Vehicle registration plates of the United States for 1938

Each of the 48 states of the United States of America plus several of its territories and the District of Columbia issued individual passenger license plates for 1938.

Image	State	Design	Slogan	Serial format	Serials issued	Notes
	Alabama	red on blue with embossed 38	none	123–456A
	Alaska
	Arizona
	Arkansas	Embossed gray lettering, designs and border on red background, "ARKANSAS" embossed in winged signage below registration; "38" embossed inside state shape at left.	none	123–456
	California	black embossed lettering on yellow base	1A 23 45	unknown
	Colorado	White embossed lettering and rims on teal base.	none	1-12345 10-1234		County coded registration (1 or 10).
	Connecticut
	Delaware
	District of Columbia
	Florida	Embossed yellow lettering and border on black background, "19 FLORIDA 38" embossed at top.	none	12A3456	Coded by county and weight class
	Georgia	Orange embossed lettering and rims on blue base. "1938" embossed at bottom and "GEORGIA" at top.	none	123-456A	unknown
	Guam
	Hawai'i	Embossed yellow lettering on black base; "HAWAII 1938" at bottom.	none	12-345
	Idaho
	Illinois	Embossed white lettering on green base; "ILLINOIS 1938" at bottom.	none	123 456 123 4567	unknown
	Indiana	Maroon lettering on cream base	none	123 456
	Iowa	Black embossed lettering and rims on white base.	none	1–2345 12-3456		County-coded regsitration (1 or 12)
	Kansas	Embossed white numbers on black plate with border line; "KAN. '38" embossed in white block letters centered at bottom	none	1-12345 10-1234 100-123	Coded by county (1, 10 or 100)
	Kentucky
	Louisiana
	Maine
	Maryland
	Massachusetts	Embossed white lettering on red base. "MASS 38" at bottom.	none	123–456
	Michigan		none	123456
	Minnesota		none	A123-456
	Mississippi	Dark blue with embossed white lettering and rim. "MISS." stamped at top center of plate, "38" at top right. Passenger plates stamped with "A" at top left.	none	123–456
	Missouri	Embossed black lettering and rims on white base. "19 MISSOURI 38" at bottom.	none	123–456	unknown
	Montana	Embossed black numbers on orange plate with state-shaped border; embossed black buffalo skull used as separator; "MONTANA–38" embossed in black block letters below numbers	none	1-12345 1/0-1234	unknown	Coded by county of issuance (1 or 1/0)
	Nebraska	Silver embossed block lettering and rims on black base. "NEBRASKA – 38" embossed at bottom.	none	1-12345 10-1234	unknown	County-coded registration (1 or 10)
	Nevada	Embossed white lettering and rims on blue base. "NEVADA 1938" at bottom.	none	12-345	unknown
	New Hampshire
	New Jersey	Embossed white lettering on heavy black steel base. "N.J. 38" embossed at top.	none	A123456		County coded registration (A).
	New Mexico	Embossed black lettering and Zia design on yellow base plate.	none	1–2345 12-3456	unknown	County-coded registration (1 or 12)
	New York	Yellow-orange embossed lettering on black base	"NEW YORK WORLD"S FAIR 1939" embossed across bottom of plate.	A-12-34 1A23-45		County-coded registration.
	North Carolina	Yellow base with embossed black lettering. "NORTH CAROLINA 38" embossed at top.	none	123–456	unknown
	North Dakota
	Ohio	Black embossed lettering, rims, and graphics on white base[16]	150 Anniv·N·W·Terr·[16]	A·1234 AB·123 1234·A 123·AB A·123·B		County-coded registration. Commemorated the 150th anniversary of the creation of the Northwest Territory, from which the state of Ohio was formed.
	Oklahoma	Embossed black lettering on yellow base. "OKLAHOMA – 1938" at top.	none	123–456	unknown
	Oregon	Embossed black lettering and rims on silver-painted base. "OREGON – 1938" at bottom.	none	123–456	unknown
	Panama Canal Zone
	Pennsylvania	Blue embossed lettering on yellow base with blue state outline	none	1234A 12A34	unknown
	Rhode Island	Embossed white letters on black base; "R.I. 1938" embossed at bottom.	none	A1234	unknown
	South Carolina	Embossed black numbers on golden yellow plate; "SOUTH CAROLINA 38" embossed in black block letters at bottom.	none	A-12-345	unknown	Letter in registration corresponds to weight class.
	South Dakota
	Tennessee	Embossed blue lettering and rims on state-shaped plate. "TENN. 38" at bottom center.	none	1–2345 1A-2345	unknown	Coded by weight.
	Texas	Black embossed lettering, star separator at center, and rims on white base.	none	123–456 A12-345	unknown
	Utah	Embossed maroon lettering and rims on white base, "UTAH – 1938" at bottom.	none	12-345	50-001 to approximately 174-000
	Vermont	Embossed blue lettering on white base. "19 VERMONT 38" embossed at bottom.	none	12 435
	Virginia	Embossed black numbers on white plate; "VIRGINIA – 1938" embossed in black block letters at bottom.	none	123–456	1 to approximately 388-000
	Washington	Embossed green numbers on white plate with border line; "1938 WASHINGTON" embossed in green block letters at top	none	A-12345 AB-1234	County-coded (A or AB)
	West Virginia	Embossed yellow numbers on black plate; "W. VA.-37-38" embossed in yellow block letters centered at top.	none
	Wisconsin	Embossed black numbers on silver plate with border line; "WISCONSIN 1938" embossed in black block letters at bottom	none	123–456	1 to approximately 706-000
	Wyoming	Embossed yellow numbers and Bucking Horse and Rider on navy blue plate with border line; "1938 WYOMING" embossed in yellow block letters at top	none	1–2345 12-3456

References