Kansas_license_plate_county_codes

Vehicle registration plates of Kansas

Vehicle registration plates of Kansas

Kansas vehicle license plates


The U.S. state of Kansas first required its residents to register their vehicles and display license plates in 1913. Plates are currently issued by the Kansas Department of Revenue through its Division of Vehicles and only rear plates have been required since 1956.

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Passenger baseplates

1913 to 1975

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 6 inches (15 cm) in height by 12 inches (30 cm) in width, with standardized mounting holes.[1] The 1955 (dated 1956) issue was the first Kansas license plate that complied with these standards.

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1976 to present

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* In some cases, owners of standard embossed plates are being given renewals for 2025, rather than having to replace their plates with the newest design. There has been no official word from KDOR as to why this is taking place.

Replacement plates

Most specialty Kansas license plates are available to be reissued with the same serial number at the owner's request if they become damaged or illegible over time. Since Kansas does not have a rolling replate system, this duty falls on the vehicle owner to make sure their plates are legible to law enforcement and other motorists at all times.

This process includes all Collegiate, Firefighter, EMS, Disabled, and most other specialty plates. However, they will not be reissued with an embossed serial or original designs, even if the plate holder has an older design, such as the first edition Agriculture plates. Instead, they will be issued with the most current design of the plate, and will be completely flat.

The only style of plates that are not eligible to be reissued with the same serial are the standard Ad Astra or Capitol bases. If the owner wishes to retain their standard serial number, they can request it on a personalized vanity plate.

County coding

Kansas has a system of county codes used for identification of the home county of a state resident or company on license plates and state tax forms.[9]

The codes are two letters based on the first letter of and another letter in the name of the county. There is no true convention for the selection of the letters; for example, Bourbon County is the only county that begins with "BO," yet its code is "BB." In most cases, but not all, as noted above, the only county that begins with two particular letters gets those letters. Exceptions are Decatur, Dickinson, Hodgeman, Leavenworth, Logan, McPherson (MC is used for Mitchell), Norton (NO is used for Neosho), Pawnee, and Pottawatomie.

The two-letter code began appearing on Kansas license plates in 1951. From 1930 to 1950, the code was a number based on the order a county ranked in terms of population based on the 1920 United States Census. From 1951 until 1988, the two letters were stamped on the license plate on the far left side, one letter on top of the other. Since then, the letters are on a sticker applied to the upper-left corner of the plate.

There is also a place on the address form of Kansas tax forms to place the county code.

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Decals

Yearly Registration Decals

- Regular Auto decals started issuance in 1976 for 1977 expirations of the redesigned 1976 standard license plate. Trucks and other non-highway vehicles using the green 1975 plates were issued 1976 decals upon expiration.

- The decal sizing was changed from square to rectangular in 1994/1995 to be able to fit a similarly sized month sticker above the registration decal.

- The sizing was again changed in some 2012/2013 and all 2014 registrations to a square "smart sticker" that now includes the month, plate number, and registration year on one decal. Smart stickers for 2012 registrations were only issued to new plates in OCT, NOV, & DEC, and 2013 smart sticker issuance began in mid-May. Since the expiration month is now printed directly on the registration, separate month stickers were phased out and newer plates removed the debossed sticker well that had previously been used for the decal.

^ Denotes a decal issued to non-auto, vanity or specialty plate holders.

* Denotes a redesigned standard plate with a natural expiration.

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Optional plates

Personalized Vanity Plates

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Educational Institution Plates

These plates share a common all-numeric serial format that started at 1 with K-State in 1997.

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Organizational Distinctive Plates

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Military Distinctive Plates

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Other Distinctive Plates

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Non-passenger plates

Apportioned Embossed black serial on white plate with "KANSAS" and "APPORTIONED" in black at top and bottom, respectively 123456 Apportioned trucking vehicles accrue mileage among two or more jurisdictions and have a GVW that exceeds 26,000 pounds.
Commercial 2012 - 2018 Embossed purple serial on white plate with "PWR" at the left, "KANSAS" and "COMMERCIAL" in purple at top and bottom, respectively 123456 Most commonly used on semi-trucks or heavy machinery owned by a commercial company, but can also be used on trucks or SUVs owned by the same company. No annual registration stickers or county identification is needed.
2018 - present Screened black serial on white plate with "PWR" at the left, "KANSAS" and "COMMERCIAL" in purple at top and bottom, respectively
Fleet 2001 - 2018 Embossed red serial on white plate with "KANSAS" and "FLEET" in red at top and bottom, respectively F012345 Used for company fleet vehicles, most commonly seen on vehicles owned by utility companies.
2018 - present Screened black serial on white plate with "KANSAS" and "FLEET" in red at top and bottom, respectively
Municipal 1989 - 1994 Embossed navy blue serial on white plate with "KANSAS" in navy blue at top 12345 Municipal plates use a county sticker in the top left along with the designation sticker at the bottom such as "CITY" or "COUNTY".

They can be used for police cars, fire department SUVs, county vehicles, and school district vehicles. These plates are not transferable upon the sale or disposal of the vehicle.

1994 - 2001 Embossed blue serial on white plate with "KANSAS" in blue at top
2001 - 2018 Embossed black serial on white plate with "KANSAS" in black at top
2018 - present Screened black serial on white plate with "KANSAS" in black at top A1234
Permanent Trailer 1999 - 2018 Embossed red serial on white plate with "TRAILER" at left; "KANSAS" and "PERMANENT" in red at top and bottom, respectively 123456 Not transferable upon the sale or disposal of the trailer.
2018 - present Flat black serial on white plate with "TRAILER" at left; "KANSAS" and "PERMANENT" in red at top and bottom, respectively
PWR Permanent Application 2001 - 2006 Embossed blue serial on white plate with "PWR" at left; "KANSAS" and "PERM APP" in red at top and bottom, respectively 123456 Used for commercial machinery such as semi-trucks, road construction equipment, dump trucks, etc. where a permanent application is needed
2006 - 2018 Embossed red serial on white plate with "PWR" at left; "KANSAS" and "PERM APP" in red at top and bottom, respectively
2018 - present Flat black serial on white plate with "PWR" at left; "KANSAS" and "PERM APP" in red at top and bottom, respectively Remakes of old numbers on flat plates are common because these plates tend to be damaged from the machinery they are used on
State Trooper/

Kansas Highway Patrol

1983 - 1999 Embossed blue serial on white plate with Kansas Highway Patrol badge at left; "KANSAS" and "HIGHWAY PATROL" in blue at top and bottom, respectively 12345 Two plates are issued to State Trooper vehicles by the Kansas Highway Patrol for the front and rear. Each State Trooper is assigned a number and carries that same number through each plate design change.
December 2016 - Present Embossed white serial on blue plate with Kansas Highway Patrol badge at left, "STATE TROOPER" and "Serving Kansas since 1937" in gold at top and bottom, respectively. 123 The Kanas Highway Patrol replated their entire fleet in late 2016 with these blue and gold plates in preparation for their 80th anniversary in 2017.

Motorcycle plates

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References

  1. Garrish, Christopher (October 2016). "Reconsidering the Standard Plate Size". Plates. Vol. 62, no. 5. Automobile License Plate Collectors Association.
  2. Tanner, Eric N. "Kansas Passenger License Plates". allaboutlicenseplates.com. Retrieved December 4, 2020.
  3. Obermeyer, Madison (July 19, 2018). "Don't lose that decal: new license plate production to start Aug. 15". The Wichita Eagle. Retrieved December 13, 2018.
  4. "Governor Kelly Announces New Standard License Plate Design, Replacement of Embossed Plates". kansas.gov - Office of the Governor. 2023-11-22. Retrieved 2024-02-20.
  5. "Governor Kelly Announces New Path Forward on State License Plate". kansas.gov - Office of the Governor. 2023-11-28. Retrieved 2024-02-20.
  6. "Winning Kansas license plate announced". KSN-TV. 2023-12-18. Retrieved 2024-01-02.
  7. Codes from the 2005-06 Kansas state transportation map (index of counties).
  8. Kansaslicenseplates.com. "Kansaslicenseplates.com". Kansaslicenseplates.com. Retrieved 2024-01-03.

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