Rick Kretschmer's License Plate Archives

Current and Recent North Carolina License Plates
Part 1: License Plates Typically Issued to Personal Vehicles

North Carolina Index
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This page illustrates some of the various types of license plates currently or recently seen on the streets of North Carolina. There are also many additional types of North Carolina license plates, some issued in very small numbers, that do not appear on this page. As I find them, I will add their images to this page.

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.

On this page - Current and recent North Carolina license plates typically issued to personal vehicles
Standard-issue passenger car plates
Organizational, special interest, and optional plates
Government official and National Guard member plates
Antique vehicle plates
Personal vehicle vanity and amateur radio operator plates
Handicapped person plates and placards
Motorcycle plates
Temporary cardboard plates
General information about stickers, expiration dates, etc.
Organizational and special interest prefix and suffix codes
Related links

Standard-issue passenger car plates

In North Carolina, passenger plates are issued to cars, SUVs, passenger vans, motor homes, not-for-hire buses, and not-for-hire trucks up to 7,000 pounds gross vehicle weight. The "First in Flight" base used for passenger plates has has been around since 1982. Lead zeroes are never used in the serial number, nor are letters G, I, O, Q, or U.

Be sure to notice how the various plate frames cover the state name at the bottom of the plate. This a quite common sight in North Carolina; the vast majority of plate frames were designed for states whose names appear at the top of their plates.

Blue serial character "First in Flight" plates

Older plates still in use, shown in the order they were issued. Plate SRA-66 has an old sticker, but 5 character plates are still occasionally seen on the road today. All of these plates except for the N-series plate are scheduled for replacement in 2007 or 2008.

Recent issue passenger plates with natural expirations, 2003 through 2008.

For 25 years, from 1982 until 2007, "First in Flight" plates were issued with royal blue serial characters. During the first three years or so of issuance, several different serial formats were used. These plates were first issued in format xxx-000 from prefixes ZSA to ZZZ, starting at 101 in each series. Then, format xxx-00 was issued, starting at 11 in each series, and simultaneouly, format xxx-100, on which only number 100 was issued in each letter series. In both of these formats, the letters ranged from AAA to XZZ. Next, format xxx-000 was again issued, with prefixes AAA through JAY, again starting at 101 in each series.

In 1985, the xxx-000 stopped abrubtly after the JAY series, and the current format xxx-0000 made its debut. In this serial format, for some mysterious reason, the second letter is restricted to the range N through Z. Therefore, this format began at serial ANA-1001, and, for example, the next plate number after TZZ-9999 was VNA-1001. In recent years, the DMV has gone through about one first letter per year, with a new first letter introduced sometime in the summer of each year. This format eventually got up into the early WTF-0000 series in the spring of 2007, when the state must have run out of blue paint or something.

Also until 2007, any "First in Flight" plate issued since 1982 could still be used if the registration was continuous. Unfortunately, most examples that were issued more than ten years ago and which are still on the road have gotten quite ugly looking, and often have serious legibility problems due to flaking and fading. Passenger plates with serial format xxx-000 in some early alphabet series were made on non-reflective backgrounds and the embossed characters are prone to fading paint. Other older passenger plates with reflective backgrounds, up to about series Cxx-0000, usually are now seen with the original reflective white background changed to a flat gray color. Additionally, xxx-0000 format plates with first serial letters "A" through "C" are often seen with the red color used on the "First in Flight" slogan and on the state name faded away altogether. Passenger plates with format xxx-0000 and first serial letters approximately "D" through "N" are prone to peeling background reflective material around the embossed characters, with plates starting with "F" often being especially severe. Shown above are particulary bad cases of peeling in the "F" and "N" series.

Older plates have month stickers with alphabetic month abbreviations. Since the mid-to-late 1990s, month stickers simply indicate the month number.

Red serial character "First in Flight" plates

Starting in the spring of 2007, "First in Flight" plates are now being issued with red serial characters, although the background design remains unchanged. According to the NC DMV, the red-character plates were supposed to debut on April 16, 2007, but some plate spotters began seeing them in use as early as March 2007. Apparently, some DMV offices ran out of blue number plates, and so began issuing the red number plates early. The serial format continues as xxx-0000, and picks up where the blue number plates left off, with no break, somewhere in the early WTF series. I've personally seen plate WTF-1845, which had blue characters, and another plate spotter has reported seeing WTF-1995 with red characters. I've also seen higher-numbered red-letter WTF series plates.

In my opinion, the North Carolina DMV has succeeded in changing what was a dated, yet still attractive plate design, to one that remains dated, but is now also downright dumb-looking. Although it's not really evident in the photo above, the red paint is somewhat of an orangey color which clashes with the deeper red state name and "First in Flight" slogan screened on the plate. Also, the red characters are much harder to read at a distance than the blue characters. Hopefully, we won't have to endure these red number "First in Flight" plates for 25 years like we did the blue number version.

2007-2008 "First in Flight" plate replacement program

Also in 2007, the DMV has begun replacing the oldest of the "First in Flight" plates as they come up for renewal. The state intends to implement an ongoing rolling replate program, but there won't be a fixed age that a plate must reach for it to be replaced. The number of old plates that will be replaced each year will depend on the amount of money budgeted for this purpose. So far, the state has announced that it will replace 600,000 old plates in 2007 and another 500,000 in 2008. According to the DMV, this replacement program also began in April 2007. The affected plates include all 5 character and 6 character passenger plates, as well as all 7 character passenger plates up to and including plate numbers starting with the letter "H". It looks like these plates will be replaced over a 16-month period running through August 2008 or so.

The plate replacement program probably affected some people with a qualifying plate with an April 2007 expiration, who renewed their registrations April 16 or later. It's apparently targeting everyone with a qualifying old plate expiring in May 2007 or later. Plates with May expiration stickers would have had their registration renewal forms mailed in mid-April, and the word is that these mailings included a notice that the motorist would receive a new red character plate.

Red character plates with completely new plate numbers are being issued to replace the old blue character plates; in other words, old plate numbers are not being reissued on the new plates. This will hasten the day when the current xxx-0000 format will be used up. Without the plate replacement program, serial ZZZ-9999 would have been issued approximately in the summer of 2010 based on the normal volume of new plate numbers issued. Now, taking into consideration that 1.1 million additional plate numbers will be issued in the replate program through sometime in 2008, I estimate that we will now reach ZZZ-9999 in the fall of 2009. Of course, if additional plates are replaced during 2008 and/or 2009, as the DMV is apparently anticipating doing, then ZZZ-9999 will arrive even sooner. The state has not yet announced what serial format might be used next, once ZZZ-9999 is reached.

This plate, with a July 2008 expiration, will be one of the last older Flight plates on the road (Fox photos of plate in use)

According to alert plate spotter Mike Fox, who is paying far closer attention to this than I am, although the plate replacement program began in April 2007 and targeted all older plates as they came up from renewal, some older blue number plates continued to be renewed with a 2008 sticker rather than being replaced with a red number plate. Shown above is a photo that Mike took of such a plate with a July 2008 expiration, along with a close-up of the sticker bearing the plate number. Based on Mike's firsthand knowledge of several such cases, this apparently happened to motorists who renewed their registration online. Mike's theory is that online renewals were completely automated from start to finish, and there was no opportunity for a person to intervene to send a new plate rather than a sticker for the old plate. The DMV apparently corrected this problem in approximately June 2007, after a few earlybirds had already renewed thier July expiration registrations. Mike reports there are far fewer older July plates that were renewed than there are May and June plates, and he's seen nothing after July. These July 2008 expirations will actully expire on August 15, 2008, due to the 15 day grace period the state provides.

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Organizational, special interest, and optional plates

Most organizational and special interest plates use the standard blue-on-white "First in Flight" passenger base with a screened image and/or text on the left side of the plate. A few 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. One character prefixes and suffixes are full-sized and embossed; two character prefixes and suffixes are stacked and screened. Variable characters are emboseed and are usually all numeric; lead zeroes are used.

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. The Blue Ridge Parkway plate ran out of numbers in format 0000B/P very soon after it was first released, and now, similar to the Smoky Mountains plate, new plates are being issued in format x000B/P. American Indians and NC State University plates have now also run out of numbers, and have continued in the same manner, with a variable letter in the position opposite that of the letter or letters identifying the plate type. Additional plate types are close to exceeding 9,999 registrations at this writing. Also, the Blue Ridge Parkway plate will soon exhaust its x000B/P format, necessitating a third format.

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.

Organizational, special interest, and optional plates made on the "First in Flight" base are not being issued with red serial numbers, and apparently the state has no plans to do so. It's less clear whether any of these plates are or will be subject to the plate replacement program. Some of the older ones, such as the type 1 NC State University plate shown below, are in just as sad of shape as are the old passenger plates.

Also see organizational and special interest vanity plates, below.

Organizational plates

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), Sons of Confederate Veterans, Delta Sigma Theta sorority, Ducks Unlimited, Fraternal Order of Police, Veterans of Foreign Wars, Harley Owners' Group, Knights of Columbus, Masonic Order, Omega Psi Phi fraternity, International Association of Fire Fighters union,
(Knights of Columbus plate photo provided by, and from the collecton of, Greg Ciesielski)

What's up with that Knights of Columbus plate?

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.

Special interest plates - restricted

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 has the normal passenger dies.

82nd Airborne Division, Eagle Scout with wide dies, Eagle Scout with narrow dies, Korean War veteran, Naval Reserve, Purple Heart medal recipient, Army retired with R prefix, Marine Corps retired with R prefix, Army retired with R suffix, Rescue Squad member, Vietnam War Veteran, (volunteer) Fire Fighter

Special interest plates - universities and colleges

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 types 1 and 2; NC Central University; NC State University types 1, 2, and 3; NC Agricultural and Technical State University; University of North Carolina (Chapel Hill) without and with alpha suffix character; Virginia Tech; Winston-Salem State University
(UNC Chapel Hill without suffix and Virginia Tech plates from the collection of Paul Casadonte)

Special interest plates - NASCAR

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. Now, in 2008, quite a number of these various NASCAR plates have apparently been discontinued and are no longer available for new registrations. Several of them do continue to be issued, and finally a Dale Earnhardt, Jr. plate, previously conspicuous by its absense, has been introduced.

Joe Nemechek #01 (no longer issued), Tony Stewart #20

Special interest plates - general

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.

American Indians, Appalachian Trail, Blue Ridge Parkway without and with alpha prefix character, Coastal Federation, Carolina Hurricanes NHL team, Carolina Panthers NFL team, Scuba Diving, Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, Historic Lighthouse, Animal Lover ("I Care"), The V Foundation for Cancer Research, Nursing, In God We Trust / Support Our Troops, Western Square Dancer, first generation Great Smoky Mountains without and with alpha prefix character (no longer issued), second generation Great Smoky Mountains ("Friends of the Smokies"), Share the Road, Sea Turtles, Wildlife, Watermelon
(Historic Lighthouse plate from the collection of Paul Casadonte; Watermelon plate photo and plate from Kenny O'Dell. Kenny photographed this plate before applying the month and year stickers.)

Optional plates, geographically limited

Outer Banks resident, Global TransPark economic zone resident

North Carolina issues a couple of plates that are optional to residents of certain geographic areas within the state. One of these is this seemingly passenger-format plate with prefix OBX. "OBX" stands for "Outer Banks", which is the term used for the string of barrier islands along the Atlantic coast. It differs from a standard passenger plate in several subtle ways. Passenger plates never use the letter "O", and never use a letter before "N" in the second position on seven-character serials. Also, lead zeroes are used on OBX plates but not on standard passenger plates. Initially, plate numbers OBX-1001 through OBX-9999 were issued, then OBX-0001 through OBX-1000, exhausting the format. Now, new OBX plates are being issued in a new format with serials starting from OBX10001. Incidentally, Kitty Hawk, an Outer Banks town, was the location of the Wright brothers' first flight.

A second geographically limited plate is the Global TransPark plate. The Global TransPark is an economic zone in eastern North Carolina, and residents there can obtain these special plates. The only serial format used for these is GTP00000. Probably, these began at serial GTP10001.

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Government official and National Guard member plates

2005 retired judge ("J" indicates judge; "X" means retired), 2003 annual assigned number National Guard, undated unassigned National Guard base with 2007 expiraiton, 2007 State Senate with incorrect 2008 sticker applied (Fox photo of plate in use)

Plates issued to current government officials and members of the National Guard for their personal vehicles are made on the standard passenger base. Current government official plates have embossed years and are reissued annually. Some plates issued to government officials clearly state what position they hold in the state or federal government; others are cryptic but can be decoded, and still others are issued VIP plates, which have all-numeric serials numbered 200 and below.

The 2007 State Senate plate should not have the 2008 sticker applied to it - such plates are re-issued annually and only have embossed years. Since North Carolina sticker numbers match the plate numbers, it's evident that this sticker was intended for a completely different plate. Thanks, Mike Fox, for sending in this photo.

National Guard member plates look much like extra-cost special-interest plates. The serial format is a one-digit to four-digit number followed by the stacked letters "N/G". Officers and senior noncommissioned officers are assigned plate numbers 1 through 3000 in order of rank and seniority; they also get new embossed year plates with presumably lower serial numbers each year, as those ranking above them retire or otherwise leave the Guard. Plate number 734 N/G, shown above, was issued to a captain.

Lower ranking enlisted National Guard personnel are assigned numbers starting from 3001 on a random basis. These were also issued annually and had embossed years through 2005; beginning in 2006 these higher-number National Guard plates are undated and are kept current with stickers. There is no additional charge beyond the normal registration fees for Guard members to obtain these plates.

Some retired government officials and retired National Guard members are also entitled to receive distinct plates; some of these have embossed years and others are issued stickers.

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Antique vehicle plates

Antique auto

Antique Auto plates are issued to vehicles more than 35 years old. One is pictured above. Antique vehicles are also eligible to display "year of manufacture" (YOM) plates, which are old license plates from the year the vehicle was built. Antique auto plates cost $10 extra than regular plates, and so there's no restriction against driving the vehicle daily if desired.

Horseless Carriage plates are similar to antique auto plates except that they show an image of a very old car on the left side of the plate, along with the words "Horseless Carriage". These are issued to vehicles from model year 1943 or older. These also cost $10 extra than regular plates, and so there's no usage limitations.

There's no provision for Street Rod plates on the NC DMV web site, and I've never seen a standard North Carolina street rod plate, but I'm presuming that they do exist, based on the street rod vanity plate which I photographed, shown below in the vanity plate section.

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Personal vehicle vanity and amateur radio operator plates

Up to eight characters and spaces are permitted on regular North Carolina vanity plates. A variety of special characters are permitted on the plate, although these are not considered part of the serial number. Like all other North Carolina stickered plates, the plate number is printed on the sticker, but in the case of vanity plates, any special characters or spaces on the plate itself are omitted on the sticker. Vanity plates with 6 or fewer characters and spaces are usually embossed with the wide serial dies used on various non-passenger plates. Plates with 7 or 8 characters and spaces are made with the narrow dies used on passenger plates.

Although it's extremely rare to do so, apparently trailers can also be registered with a vanity plate number, and when they are, they're issued a "First in Flight" passenger base with the requested plate number. This must be very confusing for law enforcement; it would look like the motorist had simply put an actual passenger vanity plate on their trailer.

Newly-issued vanity plates are now being issued with red serial characters, just like standard passenger car plates. It also seems that some blue character vanity plates are being replaced with red character vanity plates as they come up for renewal, but not all. Apparently the DMV keeps track of how long you've had your vanity plate and is only replacing the oldest ones.

Animal Lover vanity, Olympic Spirit vanity, Shag Dancing 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. 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.

Street rod vanity

I really can offer no explanation for this street rod vanity plate pictured above. Street rod plates do not seem to be a valid plate type in North Carolina, and Antique Auto and Horseless Carriage plates are not eligible to be issued with vanity registration numbers.

However, I personally photographed this plate, so I know that no one has altered the photo. Also, the plate itself appeared to be genuine, and the style is consistent with vanity commercial or weighted medium-duty truck plates. Based on the alpha month sticker, it's also been around for a while.

"First in Flight" graphic plates do not have a place for a legend to identify the plate type, so amateur radio operators must make do with these all-embossed non-graphic plates, which are also very similar to commerical or weighted vanity plates. These have had staggered registrations for a long time.

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Handicapped person plates and placards

100% disabled veteran types 1 and 2; handicapped types 1 and 3

Long-term and short-term handicapped windshield placards

Both standard handicapped plates and 100% disabled veteran plates can be found with their identifying serial letters used as either prefixes or suffixes. Standard handicapped plates originally had four variable digits, but these formats were exhausted, and presently the H/D00000 is being issued.

Both types of handicapped plates may be issued with vanity registration numbers. Handicapped motorcycle plates, both standard and vanity, are addressed in the motorcycle plate section, below.

(Partially disabled veterans also have a distinct plate type, but if I had one to show you it would rightfully go in the restricted special interest plate section, since it does not have a wheelchair graphic. Also, it costs $10 extra to get a Partially Disabled Veteran plate. For these reasons, they're rarely issued or seen.)

Handicapped persons have the option of obtaining either a handicapped license plate, or standard plates with a long-term handicapped placard to be hung from the vehicle's inside rear view mirror. For unknown reasons, the vast majority of North Carolina handicapped motorists choose the placard.

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Motorcycle plates

Motorcycle plate numbers advance like an odometer, so the left-most digit is the last to change. These were originally all numeric; once 999,999 motorcycles were registered, a new serial format 0x0000 was begun. In this format, the left-most digit started at 1. After the 1A series came the 1B series, after the 1Z series came the 2A series, etc. Motorcycle plate dimensions are 7 inches wide by 4 inches high.

• Vanity motorcycle plates are permitted up to 7 characters and spaces.
• Antique motorcycle plates have the screened legend "Antique Motorcycle" on the left side of an otherwise normal motorcycle plate. These cost $10 more than standard motorcycle plates, so there are no usage restrictions.
• Handicapped motorcycle plates have the wheelchair emblem on the left side of the plate, followed by a 4 character registration number. Vanity handicapped motorcycle plates are also available with up to 4 characters and spaces.

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Temporary cardboard plates

30-day temporary

These cardboard plates are issued by car dealers to their customers who have purchased vehicles and are not transfering the plate from another vehicle. These plates provide time for the DMV to mail the vehicle owner their new permanent metal plate and registration papers.

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General information about stickers, expiration dates, etc.

All plate types that use stickers to indicate the expiration date use the same type and color of stickers. Month stickers are white on red, and include the month number and the letters "NC", which are stacked vertically on the left. If you look at the various numeric month stickers on this page, you'll notice that they did not use a consistent font for the month number. Older month stickers indicated the month alphabetically with three or four letters, and included the letters "NC" horizontally on the bottom. Sometimes month stickers become quite faded over time, but I haven't noticed any discernable patterns.

Current and recent year sticker colors are as follows:

2000	- white on light blue sticker		2005	- white on light blue sticker
2001	- white on black sticker		2006	- white on red sticker
2002	- white on red sticker		2007	- white on green sticker
2003	- white on pale green sticker		2008	- white on blue sticker
2004	- white on orange sticker		2009	- white on purple sticker

Year stickers feature a prominent state outline with the letters "NC" inside; the year itself is relegated to the lower left corner of the sticker. The sticker serial number is placed in a white box found at the bottom of the sticker, to the right of the year. Some 1997 year stickers, and all year stickers since 1998, are printed with the serial number of the plate they were issued to. This is done to minimize sticker theft and fraud. A minority of 2004 year stickers had an extreme problem with the orange color fading to the point of appearing to be white. When this happened, though, the plate number printed on the year sticker in black did not fade. The 2000 and 2005 stickers were colored white on light blue, and as you can see, were rather difficult to make out due to the low contrast between the two colors. The 2009 stickers are white on purple, a color not previously seen on North Carolina registration stickers.

• Plates with expiration stickers: With only rare exceptions, plate types that use stickers to indicate the expiration date have a 15-day grace period, and so do not really expire until 11:59 PM on the 15th day of the following month. For example, a plate with March 2007 stickers was actually still valid through April 15, 2007.
• Non-dealer plate types with an embossed year: Most, if not all, annually-issued plates with embossed years are supposed to be valid throughout the calendar year indicated, but they have a 46-day grace period and actually expire at 11:59 PM on February 15th of the following year. So, a plate with an embossed 2004 year was valid through February 15, 2005.

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Organizational and special interest prefix and suffix codes

These codes are used with four digit or fewer variable serial numbers.

Code	Prefix Use	Suffix Use
A	Appalachian State University	Amran Temple
AA		82nd Airborne Division
AF	Air Force Reserve
AI	American Indians
AL		American Legion
AR	Army Reserve
AS		Autism Society
AT		Appalachian Trail
B	Purdue University
BC		Breast Cancer Awareness
BE		NASCAR - Bill Elliott #91 (discontinued)
BH		NASCAR - Kyle Busch #5
BL		NASCAR - Bobby Labonte #18 (discontinued) NASCAR - Bobby Labonte #43
BP		Blue Ridge Parkway
BS		Bronze Star
BV		NASCAR - Brian Vickers #25 (discontinued)
C	Western Carolina University	Clemson University
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
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)
DH		NASCAR - Denny Hamlin #11
DI		Scuba Diver
DJ		NASCAR - Dale Jarrett #88 (discontinued) NASCAR - Dale Jarrett #44
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
FP		Fraternal Order of Police
FS		Fayetteville State University
FW		Veterans of Foreign Wars
G		Olympic Spirit
GB		NASCAR - Greg Biffle #16
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
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
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
M		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)
NG		National Guard (Active)
NJ		NASCAR - Jamie McMurray #26
NK		NASCAR - Matt Kenseth #17
NM		NASCAR - Mark Martin #6 (discontinued) NASCAR - Mark Martin #01
NR	Naval Reserve	NASCAR (generic)
NS		NASCAR - Reed Sorenson #41
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	Prince Hall Shrine
Q	University of NC Charlotte	Omega Psi Phi Fraternity
R	Retired Military (various branches)	Retired Military (various branches)
RD		NASCAR - Ricky Rudd #21 (discontinued)
RF	Fire Fighter and Rescue Squad member
RI		Rotary International Club
RN		NASCAR - Ryan Newman #12
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	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
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	Oasis Temple
TH		Tobacco Heritage
TK		NASCAR - Travis Kvapil #77 (discontinued)
TL		NASCAR - Terry Labonte #44 (discontinued)
TS		NASCAR - Tony Stewart #20
U	University of NC (Chapel Hill)
UF		University of Florida
V	Virginia Tech
VF	Fire Fighter (volunteer)
VV		Vietnam War Veteran
W	University of NC Wilmington
WC		Wildlife Resources (Cardinal)
WM		Watermelon
WV		World War II Veteran
X	Winston Salem State Univerity

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Related Links

Continue to Current and Recent North Carolina License Plates, Part 2 - License plates typically issued to commercial and government-owned vehicles

Other related pages on this site
Current and Recent Maryland License Plates, Part 1 - License plates typically issued to personal vehicles
Current and Recent Maryland License Plates, Part 2 - License plates typically issued to commercial and government-owned vehicles

Current and recent North Carolina license plates elsewhere on the web
North Carolina Division of Motor Vehicles
Highs from North Carolina  (highest observed licence plate serial numbers, by plate type)
The Plate Shack - North Carolina section  by Marc Welby
The Plate Shack Y2K+ License Plates - North Carolina page  by Mike Sells

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