North Dakota

North Dakota 1969 passenger issue (1966 base). These plates were issued in 1966 and used through the end of 1969. This base is odd in that it contained a slot for a metal date tab, although tabs were never used during this period. "Peace Garden State" has been the slogan on North Dakota plates since 1956 and remains as of the current base. This slogan refers to the International Peace Garden along the US/Canadian border between North Dakota and Manitoba. This garden was dedicated in 1932 and celebrates the longest unprotected border in the world.

North Dakota 1969 passenger issue (1966 base). Continuation of the above baseplate, later plates in this series had the tab slot removed from the top right of the plate.

North Dakota 1971 passenger issue (1970 base). This new base was issued in 1970 and used through the end of 1973. It is very similar to the '66 base but with the colors changed.

North Dakota 1973 passenger issue (1970 base). A small number of late 1970 base North Dakota plates were produced with a revised state name die using a noticeably rounder letter "O." This variation occurs on the 1974 base as well. This variation appears starting in the early 390 series (by at least 394) through the end of this baseplate in the 415 series.

North Dakota 1975 passenger issue (1974 base). This base was issued in 1974 and used with stickers through the end of 1979. This was the last of North Dakota's all-numeric issues, although by 1979 the series had only reached around 600-000.

North Dakota 1975 passenger issue (1974 base). Continuation of the above series, later plates used a different state name die, most noticeable in the use of more rounded 'D' and 'O' characters in "Dakota."

North Dakota 1979 passenger issue (1974 base). Later period '74-base plates were produced by the Polyvend Corporation in Arkansas and used the same die set of Illinois plates of the era. As you can see, this late-period plate didn't even break the 600,000 mark.

North Dakota 1981 passenger issue (1980 base). At the end of 1979, North Dakota switched to this bland black-on-white issue, which was used through 1988. The state switched to an ABC-123 format, which as stated was not really necessary due to the number of plates being issued, but gave the state a lot of flexibility for the future. This series took until late 2003 to reach the "H" series, in a progression which has included two general reissues since 1987. This baseplate was the first to carry the full state name (as opposed to an abbreviated "N. Dakota") since 1961. These plates were made by Prison Industries in Iowa and use the same dies as Virginia and Iowa plates of the same period.

North Dakota 1983 passenger issue. Continuation of the 1980 base, starting in 1981 the embossed "80" was removed from the top right corner of the plate. This change was made somewhere between the "AVP" and "AVT" series of plates. These plates, along with the dated '80' versions, were valid through the end of 1988.

North Dakota 1985 passenger issue. This graphic featuring the image of Teddy Roosevelt was introduced in 1984 and was issued to the vast majority of new registrants, plus anyone wishing to replace a previous base, from 1984 through 1987 (apparently a small number of black-on-white plates were issued concurrently). These plates were produced in South Dakota using their distinctive serial dies. They were valid, along with the older 1980 bases, through the end of 1988.

North Dakota 1988 passenger issue. The black-and-white issue was still issued to the small number of registrants not opting for the Teddy plate through the end of 1987. Late-production plates from at least the AZG series and above removed the sticker box from the top left corner of the plate altogether.

North Dakota 1989 passenger issue. This baseplate was first issued in 1988 to commemorate the state's Centennial in 1989. These plates continued the numbering system used on the 1980 base, starting at BAA-000. It was used from 1988 through the end of 1993.

North Dakota 1989 passenger issue. Reserved-series all-numeric plates have also been issued in North Dakota since 1980, with some (all?) of the reserve numbers on the Centennial plate made using this "ND" prefix.

North Dakota 1993 passenger issue. The "Discover the Spirit" base replaced the Centennial plates in 1993 and continued as North Dakota's baseplate through 2016. The serial sequence started at DAA-000, although the Centennial plates had only reached the mid-Cxx series. This plate was the ALPCA Plate of the Year for 1993.

North Dakota 2005 passenger issue. Same series as above, starting in late 2004 (for late 2005 expirations), the state switched to computer generated validation stickers which included the plate number at the bottom of the sticker. I don't typically worry much about covering sticker variations, but, frankly, after 14 years of the same plate, I was looking for any excuse to update this page.

North Dakota 2016 passenger issue. In late 2015, North Dakota embarked on their first general plate reissue since 1993, introducting this new graphic issue. The new plate contains familiar bison on the plains imagery, with the traditional Peace Garden State slogan in small type at bottom left. The new "Legendary" tourist slogan is added above the state name at top. These plates are flat, but feature a custom serial font developed by 3M to match the previous embossing dies used by the state.

North Dakota 2017 passenger issue. In response to concerns about legibility of the stylized state name on the 2015 issue, the state name font was revised in late 2016. This change occurred somewhere in the BTx or BUx series, the plate design remained otherwise unchanged.

Additional North Dakota information provided by: Allison Hoff, Andrew Osborne

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Last Modified 10/30/2018 (added 1988 plate).

	North Dakota 1969 passenger issue (1966 base). These plates were issued in 1966 and used through the end of 1969. This base is odd in that it contained a slot for a metal date tab, although tabs were never used during this period. "Peace Garden State" has been the slogan on North Dakota plates since 1956 and remains as of the current base. This slogan refers to the International Peace Garden along the US/Canadian border between North Dakota and Manitoba. This garden was dedicated in 1932 and celebrates the longest unprotected border in the world.
	North Dakota 1969 passenger issue (1966 base). Continuation of the above baseplate, later plates in this series had the tab slot removed from the top right of the plate.
	North Dakota 1971 passenger issue (1970 base). This new base was issued in 1970 and used through the end of 1973. It is very similar to the '66 base but with the colors changed.
	North Dakota 1973 passenger issue (1970 base). A small number of late 1970 base North Dakota plates were produced with a revised state name die using a noticeably rounder letter "O." This variation occurs on the 1974 base as well. This variation appears starting in the early 390 series (by at least 394) through the end of this baseplate in the 415 series.
	North Dakota 1975 passenger issue (1974 base). This base was issued in 1974 and used with stickers through the end of 1979. This was the last of North Dakota's all-numeric issues, although by 1979 the series had only reached around 600-000.
	North Dakota 1975 passenger issue (1974 base). Continuation of the above series, later plates used a different state name die, most noticeable in the use of more rounded 'D' and 'O' characters in "Dakota."
	North Dakota 1979 passenger issue (1974 base). Later period '74-base plates were produced by the Polyvend Corporation in Arkansas and used the same die set of Illinois plates of the era. As you can see, this late-period plate didn't even break the 600,000 mark.
	North Dakota 1981 passenger issue (1980 base). At the end of 1979, North Dakota switched to this bland black-on-white issue, which was used through 1988. The state switched to an ABC-123 format, which as stated was not really necessary due to the number of plates being issued, but gave the state a lot of flexibility for the future. This series took until late 2003 to reach the "H" series, in a progression which has included two general reissues since 1987. This baseplate was the first to carry the full state name (as opposed to an abbreviated "N. Dakota") since 1961. These plates were made by Prison Industries in Iowa and use the same dies as Virginia and Iowa plates of the same period.
	North Dakota 1983 passenger issue. Continuation of the 1980 base, starting in 1981 the embossed "80" was removed from the top right corner of the plate. This change was made somewhere between the "AVP" and "AVT" series of plates. These plates, along with the dated '80' versions, were valid through the end of 1988.
	North Dakota 1985 passenger issue. This graphic featuring the image of Teddy Roosevelt was introduced in 1984 and was issued to the vast majority of new registrants, plus anyone wishing to replace a previous base, from 1984 through 1987 (apparently a small number of black-on-white plates were issued concurrently). These plates were produced in South Dakota using their distinctive serial dies. They were valid, along with the older 1980 bases, through the end of 1988.
	North Dakota 1988 passenger issue. The black-and-white issue was still issued to the small number of registrants not opting for the Teddy plate through the end of 1987. Late-production plates from at least the AZG series and above removed the sticker box from the top left corner of the plate altogether.
	North Dakota 1989 passenger issue. This baseplate was first issued in 1988 to commemorate the state's Centennial in 1989. These plates continued the numbering system used on the 1980 base, starting at BAA-000. It was used from 1988 through the end of 1993.
	North Dakota 1989 passenger issue. Reserved-series all-numeric plates have also been issued in North Dakota since 1980, with some (all?) of the reserve numbers on the Centennial plate made using this "ND" prefix.
	North Dakota 1993 passenger issue. The "Discover the Spirit" base replaced the Centennial plates in 1993 and continued as North Dakota's baseplate through 2016. The serial sequence started at DAA-000, although the Centennial plates had only reached the mid-Cxx series. This plate was the ALPCA Plate of the Year for 1993.
	North Dakota 2005 passenger issue. Same series as above, starting in late 2004 (for late 2005 expirations), the state switched to computer generated validation stickers which included the plate number at the bottom of the sticker. I don't typically worry much about covering sticker variations, but, frankly, after 14 years of the same plate, I was looking for any excuse to update this page.
	North Dakota 2016 passenger issue. In late 2015, North Dakota embarked on their first general plate reissue since 1993, introducting this new graphic issue. The new plate contains familiar bison on the plains imagery, with the traditional Peace Garden State slogan in small type at bottom left. The new "Legendary" tourist slogan is added above the state name at top. These plates are flat, but feature a custom serial font developed by 3M to match the previous embossing dies used by the state.
	North Dakota 2017 passenger issue. In response to concerns about legibility of the stylized state name on the 2015 issue, the state name font was revised in late 2016. This change occurred somewhere in the BTx or BUx series, the plate design remained otherwise unchanged.