Missouri 1969 passenger issue. Starting with late issues of the 1956 base, Missouri plates were issued in the AB1-234 format. The month of expiration is determined by the first letter, plates starting with "Z" expire in December.
	Missouri 1970 passenger issue. In 1970, Missouri started alternating between AB1-234 (odd years) and A1B-234 (even years) This format was used until 1980. Plates starting with "K" had a June expiration.
	Missouri 1971 passenger issue. Back to the AB1-234 format, "Z" plates again came up in December.
	Missouri 1972 passenger issue. This was the first fully-reflectorized issue for Missouri. Plates starting with "P" expired in August.
	Missouri 1973 passenger issue. Also reflectorized. "G" plates expired in May.
	Missouri 1973 passenger issue. Another 1973 issue, plates manufactured later in the year made use of a larger "73" die than previous plates.
	Missouri 1974 passenger issue. "A" plates expired in January.
	Missouri 1975 passenger issue. "E" plates expire in April. This was the last fully-reflectorized issue until 1998.
	Missouri 1976 passenger issue. These plates were partially reflective, with glass beads in the yellow paint. Visibility wasn't great on these plates, especially for the first few months' supply (January through May expirations). The blue background was darkened later in the year to help with the contrast.
	Missouri 1976 passenger issue. This is the second variety of the 1976 Missouri plate, using a darker color blue background to improve visibility. Plates expiring in June through December were manufactured using this darker background color.
	Missouri 1976 passenger issue. This was a reserve-series low numbered plate. Missouri issued these each year along with the standard passenger plates, but to the best of my knowledge, 1976 was the only year that the plates were issued in a different color scheme than the standard plates.
	Missouri 1977 passenger issue. This Bicentennial issue was the first use of graphics on a Missouri plate. "J" plates expired in June.
	Missouri 1978 passenger issue. Another partially reflective issue. "A" plates expired in January.
	Missouri 1979 passenger issue. This was the last of Missouri's yearly issues, making the state second only to Indiana as far as going the longest issuing new plates every year. "A" plates expired in January.
	Missouri 1981 passenger issue. Starting with this plate, Missouri switched to an ABC-123 format. The first letter continued to determine the month of expiration, with "A" plates still expiring in January. Early Missouri plates on this base carried a lightly embossed "80" under the sticker box in the middle of the plate.
	Missouri 1989 passenger issue. As the series continued, the embossed "80" was removed from the base and the dies for the state name and slogan were changed slightly. New letters were also added as the number of plates issued grew. "Q" plates were added to the December expiration, which had previously been only "Z" plates. These plates were used through the end of 1997.
	Missouri 1991 passenger issue. When the state ran out of numbers in the traditional ABC-123 format, they started issuing plates in the A1B-234 format. Again, first letter determined expiration month, with "J" being a June plate. This plate used the older state name and slogan dies, indicating that it may have been produced before the 1989 plate above. Since the state used a different serial series for each month, it's not uncommon to see plates that were produced seemingly out of sequence.
	Missouri 1991 passenger issue. Another A1B-234 series plate, this time with an August ('P') expiration code. This plate uses the newer state name and slogan dies.
	Missouri 1996 passenger issue. A third serial format came into use for certain months that managed to overrun both the ABC-123 and A1B-234 serial formats. These plates, using the 1A2-34B format, were issued late in the series, as natural 1996 or 1997 expirations.
	Missouri 1998 passenger issue. This new graphic base was first issued in 1997. This is sometimes referred to as the River graphic, with the blue/green color and squiggly-lines graphic supposedly indicating water. Starting with this base, month stickers were established and the plates are issued in sequential order regardless of the month.
	Missouri 2003 passenger issue (1998 base). Continuation of the plate from above, this plate shows a change in the placement of the stickers. Missouri has apparently become one of the growing number of states having trouble with sticker theft. One method favored by thieves is to cut off the corner or entire side of a plate with some tin snips, then remove the sticker and apply it to a different plate at their leisure after making a speedy getaway. The state is hoping that moving the stickers to the center will help thwart this problem. For the time being, plates still carry the "98" designation in the lower right, presumably this will be removed at some point in the future. Click here to see the handout that residents are given to explain the new sticker placement arrangement.
	Missouri 2005 passenger issue. Continuing the effort to get motorists to place the stickers at the center of the plate, a recessed sticker well was added between the numbers and letters in the serial starting somewhere in the "X" series of plates. The screened month sticker box and "98" designation remained at the lower corners for some of the earlier versions of this plate, but were later removed altogether.
	Missouri 2005 passenger issue. Another of the newer issues with the sticker well in the center, this one also has the screened sticker boxes at the bottom corners removed. Issuance order in Missouri seems to have been sent all out of whack during this period as well, with plates in the Zxx serial blocks issued out of sequence before most of the X and Y plates came out. All available sequences were eventually used up, necessitating a new format in 2006 (see next.)
	Missouri 2007 passenger issue. In early 2006, the state exhausted the last of the available combinations in the 123-ABC series and swapped to a new 1AB-23C format. The plates remain otherwise unchanged and continue the arrangement of having the stickers in the center of the plate. Oddly, the state continues to use horizontally-formatted month stickers which need to be turned sideways to fit in the current sticker location.
	Missouri 2009 passenger issue. This graphic issue was introduced in June, 2008 and features the state shape in the background as well as a small bluebird at bottom center. These plates use a new AB1-C2D format, with expiration date coding reintroduced (first letter corresponds to expiration month, in this case 'K' indicates June.) There has been some controversy regarding the grammatically incorrect slogan on these plates - the hyphen has been left off, leaving the phrasing incorrect - "Show Me State" reads as a command, as opposed to "Show-Me" modifying "State." No word if the hyphen will be reintroduced at a later date.
	Missouri 2010 passenger issue. A slight, non-hyphen-related modification was made to the Missouri bluebird base about a year after its introduction. Apparently the blue state shape in the background was difficult to make out at a distance, so it was changed to a more pronounced black. The plate remained unchanged otherwise.
	Missouri 2012 passenger issue. Sticker theft continues to be an issue in the state, so in 2010 a new sticker style was introduced in areas identified as high-theft risks which include the plate number in large characters at the center. The system has yet to be implemented state-wide, but must be working to some degree as it's still in place as of 2020.
	Missouri 2019 passenger issue. Missouri began issuing a plate commemorating the state's Bicentennial in late 2018. This base features the state seal in the background and red and blue "waves" at top and bottom. The design was the first since the 1980 maroon base to omit the "Show-Me State" (or "Show Me State") slogan, which is one way to avoid another hyphen controversy. These plates continued the alphabet-soup serial format introduced on the previous issue, which it replaced by the end of 2019. Plates continue to appear with standard year stickers and modified anti-theft stickers including the plate serial, depending on point of issue.

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