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This page illustrates some of the various special interest and organizational member plates currently or recently seen on the streets of North Carolina. Latest noteworthy updates to this page
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This page illustrates some of the various types of optional North Carolina license plates that are available to members of specific organizations, individuals who have achieved certain criteria, or to members of the general public who wish to promote a particular cause or other special interest.
Most organizational and special interest plates use the standard First in Flight passenger base with a screened image and/or text on the left side of the plate. These continue to be made with blue serial characters; the state will not be switching these plate types over to red serial characters. Several special interest plates have been issued with graphic designs completely different from the standard passenger base.
Organizational and special interest plates typically have serial numbers with four variable characters and a fixed one or two character prefix or suffix based on the plate type. These plates are initially issued with numbers in the four variable positions, starting at 0001. However, several plate types have exceeded 9,999 registrations. The Great Smoky Mountains plate was the first to do so, in 2004 or so, on the first generation plate. When format 0000S/M was exhausted, new format x000S/M was introduced. Next, University of North Carolina (Chapel Hill) plates exhaused the original U0000 format, and are now issued in format U000x. As successive plate types passed the 9,999 mark, the pattern has been that a variable letter is introduced in either the first or fourth variable position, opposite that of the fixed prefix or suffix character(s). In 2008, the Blue Ridge Parkway plate was the first to exhaust its second serial format x000B/P, and a third format of 0x00B/P is now being issued.
One-character prefixes and suffixes are full-sized; two-character prefixes and suffixes are usually much smaller and stacked one above the other. Until mid-2008, variable characters and full-sized prefix and suffix characters were always embossed, while smaller prefix and suffix characters were nearly always screened. Begining in mid-2008, newly introduced organizational and special interest plate types, and all newly-issued vanity plates, were made with screened serial characters. In late 2008 and early 2009, many existing organizational and special interest plate types with sequential numbers also breifly switched over to screened characters. In May 2009, the state is supposed to discontinue the production of all flat plates and resume making all plates with embossed variable serial characters.
These plates can be issued to any vehicle that would qualify for passenger car plates, and although the DMV doesn't make it obvious, they will also issue these plates to trailers. In such cases, there's nothing on the plate or the expiration sticker that would indicate the plate was issued to a trailer.
Please note that, unlike the other pages on this web site, very few of the plates shown on this page are from my personal collection, since I don't actively collect North Carolina plates. Most of the plates shown on this page – the ones with bolts attaching them to vehicles – are simply photographs of plates that I've spotted on various vehicles found in parking lots, mostly in or near the city of Raleigh. I haven't tried to individually identify the source of each plate shown. However, all images on this page are photographs that I've taken, unless otherwise credited. Oh, and if you're wondering what that arc of light is on some of the candid shots, it's just a reflection from my camera. I get this when I have to shoot towards the sun due to the position of the vehicle. (Remember when cameras were black and didn't reflect light?)
I sincerely hope that you find this information useful. If you find an error or have additional information, or can provide a photo of a plate that is not shown, please send me an e-mail. There's a link to my e-mail address at the bottom of every page.
Move your mouse over each image to see a description of that plate. Click on any image to see a larger version.
Typically, the registrant would be a member of the organization shown on the plate, but this is not necessarily a requirement in all cases.
Amran Temple (Shriners), 82nd Airborne Division Association, Sons of Confederate Veterans, Delta Sigma Theta sorority,
Fraternal Order of Police, Veterans of Foreign Wars, Harley Owners' Group,
Knights of Columbus (Ciesielski photo / plate),
Masonic Order, Omega Psi Phi fraternity, International Association of Fire Fighters union.
By way of explanation regarding the unusual serial number (you would think the serial would consist of a K followed by a four-digit number) and the lack of stickers, Greg Ciesielski wrote this to me via e-mail:
It is a real plate that was given to the KofC State Deputy at the time of startup for the plate. The initiator of the [Knights of Columbus plate] program got [plate number] K001 to put on his car but the NC DMV had a 2nd plate created for the State Deputy. He in turn gave it to me for my collection.
The KofC plates were issued with only three digits after the 'K'. I have [similar plate numbers] on my 2 cars... I have not seen a 4 digit KofC plate yet but I have seen numbers in the 600's and also vanity plates.
Thanks for the info, Greg! One additional point: because it has fewer digits, the K of C plate uses wider, non-passenger dies for its serial number.
These plates are restricted to individuals who have met the criteria or qualification indicated on the plate. Mostly these are military-related. The first Eagle Scout plate shown is another unusual example using the wider, non-passenger dies, in this case made possible due to the narrow graphic image. The second Eagle Scout plate has the normal passenger dies, and the third Eagle Scout plate has flat serial characters.
Pearl Harbor survivor, Bronze Star medal recipient, Eagle Scout with wide serial dies, Eagle Scout with narrow serial dies,
Eagle Scout with flat serial characters, Korean War veteran, retired law enforcement officer, National Guard retired,
active National Guard, Naval Reserve, Purple Heart medal recipient, Army retired with R prefix,
Marine Corps retired with R prefix, Army retired with R suffix, fire fighter and rescue squad member,
rescue squad member, fire fighter, Vietnam War veteran, World War II veteran.
University and college plates are available to any motorist; no affiliation with the school is necessary. North Carolina issues plates for both in-state and out-of-state schools. A few schools have changed their logos over time, but outdated logos may still be found on older license plates still in use.
Appalachian State University; Western Carolina University; Clemson University; Duke University;
East Carolina University versions 1 and 3; NC Central University; Meredith College;
NC State University versions 1, 2, and 3; NC Agricultural and Technical State University version 1;
University of North Carolina without suffix letter (Casadonte plate);
University of North Carolina with suffix letter; Virginia Tech (Casadonte plate);
Winston-Salem State University version 1.
In 2005, the North Carolina DMV introduced with great fanfare an entire series of NASCAR special interest plates, most of them promoting a specific driver and car. The response from North Carolina motorists has been overwhelming apathy – very few of these plates have been issued, and they are rarely seen on the road. I personally am surprised by this, considering that North Carolina is the very heart of NASCAR country. Despite this lack of interest, each year new NASCAR plates types are introduced, and existing types are revised as various drivers change teams, car numbers, and so on. On the other hand, some plate types are discontinued as drivers retire.
In 2008 a Dale Earnhardt, Jr. plate, previously conspicuous by its absense, was introduced. The Earnhardt plate is unique in that it features an American flag in the background rather than a checkered flag. All other drivers' plates, including those introduced after the Earnhardt plate, have the checkered flag background.
Joe Nemechek version 1 (#01), Dale Earnhardt, Jr. (#88), Tony Stewart version 1 (#20).
General special interest plates are available to any registrant who requests them. Proceeds from some of these benefit a non-profit organization or state agency. Some of these just consist of logos on the familiar First in Flight background, while others have completely different designs. The In God We Trust / Support Our Troops plate is a hybrid, showing the graphics from the standard plate but with an alternate slogan.
General special interest plates made on the standard First in Flight base:
American Indians, Autism Society, Carolina Hurricanes NHL team, Carolina Panthers NFL team,
Durham Bulls AAA baseball team, scuba diving, Ducks Unlimited version 1,
historic lighthouse (Casadonte plate),
animal lover (I Care), The V Foundation for Cancer Research, nursing, western square dancer,
bicyclist (Share the Road), sea turtles, tobacco heritage, wildlife,
unstickered watermelon plate (O'Dell photo / plate).
General special interest plates with unique designs: Appalachian Trail with embossed serial and green
non-web site legend, Appalahchian Trail with screened serial and black web site legend,
Blue Ridge Parkway without and with letter prefix, Coastal Federation, Ducks Unlimited version 2,
Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, forestry, Guilford Battleground Company, In God We Trust / Support Our Troops,
Buddy Pelletier Surfing Foundation, Great Smoky Mountains version 1 without and with letter prefix,
Great Smoky Mountains version 2 (Friends of the Smokies) with embossed and screened serials,
state parks (Casadonte photo / plate), Trout Unlimited.
Blue Ridge Parkway vanity, NASCAR Elliott Sadler (#19) vanity, Olympic spirit vanity, animal lover vanity,
shag dancing vanity, University of Florida vanity.
(The shag dancing plate has a stuck-on apostrophe between the J and the S. Apparently the owner didn't realize he
could have ordered the plate with an embossed apostrophe.)
Organizational and special interest plates are available as vanities, but the plates must have the prefix or suffix letter or letters associated with that plate type, regardless of whether the prefix or suffix is embossed or screened on the plate. These plates may have up to 4 variable characters, including spaces and special characters which are not considered part of the actual plate number.
The "G" at the end of the Olympic plate is the required suffix letter, so the perhaps the plate should be read "1996 Gold" (with AU being the chemical designation for gold) rather than "1996 August" or "1996 Saint Augustine's". Only its owner knows for sure.
(no picture available)
Well, right now there's only special interest design available as a motorcycle plate. In the spring of 2009, a motorcycle version of the popular Blue Ridge Parkway plate was introduced. It has some minor differences from the full-sized version, mostly to accommodate the slightly different shape and different bolt hole positions of the motorcycle plate. The motorcycle version gets serial format 0000 B/R, while the full-sized plate has always had a B/P serial suffix.
These codes are used on organizational and special interest plates with four or fewer variable serial characters. Codes used on various standard-issue non-passenger plates may be seen on the serial format reference guide on the North Carolina commercial and government plate page.
| Code | Prefix Use | Suffix Use |
|---|---|---|
| A | Appalachian State University | Shriners – Amran Temple |
| AA | 82nd Airborne Division Association | |
| AF | Air Force Reserve | |
| AI | American Indians | |
| AL | American Legion | |
| AR | Army Reserve | |
| AS | Autism Society | |
| AT | Appalachian Trail | |
| AU | Auburn University  | |
| B | Purdue University | |
| BC | Breast Cancer Awareness | |
| BE | NASCAR – Bill Elliott #91 (discontinued) | |
| BH | NASCAR – Kyle Busch #5 (discontinued) | |
| BL | NASCAR – Bobby Labonte #18 (discontinued) NASCAR – Bobby Labonte #43 (discontinued) | |
| BP | Blue Ridge Parkway (full-sized) | |
| BR | Blue Ridge Parkway (motorcycle) | |
| BS | Bronze Star | |
| BV | NASCAR – Brian Vickers #25 (discontinued) | |
| C | Western Carolina University | Clemson University |
| CB | NASCAR – Clint Bowyer #33 | |
| CE | NASCAR – Carl Edwards #99 | |
| CF | NC Coastal Federation | |
| CG | Coast Guard Reserve; Coast Guard Auxiliary | |
| CH | Carolina Hurricanes NHL team | |
| CM | NASCAR – Casey Mears #42 (discontinued) NASCAR – Casey Mears #25 (discontinued) NASCAR – Casey Mears #5 (discontinued) | |
| CP | Carolina Panthers NFL team | |
| CS | Core Sound Waterfowl Museum | |
| CU | Campbell University | |
| CV | Sons of Confederate Veterans | |
| D | Duke University | |
| DA | Davidson College | |
| DB | Durham Bulls AAA baseball team | NASCAR – Dave Blaney #22 (discontinued) |
| DF | NASCAR – Dario Franchitti #40 (discontinued) | |
| DH | NASCAR – Denny Hamlin #11 (discontinued) | |
| DI | Scuba Diver | |
| DJ | NASCAR – Dale Jarrett #88 (discontinued) NASCAR – Dale Jarrett #44 (discontinued) | |
| DR | NASCAR – David Ragan #6 | |
| DS | Delta Sigma Theta Sorority | |
| DU | Ducks Unlimited | |
| DV | Disabled Veteran (100%) | Disabled Veteran (100%) |
| E | East Carolina University | NC Central University |
| EC | Elizabeth City State University | |
| EF | Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation | |
| ES | Eagle Scout | |
| ET | NASCAR – Elliott Sadler #38 (discontinued) NASCAR – Elliott Sadler #19 | |
| EU | Elon University | |
| F | Wake Forest University | |
| FC | Distinguished Flying Cross | |
| FF | First in Forestry | |
| FP | Fraternal Order of Police | |
| FS | Fayetteville State University | |
| FW | Veterans of Foreign Wars | |
| G | Olympic Spirit | |
| GB | NASCAR – Greg Biffle #16 | |
| GC | Guilford Battleground Company | |
| GS | Gold Star Family | |
| GW | Gardner Webb University | |
| H | Historic Lighthouse | |
| HG | Harley Owners' Group | |
| HP | Retired Highway Patrol Officer | |
| IC | I Care (Animal Lover) | |
| JB | NASCAR – Jeff Burton #31 | |
| JF | NASCAR – Jeff Green #43 (discontinued) | |
| JG | NASCAR – Jeff Gordon #24 | |
| JJ | NASCAR – Jimmie Johnson #48 | |
| JM | NASCAR – Jeremy Mayfield #19 (discontinued) | |
| JN | NASCAR – Joe Nemechek #01 (discontinued) NASCAR – Joe Nemechek #13 (discontinued) | |
| JR | NASCAR – Dale Earnhardt, Jr. #88 | |
| JV | The V Foundation for Cancer Research | |
| JY | NASCAR – J.J. Yeley #18 (discontinued) | |
| K | Knights of Columbus | |
| KA | Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority | |
| KB | NASCAR – Kurt Busch #97 (discontinued) NASCAR – Kurt Busch #2 | |
| KF | Kids First | |
| KH | NASCAR – Kevin Harvick #29 | |
| KK | NASCAR – Kasey Kahne #9 | |
| KP | NASCAR – Kyle Petty #45 (discontinued) | |
| KS | NASCAR – Ken Schrader #21 (discontinued) | |
| KV | Korean War Veteran | |
| LC | Lions Club | |
| LE | Retired Law Enforcement Officer | |
| LP | Litter Prevention | |
| LR | Lenoir-Rhyne College (discontinued) Lenoir-Rhyne University | |
| M | Retired Military (various branches) |
Masonic Order |
| MC | Marine Corps Reserve | |
| MM | Maritime Museum (Wild Dolphins) | |
| N | Nursing | |
| NC | National Guard Retired | Meredith College |
| ND | NASCAR – David Stremme #40 (discontinued) NASCAR – David Stremme #12 | |
| NG | National Guard (Active) | |
| NJ | NASCAR – Jamie McMurray #26 | |
| NK | NASCAR – Matt Kenseth #17 | |
| NM | NASCAR – Mark Martin #6 (discontinued) NASCAR – Mark Martin #01 (discontinued) NASCAR – Mark Martin #5 | |
| NR | Naval Reserve | NASCAR (generic) |
| NS | NASCAR – Reed Sorenson #41 (discontinued) NASCAR – Reed Sorenson #43 | |
| NW | NASCAR – Michael Waltrip #55 | |
| P | University of NC Pembroke | |
| PB | NC Police Benevolence Association | |
| PD | Partially Disabled Veteran | |
| PF | International Association of Fire Fighters | |
| PH | Purple Heart Veteran | Shriners – Prince Hall Shrine |
| PM | NASCAR – Juan Pablo Montoya #42 | |
| Q | University of NC Charlotte | Omega Psi Phi Fraternity |
| R | Retired Military (various branches) | Retired Military (various branches) |
| RD | NASCAR – Ricky Rudd #21 (discontinued) | |
| RE | Homes 4 NC | |
| RF | Fire Fighter and Rescue Squad member | |
| RI | Rotary International Club | |
| RN | NASCAR – Ryan Newman #12 (discontinued) NASCAR – Ryan Newman #39 | |
| RP | NASCAR – Richard Petty Historic | |
| RS | Resuce Squad member | NASCAR – Scott Riggs #10 (discontinued) |
| RU | Ruritan Club | |
| RW | NASCAR – Rusty Wallace (discontinued) | |
| S | NC State University | Shriners – Sudan Temple |
| SA | In God We Trust / Support our Troops | |
| SC | University of South Carolina | |
| SD | Western Square Dancer | |
| SF | Buddy Pelletier Surfing Foundation | |
| SG | Shag Dancing | NASCAR – Sterling Marlin #14 (discontinued) |
| SM | Friends of Great Smoky Mountains (discontinued) Friends of the Smokies | |
| SP | State Parks | |
| SR | Share the Road (Bicyclist) | |
| SS | Silver Star | |
| ST | Save the Sea Turtles | |
| SW | NASCAR – Scott Wimmer #22 (discontinued) | |
| T | NC A&T State University | Shriners – Oasis Temple |
| TF | NC Tennis Foundation | |
| TH | Tobacco Heritage | |
| TK | NASCAR – Travis Kvapil #77 (discontinued) | |
| TL | NASCAR – Terry Labonte #44 (discontinued) | |
| TS | NASCAR – Tony Stewart #20 (discontinued) NASCAR – Tony Stewart #14 | |
| TU | Trout Unlimited | |
| U | University of NC (Chapel Hill) | |
| UF | University of Florida | |
| V | Virginia Tech | Bronze Star – Valor in Combat |
| VF | Fire Fighter | |
| VV | Vietnam War Veteran | |
| W | University of NC Wilmington | |
| WC | Wildlife Resources (Cardinal) | |
| WM | Watermelon | |
| WS | Winston-Salem State Univerity, version 2 | |
| WV | World War II Veteran | |
| X | Winston-Salem State Univerity, version 1 |
Related pages on this site |
Elsewhere on the web |
Thanks to those who have directly contributed to the information on this page: Greg Ciesielski, Paul Casadonte, and Kenny O'Dell.
Ciesielski, O'Dell, and Casadonte photos are presumed to be copyrighted by Greg Ciesielski, Kenny O'Dell, and Paul Casadonte, respectively, and are used with permission.
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