Vehicle registration plates of Arizona

The U.S. state of Arizona first required its residents to register their motor vehicles in 1912. Registrants provided their own license plates for display until 1914, when the state began to issue plates.
Plates are issued by the Arizona Department of Transportation through its Motor Vehicle Division. Only rear plates have been required since 1989.
In Arizona, the license plate belongs to the vehicle owner. This allows for the transfer of a plate from one vehicle to another.
The existing style was introduced in 1996 and was designed by Walter Punzmann.

Passenger baseplates

Since 1956

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 at in height by in width, with standardized mounting holes. The 1955 issue was the first Arizona license plate that complied with these standards.

Image	Dates issued	Design	Slogan	Serial format	Serials issued	Notes
		Embossed white serial on black plate with border line; "ARIZONA 56" centered at top	"GRAND CANYON STATE" centered at bottom	A-12345	Coded by county of issuance	Revalidated for 1957 and 1958 with stickers.
	1959–60	Embossed white serial on blue plate with border line; "ARIZONA 59" centered at top	"GRAND CANYON STATE" centered at bottom	ABC-123	AAA-001 to approximately BDY-999	Revalidated for 1960 with stickers. Letters I, O and Q not used in serials; this practice continued through 1965.
	1961–63	Embossed blue serial on white plate with border line; "ARIZONA 61" centered at top	"GRAND CANYON STATE" centered at bottom	ABC-123	CAA-001 to approximately DMC-999	Revalidated for 1962 and 1963 with stickers.
	1964–65	Embossed white serial on blue plate with border line; "ARIZONA 64" centered at top	"GRAND CANYON STATE" centered at bottom	ABC-123	EAA-001 to approximately FMJ-999	Revalidated for 1965 with stickers.
	1966–68	Embossed black serial on reflective white plate with border line; "ARIZONA 66" centered at top	"GRAND CANYON STATE" centered at bottom	ABC-123	HAA-001 to JZZ-999; NAA-001 to approximately NEF-999	Revalidated for 1967 and 1968 with stickers. Letters I, O, Q and U not used in serials; this practice continues today.
	1969–72	Embossed black serial on reflective yellow plate with border line; "ARIZONA 69" centered at top	"GRAND CANYON STATE" centered at bottom	ABC-123	KAA-001 to MZZ-999; YAA-001 to approximately YDF-999	Revalidated for 1970, 1971, and 1972 with stickers.
	1973–80	Embossed green serial on reflective pale orange plate with border line; "ARIZONA 73" centered at top	"GRAND CANYON STATE" centered at bottom	ABC-123	PAA-001 to approximately WNJ-999	Revalidated with stickers until 1990.
	1980–96	Embossed reflective white serial with saguaro cactus separator on maroon plate with border line; "ARIZONA" centered at top	"GRAND CANYON STATE" centered at bottom	ABC-123	AAA-001 to approximately NXG-200	Front and rear plates issued until around the ETT series ; rear plates only thereafter. Still currently revalidated.
	1996 – January 2008	Embossed dark green serial on reflective graphic plate with desert scene featuring turquoise, white, and orange gradient sky, white setting sun and purple mountains and cacti; "ARIZONA" screened in turquoise, with white outlines, centered at top	"GRAND CANYON STATE" screened in dark green below serial, offset to right	123·ABC	001·AAA to 999·ZZZ	Awarded "Plate of the Year" for best new license plate of 1996 by the Automobile License Plate Collectors Association, the first time Arizona was so honored.
	January 2008 – April 2020	As above, but with serial screened, security threads added to center of plate, and saguaro cactus added to the left of the serial	"GRAND CANYON STATE" screened in dark green below serial, offset to right	ABC1234	AAA0001 to approximately CWX9999	CWL0001 to CWX9999 used on rental cars since 2020.
	April 2020 – January 2021	As above, but with serial screened, security threads added to center of plate, and saguaro cactus added to the left of the serial	"GRAND CANYON STATE" screened in dark green below serial, offset to right	Various formats, including ABC1DEF	AAA0AAA to approximately SXA6DTA	Also called "Alphabet Soup" plates, this switch occurred after ADOT introduced a new computer coding system for plates, the old system having dated from the mid-1980s. These were reported as "random" combinations but actually increment in a non-standard order. Except for the fourth digit in each plate, which is always a number, all other positions can be either letters or numbers; each position uses the letters A–Z followed by the numbers 0–9.
	February 2021 – present	As above, but with serial screened, security threads added to center of plate, and saguaro cactus added to the left of the serial	"GRAND CANYON STATE" screened in dark green below serial, offset to right	Various formats, including ABC 1DE	AAA 0AA to 0WA 933	Also called "Alphabet Soup" plates, this switch occurred after ADOT introduced a new computer coding system for plates, the old system having dated from the mid-1980s. These were reported as "random" combinations but actually increment in a non-standard order. Except for the fourth digit in each plate, which is always a number, all other positions can be either letters or numbers; each position uses the letters A–Z followed by the numbers 0–9.

County coding

Note: La Paz County was not formed until 1983, by which time the county-coding policy had ended.

Optional plates

Arizona offers its motorists a number of optional issue designs that are available upon the payment of an additional fee. Below is a partial list.

Image	Type	First issued	Serial format	Notes
	Arizona Agriculture	2010	1AG2345
	Arizona Centennial	October 30, 2011	A1234Z A1234C	Awarded "Plate of the Year" for best new license plate of 2011 by the Automobile License Plate Collectors Association, the second time Arizona was so honored.
	Arizona Diamondbacks	April 4, 2007	DB12345	Redesigned in 2016.
	Arizona Highways Magazine	early 2009	1AH2345
	Arizona Historical Society	June 2007	AH123	Redesigned in 2020.
	Arizona Science Center	2018	12345SC
	Arizona State University	1989	A1234C1234 D1234F1234	Redesigned in 2010 and 2018.
	Choose Life	early 2009	12CL34
	Conserving Wildlife	2002	W/'A12345	Redesigned in 2010.
	Curing Childhood Cancer	2012	12345CR
	Donate Life/Be an Organ Donor	approx 2005	B'1ABC
	Early Detection Saves Lives	March 26, 2006	JK1234
	Ending Hunger	2011	12345HR
	Environmental	October 1, 1992	E12341234E123E412E341E234EA·1234	Originally had yellow serial; this was changed to black due to poor visibility. Redesigned version available December 27, 1994.
	Former Prisoner of War		A12
	Fraternal Order of Police		L/'E1234
	Freedom	January 14, 2007	1FR2345
	Gold Star Family	May 2009	B'123	Serials are surface-printed.
	Historic Route 66	December 19, 2016	RT1234	Awarded "Plate of the Year" for best new license plate of 2016 by the Automobile License Plate Collectors Association, the third time Arizona was so honored.
	Home of the Apache	March 2007	C123E4	San Carlos Apache.
	Honoring Fallen Officers	November 2007	FP12345	Serials are surface-printed. Red starburst design removed after FP05500 to improve visibility.
	It Shouldn't Hurt to Be a Child		AC·12345
	It Shouldn't Hurt to Be a Child – Disabled Person		AC·1234	Wheelchair embossed to left of serial.
	Keep It Beautiful	2013	A1234B	Redesigned in 2024.
	Live the Golden Rule	November 2007	LM12345	Serials are surface-printed. Colors changed after LM09000 to improve visibility. Serial changed from black to white.
	Medal of Honor		123
	National Guard		N1234
	Navajo Nation	September 2003	B/'A1234
	Northern Arizona University	1989	V'1234	Redesigned in 2010 and 2020. A 1999 centennial variation was also available.
	Pets Enrich Our Lives	May 2005	C1234 1234C
	Phoenix Suns	May 5, 2009	1PS2345	Serials are surface-printed. Redesigned in 2014. Updated Suns logo in 2021.
	Professional Fire Fighters		F/'F1234
	Purple Heart		1234
	Special Olympics Arizona	December 19, 2016		$25 fee, of which $17 benefits local Special Olympics programs.
	A State of Good Character	September 2005	A'12B34
	Supporting Public Safety	2016	RF12345
	Veteran		V/'T1234
	Veteran – Disabled Person		V'/T123	Wheelchair embossed to left of serial.
	University of Arizona	1989	P1234 S1234	Redesigned in approx 2008 and 2012.
	University of Phoenix		F/'A1234
	White Mountain Apache	November 2007	WM123 123WM'	Serials are surface-printed.