Georgia

Georgia 1969 passenger issue. Georgia plates of this era started with a numeric county code and could also carry an alpha weight code. This plate was issued in county #1 (Fulton, greater Atlanta) and was in weight code "A", standing for vehicles between 4001 and 6000 pounds. Click here for a complete listing of Georgia county codes. "Peach State" first appeared on Georgia plates in 1940, and appeared continuously from 1947 through 1970.

Georgia 1970 passenger issue. Same format as above, this plate came from county #40 (Walton) and was in the 3001-4000 pound weight class, carrying no alpha character in the serial. Other classes like "D" and "E" also existed, which were the lightest (1-3000 pounds). This was the last year for county codes in Georgia, and also the last yearly issue.

Georgia 1974 passenger issue (1971 base). At the end of 1970, this new plate was issued to all vehicles. It featured an ABC-123 format and a space at the bottom for a county sticker. This plate is from Fulton county. This issue remained in use until the end of 1975. The first character of the plate was actually a weight code, with "W" (as well as "R") fitting into the 4001-6000 pound class. Other classes were 1-3000 pounds (A, B, C, F), 3001-3500 pounds (E, G) and 3501-4000 pounds (L, M, P). These codes were in place with some letter changes on the 1976 base through about 1980.

Georgia 1977 passenger issue (1976 base). In 1976, this new baseplate was issued, identical to the 1971 plate in format but using red on white as the colors. I like this plate not only for the "BOO" combination, but also for the fact that the owner placed the "77" sticker on upside-down. This plate was issued in Chatham county. These plates were in use through the end of 1982 with stickers (right side up or not, apparently). The first character of this plate is again a weight code, with "B" (along with A, C, D and E) falling into the lightest (1-3000 pounds) class. Other codes were G and H (3001-3500), L, M and N (3501-4000) and R and S (4001-6000). This system started to break later on in this baseplate's run, around 1979.

Georgia 1976 passenger issue. Cobb county issue on the 1976 plate, from the "M" weight class (3501-4000 lbs). Some earlier issues on this baseplate were issued with leftover blue county stickers from the old 1971 base rather than the red ones intended for use with this base. Blue stickers are therefore seen on this plate occasionally.

Georgia 1979 passenger issue (1976 base). Around 1979, the state started to run out of available combinations in its old weight-code series and introduced non-coded plates starting in the T series, beyond where the old codes left off. Some early plates in this series were erroneously produced using the letter Q in sequence, which had been omitted in this series (and, in fact, was exiled from the rotation until being added officially in 2000.)

Georgia 1981 passenger issue (1976 base). Continuation of the above series, near the end of the run of this baseplate the base was altered to feature a screened state name rather than embossed. Again, no weight code on this plate, as the state had gone to straight serial near the end of the alphabet. This plate was again issued in Fulton county, and again these plates were used through the end of 1982.

Georgia 1984 passenger issue (1983 base). In 1983, these new baseplates were issued. They eliminated the outside border of the 1971 and 1976 issues, and featured a screened background with the date and state name. These green-on-white plates were used through 1989. This plate was issued in DeKalb county.

Georgia 1992 passenger issue. Georgia released its first fully-screened graphic issue in 1989, featuring a peach as the "O" in the state name and a gradually fading peach-colored background at the bottom. This baseplate was used through March, 1997. This plate comes from DeKalb county. Georgia was the last state in the union not using staggered monthly registration at this time, so plates of this era do not carry month stickers as might be expected.

Georgia 1996 passenger issue. Continuation of the 1990 Peach issue. When some counties started running out of standard-format plates around 1995, a seven-digit series was adopted. These were used through March, 1997 on this base. This plate comes from Meriwether county. Still no month stickers.

Georgia 1998 passenger issue. In 1997, this new base was issued to all vehicles. It once again features a peach, this time prominently at the center of the plate. It also adds the "Georgia...on my mind" slogan, referring to the song of the same name. Georgia instituted monthly registrations at the time of this base's issue, so both month and year stickers are used. This plate comes from Columbia county.

Georgia 1998 passenger issue. Continuation of the above baseplate, this particular plate is something of a rarity in that it has a "98" validation sticker, while most plates on this base simply have the "98" screened onto the baseplate. When these plates were first issued, a small number of registrations were pro-rated for late 1997 expirations, resulting in a "97" sticker being placed over the screened "98". These "98" stickers were then needed to cover the "97" stickers on these plates. Another one of those modern-day rarities. This plate was issued in Appling county.

Georgia 1998 passenger issue. Another current-base Peach issue. Prior to 1997, the "two-alpha" format was reserved for non-passenger categories (truck, trailer, etc.) These designations were eliminated by a 1997 law, however. Since plates in the 1234 AB format had already been produced, the state went ahead and issued them, regardless of vehicle class. As a result, many plates in this format were issued to passenger cars. This plate comes from Candler county.

Georgia 1998 passenger issue. Seven-digit plates ending in "Qx" were intended for use on light trucks before the law was changed in 1997, so again these plates were issued to all categories of vehicles, including passenger vehicles. This plate was used in DeKalb county.

Georgia 1999 passenger issue. Validation stickers came into use on this base starting with the 1999 sticker. Starting with the "QG" series of these seven-digit "Qx" plates, the spacing was changed to pull everything more towards the center of the plate. This example also uses a slightly different die set than the last plate - note the differences in the "9" die, and the cross in the "Q". This plate is from Butts county. Did I pick it up entirely because it says "Butts" on it? You betcha.

Georgia 2001 passenger issue. Continuation of the standard passenger format. As the state neared the end of the alphabet in 2000, plates using the letters Q, U and V, which had previously been skipped on passenger plates, began to appear. This change began with the "Xxx" series of plates. This allowed a few more plates to be squeezed out before changing the format. This plate features one of a couple different designs of 2001 sticker.

Georgia 2001 passenger issue. After the "ZZZ" series was reached on these plates, in June, 2001, the series switched to seven digits, in a 1234-ABC format. These plates use the alternate, narrow die set for the serial, resulting in a little more of the graphic being visible in some cases than on the older six-digit plates.

Georgia 2005 passenger issue. This plate began to appear in late 2003. The design features the state's website address at the top, along with a modified peach graphic incorporating the state's shape into the center of the design. I'm guessing that the inevitable "Georgia is the pits" jokes that'll come from placing the state shape in the center of a peach were not what the designers intended, but that's OK. The state initially intended to have a general plate reissue during 2004, but budget constraints have caused the state to change plans and only issue this plate to new registrants. Renewal registrations have continued to be issued stickers on the older "On My Mind" plate. This graphic base has a screened "05" expiration at the bottom right, with some plates being back-dated to 2004 due to the combination of the registrant's birthday and when they registered the car. Some previous base plates received 1997 stickers under the same circumstances.

Georgia 2004 passenger issue. Example of the backdated 2004 decal placed over the screened '05' on this baseplate. The serial die set, or at least part of it, was changed early in the run of these plates, most notably in the different 'Q' dies used between the plate above and this one.

Georgia 2008 passenger issue. Starting in 2006, Georgia started issuing new-style expiration stickers, which include the county name, month and year of expiration, and the plate number. These new stickers, among other things, make the separate month sticker obsolete. The baseplate was therefore modified at some point in the AUx series to remove the left sticker well. Some counties are still issuing month stickers until the supply is exhausted, therefore these plates can be seen with the month sticker, or with a black box indicating its placement.

Georgia 2008 passenger issue. A modified version of the website base appeared in mid-2006. This version eliminated the silver fade in the background, removed the 'www' portion of the web address and changed the appearance of the state name. The peach/state shape graphic at center was retained, but shifted to the right. Nobody's quite sure what the motivation for these changes was - the state had proposed replating in 2007 to a new white-on-blue issue that was nearly universally panned when the prototype was released, so this may have been the stop-gap replacement while the new issue went back to the drawing board.

Georgia 2007 passenger issue. Continuation of the above base, early issues such as the AWC plate above used a graphic featuring a darker green leaf and state shape and lighter peach, while the majority of the plates used a modified graphic with the green lightened and the peach darkened. This change occurred in the early AWx series and has remained since.

Georgia 2009 passenger issue. The passenger series continued on the base above through approximately the BGP series, then unexpectedly jumped to the BVA series. At the same time, the plate itself was modified to eliminate the two sticker wells at the bottom for the county strip and expiration decal. This "jumped" issue appeared from the BVA series through BWP, at which point the series reverted back to the pre-jump BGP series again.

Georgia 2010 passenger issue. Example of a plate from the return to the lower serial block BGP and above, again with the missing sticker wells at the bottom.

Georgia 2010 passenger issue. At some point in the BHx or BIx series, the year sticker well was re-added to the bottom right corner of the plate, re-sized to accomodate the newer style stickers. This remains the current plate style in use as of late 2011, with the series finally having caught up to and skipped the out-of-sequence BVA-BWP series.

Georgia 2013 passenger issue. This "peachtree" issue was introduced in May, 2012 and will eventually replace all existing 1998-present plates on the road. This replacement is scheduled in a two-step process, with plates issued before December 1, 2003 replaced upon renewal or transfer in 2012, newer plates being replaced starting in 2013. This is Georgia's first flat plate, with the county name printed directly on the plate at the same time as the serial. The series started at PAA on this plate, P presumably for "Peach." The plate has met with mixed reviews, some considering it too busy and hard to read, and the peaches looking too much like pumpkins. The state also offers a no-cost black and white option reminiscent of the previous issue with a lone peach in the center.

Georgia 2013 passenger issue. Here is the aforementioned alternate baseplate, featuring a simplified black and white motif with a single peach at center similar to the 1997 base. These plates were also introduced in May, 2012, in this case starting in the PFA series, and are issued concurrently with the issue above.

Georgia 2013 passenger issue. The first batch of these plates were issued with a weird compressed font for the county name, which must not have been particularly well received, as it was tweaked fairly quickly to this more traditional wider version, retained for the remainder of the 3M run of these plates.

Georgia 2016 passenger issue. Plates issued centrally by the state as opposed to county tag offices are issued in the C series on this base instead of the typical P/Q/R/S series. This series picked up from the end of the embossed series, and are far less commonly issued than the county issued counterparts. This is a late 3M version of a C series full graphic plate, these also exist in the plain, alternate graphic version.

Georgia 2016 passenger issues. Starting in 2016, Georgia awarded their plate production contract to Avery, who introduced their first flat plates in the state. The Avery issues use the shinier sheeting the company is known for, plus a revised serial font. This change took place on both passenger graphics, both of which were initially bumped to the R series. Shortly afterwards, however, both series advanced to the S series for reasons unknown.

Georgia 2016/2017 passenger issues. These are the S series plates mentioned above on both bases. It appears the state jumped to S while tweaking the serial font size for some bizarre reason, with the R series resuming with a slightly smaller font shortly thereafter (see next.)

Georgia 2016 passenger issues. After the initial R plates (through approximately RAN) and a short run of S plates using the taller, wider font was produced, Georgia bounced back to resume the R series, with a shorter version of the Avery font. This serial font matched the height of the previous 3M serial and was thought to be revised in order to fit better on some non-passenger types. This change was made in the early R series and carried over to both bases.

Georgia 2017 passenger issue. The C series is also used for statewide issued plates on the Avery bases. Apparently none were produced using the larger font, so these are exclusively seen (so far) with the revised, shorter Avery serial font.

Georgia 2017/2018 passenger issues. Finally satisfied with the font height, the next change made to Georgia's plates was to eliminate the pesky embossed border and sticker well, resulting in a completely flat plate. This change is represented in both the R and C series passenger issues, in both graphic styles.

Additional Georgia information provided by: Chris Paque, Bradley Gallagher, Stephen Tuday

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Last Modified 1/20/2020 (changed 1996 plate).

	Georgia 1969 passenger issue. Georgia plates of this era started with a numeric county code and could also carry an alpha weight code. This plate was issued in county #1 (Fulton, greater Atlanta) and was in weight code "A", standing for vehicles between 4001 and 6000 pounds. Click here for a complete listing of Georgia county codes. "Peach State" first appeared on Georgia plates in 1940, and appeared continuously from 1947 through 1970.
	Georgia 1970 passenger issue. Same format as above, this plate came from county #40 (Walton) and was in the 3001-4000 pound weight class, carrying no alpha character in the serial. Other classes like "D" and "E" also existed, which were the lightest (1-3000 pounds). This was the last year for county codes in Georgia, and also the last yearly issue.
	Georgia 1974 passenger issue (1971 base). At the end of 1970, this new plate was issued to all vehicles. It featured an ABC-123 format and a space at the bottom for a county sticker. This plate is from Fulton county. This issue remained in use until the end of 1975. The first character of the plate was actually a weight code, with "W" (as well as "R") fitting into the 4001-6000 pound class. Other classes were 1-3000 pounds (A, B, C, F), 3001-3500 pounds (E, G) and 3501-4000 pounds (L, M, P). These codes were in place with some letter changes on the 1976 base through about 1980.
	Georgia 1977 passenger issue (1976 base). In 1976, this new baseplate was issued, identical to the 1971 plate in format but using red on white as the colors. I like this plate not only for the "BOO" combination, but also for the fact that the owner placed the "77" sticker on upside-down. This plate was issued in Chatham county. These plates were in use through the end of 1982 with stickers (right side up or not, apparently). The first character of this plate is again a weight code, with "B" (along with A, C, D and E) falling into the lightest (1-3000 pounds) class. Other codes were G and H (3001-3500), L, M and N (3501-4000) and R and S (4001-6000). This system started to break later on in this baseplate's run, around 1979.
	Georgia 1976 passenger issue. Cobb county issue on the 1976 plate, from the "M" weight class (3501-4000 lbs). Some earlier issues on this baseplate were issued with leftover blue county stickers from the old 1971 base rather than the red ones intended for use with this base. Blue stickers are therefore seen on this plate occasionally.
	Georgia 1979 passenger issue (1976 base). Around 1979, the state started to run out of available combinations in its old weight-code series and introduced non-coded plates starting in the T series, beyond where the old codes left off. Some early plates in this series were erroneously produced using the letter Q in sequence, which had been omitted in this series (and, in fact, was exiled from the rotation until being added officially in 2000.)
	Georgia 1981 passenger issue (1976 base). Continuation of the above series, near the end of the run of this baseplate the base was altered to feature a screened state name rather than embossed. Again, no weight code on this plate, as the state had gone to straight serial near the end of the alphabet. This plate was again issued in Fulton county, and again these plates were used through the end of 1982.
	Georgia 1984 passenger issue (1983 base). In 1983, these new baseplates were issued. They eliminated the outside border of the 1971 and 1976 issues, and featured a screened background with the date and state name. These green-on-white plates were used through 1989. This plate was issued in DeKalb county.
	Georgia 1992 passenger issue. Georgia released its first fully-screened graphic issue in 1989, featuring a peach as the "O" in the state name and a gradually fading peach-colored background at the bottom. This baseplate was used through March, 1997. This plate comes from DeKalb county. Georgia was the last state in the union not using staggered monthly registration at this time, so plates of this era do not carry month stickers as might be expected.
	Georgia 1996 passenger issue. Continuation of the 1990 Peach issue. When some counties started running out of standard-format plates around 1995, a seven-digit series was adopted. These were used through March, 1997 on this base. This plate comes from Meriwether county. Still no month stickers.
	Georgia 1998 passenger issue. In 1997, this new base was issued to all vehicles. It once again features a peach, this time prominently at the center of the plate. It also adds the "Georgia...on my mind" slogan, referring to the song of the same name. Georgia instituted monthly registrations at the time of this base's issue, so both month and year stickers are used. This plate comes from Columbia county.
	Georgia 1998 passenger issue. Continuation of the above baseplate, this particular plate is something of a rarity in that it has a "98" validation sticker, while most plates on this base simply have the "98" screened onto the baseplate. When these plates were first issued, a small number of registrations were pro-rated for late 1997 expirations, resulting in a "97" sticker being placed over the screened "98". These "98" stickers were then needed to cover the "97" stickers on these plates. Another one of those modern-day rarities. This plate was issued in Appling county.
	Georgia 1998 passenger issue. Another current-base Peach issue. Prior to 1997, the "two-alpha" format was reserved for non-passenger categories (truck, trailer, etc.) These designations were eliminated by a 1997 law, however. Since plates in the 1234 AB format had already been produced, the state went ahead and issued them, regardless of vehicle class. As a result, many plates in this format were issued to passenger cars. This plate comes from Candler county.
	Georgia 1998 passenger issue. Seven-digit plates ending in "Qx" were intended for use on light trucks before the law was changed in 1997, so again these plates were issued to all categories of vehicles, including passenger vehicles. This plate was used in DeKalb county.
	Georgia 1999 passenger issue. Validation stickers came into use on this base starting with the 1999 sticker. Starting with the "QG" series of these seven-digit "Qx" plates, the spacing was changed to pull everything more towards the center of the plate. This example also uses a slightly different die set than the last plate - note the differences in the "9" die, and the cross in the "Q". This plate is from Butts county. Did I pick it up entirely because it says "Butts" on it? You betcha.
	Georgia 2001 passenger issue. Continuation of the standard passenger format. As the state neared the end of the alphabet in 2000, plates using the letters Q, U and V, which had previously been skipped on passenger plates, began to appear. This change began with the "Xxx" series of plates. This allowed a few more plates to be squeezed out before changing the format. This plate features one of a couple different designs of 2001 sticker.
	Georgia 2001 passenger issue. After the "ZZZ" series was reached on these plates, in June, 2001, the series switched to seven digits, in a 1234-ABC format. These plates use the alternate, narrow die set for the serial, resulting in a little more of the graphic being visible in some cases than on the older six-digit plates.
	Georgia 2005 passenger issue. This plate began to appear in late 2003. The design features the state's website address at the top, along with a modified peach graphic incorporating the state's shape into the center of the design. I'm guessing that the inevitable "Georgia is the pits" jokes that'll come from placing the state shape in the center of a peach were not what the designers intended, but that's OK. The state initially intended to have a general plate reissue during 2004, but budget constraints have caused the state to change plans and only issue this plate to new registrants. Renewal registrations have continued to be issued stickers on the older "On My Mind" plate. This graphic base has a screened "05" expiration at the bottom right, with some plates being back-dated to 2004 due to the combination of the registrant's birthday and when they registered the car. Some previous base plates received 1997 stickers under the same circumstances.
	Georgia 2004 passenger issue. Example of the backdated 2004 decal placed over the screened '05' on this baseplate. The serial die set, or at least part of it, was changed early in the run of these plates, most notably in the different 'Q' dies used between the plate above and this one.
	Georgia 2008 passenger issue. Starting in 2006, Georgia started issuing new-style expiration stickers, which include the county name, month and year of expiration, and the plate number. These new stickers, among other things, make the separate month sticker obsolete. The baseplate was therefore modified at some point in the AUx series to remove the left sticker well. Some counties are still issuing month stickers until the supply is exhausted, therefore these plates can be seen with the month sticker, or with a black box indicating its placement.
	Georgia 2008 passenger issue. A modified version of the website base appeared in mid-2006. This version eliminated the silver fade in the background, removed the 'www' portion of the web address and changed the appearance of the state name. The peach/state shape graphic at center was retained, but shifted to the right. Nobody's quite sure what the motivation for these changes was - the state had proposed replating in 2007 to a new white-on-blue issue that was nearly universally panned when the prototype was released, so this may have been the stop-gap replacement while the new issue went back to the drawing board.
	Georgia 2007 passenger issue. Continuation of the above base, early issues such as the AWC plate above used a graphic featuring a darker green leaf and state shape and lighter peach, while the majority of the plates used a modified graphic with the green lightened and the peach darkened. This change occurred in the early AWx series and has remained since.
	Georgia 2009 passenger issue. The passenger series continued on the base above through approximately the BGP series, then unexpectedly jumped to the BVA series. At the same time, the plate itself was modified to eliminate the two sticker wells at the bottom for the county strip and expiration decal. This "jumped" issue appeared from the BVA series through BWP, at which point the series reverted back to the pre-jump BGP series again.
	Georgia 2010 passenger issue. Example of a plate from the return to the lower serial block BGP and above, again with the missing sticker wells at the bottom.
	Georgia 2010 passenger issue. At some point in the BHx or BIx series, the year sticker well was re-added to the bottom right corner of the plate, re-sized to accomodate the newer style stickers. This remains the current plate style in use as of late 2011, with the series finally having caught up to and skipped the out-of-sequence BVA-BWP series.
	Georgia 2013 passenger issue. This "peachtree" issue was introduced in May, 2012 and will eventually replace all existing 1998-present plates on the road. This replacement is scheduled in a two-step process, with plates issued before December 1, 2003 replaced upon renewal or transfer in 2012, newer plates being replaced starting in 2013. This is Georgia's first flat plate, with the county name printed directly on the plate at the same time as the serial. The series started at PAA on this plate, P presumably for "Peach." The plate has met with mixed reviews, some considering it too busy and hard to read, and the peaches looking too much like pumpkins. The state also offers a no-cost black and white option reminiscent of the previous issue with a lone peach in the center.
	Georgia 2013 passenger issue. Here is the aforementioned alternate baseplate, featuring a simplified black and white motif with a single peach at center similar to the 1997 base. These plates were also introduced in May, 2012, in this case starting in the PFA series, and are issued concurrently with the issue above.
	Georgia 2013 passenger issue. The first batch of these plates were issued with a weird compressed font for the county name, which must not have been particularly well received, as it was tweaked fairly quickly to this more traditional wider version, retained for the remainder of the 3M run of these plates.
	Georgia 2016 passenger issue. Plates issued centrally by the state as opposed to county tag offices are issued in the C series on this base instead of the typical P/Q/R/S series. This series picked up from the end of the embossed series, and are far less commonly issued than the county issued counterparts. This is a late 3M version of a C series full graphic plate, these also exist in the plain, alternate graphic version.
	Georgia 2016 passenger issues. Starting in 2016, Georgia awarded their plate production contract to Avery, who introduced their first flat plates in the state. The Avery issues use the shinier sheeting the company is known for, plus a revised serial font. This change took place on both passenger graphics, both of which were initially bumped to the R series. Shortly afterwards, however, both series advanced to the S series for reasons unknown.

	Georgia 2016/2017 passenger issues. These are the S series plates mentioned above on both bases. It appears the state jumped to S while tweaking the serial font size for some bizarre reason, with the R series resuming with a slightly smaller font shortly thereafter (see next.)

	Georgia 2016 passenger issues. After the initial R plates (through approximately RAN) and a short run of S plates using the taller, wider font was produced, Georgia bounced back to resume the R series, with a shorter version of the Avery font. This serial font matched the height of the previous 3M serial and was thought to be revised in order to fit better on some non-passenger types. This change was made in the early R series and carried over to both bases.

	Georgia 2017 passenger issue. The C series is also used for statewide issued plates on the Avery bases. Apparently none were produced using the larger font, so these are exclusively seen (so far) with the revised, shorter Avery serial font.
	Georgia 2017/2018 passenger issues. Finally satisfied with the font height, the next change made to Georgia's plates was to eliminate the pesky embossed border and sticker well, resulting in a completely flat plate. This change is represented in both the R and C series passenger issues, in both graphic styles.