of issuance (1 or 10)Revalidated for 1953 with black tabs.1954Golden yellow on black; "NEBRASKA 54" at topnone1-12345Coded by county of issuance (1 or 10)1955Black on golden yellow; "NEBRASKA 55" at bottomnone1-12345Coded by county of issuance (1 or 10)1956White on black with border line; "19 NEBRASKA 56" at topThe Beef StateCoded by county of issuance (1 or 10)First 6" x 12" plate.1957Green on white with border line; "19 NEBRASKA 57" at topThe Beef StateCoded by county of issuance (1 or 10)1958–59Black on golden yellow with border line; "19 NEBRASKA 58" at topThe Beef StateCoded by county of issuance (1 or 10)Revalidated for 1959 with aluminum tabs.1960–61Golden yellow on black with border line; "19 NEBRASKA 60" at topThe Beef StateCoded by county of issuance (1 or 10)Revalidated for 1961 with stickers.1962–64Green on white with border line; "19 NEBRASKA" and green sticker box at bottomThe Beef StateCoded by county of issuance (1 or 10)Revalidated for 1963 and 1964 with stickers.1965Black on white with border line; "19 NEBRASKA 65" at bottomThe Beef StateCoded by county of issuance (1 or 10)
1966 to present ImageDates issuedDesignSloganSerial formatSerials issuedNotes1966–68Red on reflective white with state-shaped border; "NEBRASKA 66" at bottom, offset to rightCentennial1-A12341-AB12310-A12310-AB12Coded by county of issuance (1 or 10)Commemorated Nebraska's 100 years of statehood. Letters I, M, O, Q, W and X not used in serials; this practice continues today (except in Douglas, Lancaster and Sarpy Counties since 2002). Revalidated for 1967 and 1968 with stickers.1969–71Black on reflective white with state-shaped border; "NEBRASKA 69" at bottom, offset to rightCornhusker State1-A12341-AB12310-A12310-AB12Coded by county of issuance (1 or 10)Revalidated for 1970 and 1971 with stickers.1972–75Red on reflective white with state-shaped border; "NEBRASKA 72" at bottom, offset to rightCornhusker State1-A12341-AB12310-A12310-AB12Coded by county of issuance (1 or 10)Revalidated for 1973, 1974 and 1975 with stickers. After reaching 59-ZZ99, Sarpy County introduced five-character serials with stacked county codes; these were used on each subsequent base until 2002.1976–83Red on reflective white with sky blue banner at bottom, Conestoga wagon graphic at top left and Native American chief graphic at top right1776 BICENTENNIAL 19761-A12341-AB12310-A12310-AB12-A1234-A1234Coded by county of issuance (1 or 10)Only base on which Scotts Bluff County, as well as Sarpy County, used five-character serials with stacked county codes.January 1984 – December 1986Blue on reflective whitenone1-A12341-AB12310-A12310-AB12-A1234Coded by county of issuance (1 or 10)January 1987 – December 1989Red on reflective white with yellow, orange and red sunset graphic at topnone1-A12341-AB12310-A12310-AB12-A1234Coded by county of issuance (1 or 10)January 1990 – December 1992Black on reflective white with light blue, gold and black windmill graphic at topnone1-A12341-AB12310-A12310-AB12-A1234Coded by county of issuance (1 or 10)Early Lancaster County plates were manufactured in South Dakota using that state's serial dies.January 1993 – December 1995Blue on reflective white with blue and yellow graphic at top featuring Chimney Rock and city skylinenone1-A12341-AB12310-A12310-AB12-A1234Coded by county of issuance (1 or 10)January 1996 – December 1998Black on reflective white with black and orange graphic at top featuring Chimney Rock and city skylinenone1-A12341-AB12310-A12310-AB12-A1234Coded by county of issuance (1 or 10)January 1999 – December 2001Red on reflective gradient blue and white with yellow Chimney Rock and light blue city skyline graphicsnone1-A12341-AB12310-A12310-AB12-A1234Coded by county of issuance (1 or 10)January 2002 – December 2004Black on reflective gradient yellow, orange and red with black prairie landscape graphic, three black silhouettes of sandhill cranes, and an orange sunwww.state.ne.usABC 123NAA 001 to mid-'O' seriesABC 123 serial format introduced in Douglas, Lancaster and Sarpy Counties, the three most populous, while the county-code system was retained in all other counties. Plates with the ABC 123 format were originally issued with stickers at the bottom displaying the county name; these were discontinued due to poor quality. Serials became screened in May 2004.3-A12343-AB12310-A12310-AB12Coded by county of issuance (3 or 10)January 2005 – December 2010Dark blue on reflective gradient blue and white with red state outline and Conestoga wagon graphicwww.Nebraska.govABC 123Mid-'O' series to late 'R' seriesIn Douglas, Lancaster and Sarpy Counties, the 'Q' series of serials was not used.3-A12343-AB12310-A12310-AB12Coded by county of issuance (3 or 10)January 2011 – December 2016Dark green on reflective gradient white and yellow with Western meadowlark and goldenrodNebraska.govABC 123Late 'R' series to early 'U' series3-A12343-AB12310-A12310-AB12Coded by county of issuance (3 or 10)January 2017 – December 2022Black on reflective white with Sower statue from the Nebraska State Capitol; state name in gold on navy blue bar at top"1867" and "2017"ABC 123Early 'U' series to early 'Y' seriesCommemorated Nebraska's 150 years of statehood. In Douglas, Lancaster and Sarpy Counties, the 'X' series of serials was reserved for trailer plates. County-coded plates originally used the state shape as the separator; this was replaced with a standard dash in May 2022 when the serial font on all plates changed to that used in Kentucky.3-A12343-AB12310-A12310-AB12Coded by county of issuance (3 or 10)January 2023 – presentDark blue on reflective white with the "Genius of Creative Energy" mosaic from the Nebraska State Capitol in the background; state name in dark blue at topnoneABC 123Early 'Y' series to YZZ 999; AAA 000 to BDE 388 In Douglas, Lancaster and Sarpy Counties, the 'Z' series of serials was reserved for certain non-passenger types, including local trucks.3-A12343-AB12310-A12310-AB12Coded by county of issuance (3 or 10)
Optional plates ImageDates issuedDesignSloganSerial formatSerials issuedNotes2012Yellow Union Pacific locomotive and train left, plowed wheat field and city skyline rightUnion Pacific Railroad Museum123AB001AA to 660EN Awarded "Plate of the Year" for best new license plate of 2012 by the Automobile License Plate Collectors Association, the first time Nebraska was so honored.
Non-passenger plates ImageTypeDates issuedDesignSerial formatNotesMotorcycle1999–2001Embossed red on white; "NEB" at top left1 1234510 1234Coded by county of issuance.Embossed black on white; "NEB" at top leftABC 1233 123410 1234ABC 123 serial format used in Douglas, Lancaster and Sarpy Counties; shared with passenger plates.2004Screened black on white; "NEBRASKA" and "MC" at top leftABC 1233-123410-1234Serials continued from where the 2002–04 plates left off.2005–10Screened blue on white; "NEBRASKA" and "MC" at top leftABC 1233-123410-12342011–16Screened dark green on white; "NEBRASKA" and "MC" at top leftABC 1233-123410-12342017–presentScreened black on white; "NEBRASKA" and "MOTORCYCLE" centered at topABC 1233-123410-1234
County coding