Nebraska 1969 passenger issue. Nebraska introduced a state-shaped border on their plates starting with the previous issue in 1966. The "notch" in the southwestern corner of the state was used as the sticker box. The first digit of the plate is a county code, ranked by population. This plate is from county #1, Douglas county (Omaha and vicinity). Click here for a complete listing of Nebraska county codes. This base was used through the end of 1971.
	Nebraska 1975 passenger issue (1972 base). This plate was used between 1972 and 1975. It is from county #33, Jefferson county. Nebraska's capitol building is depicted on the year sticker.
	Nebraska 1974 passenger issue (1972 base). Later plates on the 1972 base used a slightly narrower set of serial dies (check the '3' and '9' between this plate and the last). Otherwise, the plates remained the same as previous.
	Nebraska 1975 passenger issue (1972 base). This was one of the later plates manufactured on this base, using the shorter dies that were also used for the 1976 Bicentennial base. These plates probably came about as a result of more 1972 bases being needed at the same time that production of the 1976 plates had already begun.
	Nebraska 1977 passenger issue. This baseplate was issued to commemorate the nation's Bicentennial in 1976, and was used with stickers through 1984. The busy design of this plate did not lend itself easily to sticker placement, as there were graphics in all four corners. The 1977 expiration sticker was kind of odd in that it reads "EXPIRED - 1977." I can't recall ever seeing another past-tense sticker like that. This plate was from Ote county, #11.
	Nebraska 1982 passenger issue. Another Bicentennial plate showing the lack of real estate available on the plate for sticker placement. In this case, the Indian chief ended up losing out and getting partially covered by the sticker. 1982 stickers in Nebraska were odd in that they did not specifically list the year of expiration, just the month. This plate was issued in Dakota county, number 70. This plate carries a double-letter format, which was used when single-letter plates were exhausted.
	Nebraska 1987 passenger issue. Nebraska followed eight years of graphic plates with this extremely sparse blue-on-white issue. At least there was no shortage of space for the stickers... This plate was issued in county #20, Cass county. This baseplate was used from 1984 through 1987 and marked the beginning of the state's three-year plate changeover cycle.
	Nebraska 1990 passenger issue. This new sunset graphic was introduced at the end of 1987 and was used through the end of 1990. This plate was issued in county #65, Box Butte county. No editorials regarding Nebraska county names are forthcoming.
	Nebraska 1991 passenger issue. This plate switched from the sunset graphic to a windmill graphic with a similar look to the 1987 base. This plate was used from the end of 1990 through the end of 1993. Another county #1 (Douglas) issue.
	Nebraska 1991 passenger issue. Another issue on this windmill base, this was from a run of plates that was produced in South Dakota rather than Nebraska, using the distinctive South Dakota dies of the time (the '4' character is the dead giveaway). Plates made in the serial block from the 2-A through 2-K series for issue in Lancaster county (#2) were produced in this manner.
	Nebraska 1994 passenger issue. The "Chimney Rock" graphic depicts both that natural landmark in western Nebraska and also a windmill and city skyline, signifying the mix of rural and urban settings in the state. This plate was issued from the end of 1993 through 1995 when a slightly re-designed version was released. This plate was from county #6, Saunders county, the county seat of which is "Wahoo". Wahoo!
	Nebraska 1996 passenger issue. Variant on the above baseplate, most plates from Sarpy County (#59) feature this stacked-format county code rather than the standard die set. County codes were issued to Nebraska's 93 counties in 1922 according to population, at which time Sarpy County ranked number 59 in the state. The county. just west of Omaha, has grown significantly in the past few decades, however and requires five digits worth of serial rather than the four allowed by a standard county code. This format has been used for county #59 plates for the past few bases, in fact. Shows one of the hazards of sticking with the same coding system for nearly 80 years.
	Nebraska 1996 passenger issue. This revised Chimney Rock issue features a slightly different graphic and different typeface for the state name. The serial was also changed from blue to black lettering. This is my favorite of this stretch of similar graphic designs for the state, I think the changes greatly enhanced the design. This plate is from county #70, Dakota county.
	Nebraska 2000 passenger issue. This baseplate was released in January of 1999 and is was used through the end of 2001. It featured an expanded, larger graphic with the Chimney Rock and city skyline motif carried over from the previous issue. I didn't like this design at first, but now that I've got one and have seen it up close, I think I'm coming around. This plate was issued in county #7, Madison.
	Nebraska 2000 passenger issue. Another stacked-prefix issue from Sarpy county, for what would turn out to be the final time as the coding was tweaked slightly on the next baseplate released in 2002 (see next.)
	Nebraska 2003 passenger issue. Nebraska began issuing a new plate in January, 2002. The plate features a yellow/orange background with a landscape at the bottom and sandhill cranes in flight near the top of the plate. The design has met with mixed results, with some residents expressing that the color scheme would be more suited to a Southwestern state. The contrast on the plate isn't great either, so they're a bit hard to read at a distance. Another controversy about the plates resulted when county codes were discontinued for the three most populous counties in the state. Plates in Douglas (formerly code #1), Lancaster (#2) and Sarpy (#59) now use an ABC-123 system (starting with NAA-001) and a county name strip at the bottom of the plate. Other counties were given the option of using this system as well, but none opted for the plan and plates from all other counties retain their numeric codes.
	Nebraska 2003 passenger issue. This is one of the aforementioned non-coded plates, issued in Lancaster county as indicated by the county name strip at the bottom of the plate. These stickers have been discontinued themselves due to quality issues. Apparently "stickiness" wasn't one of their best characteristics - it took me months to find one with a (mostly) intact sticker.
	Nebraska 2003 passenger issue. Just to complete the set, here's an ABC-123 format plate without the county sticker. This plate was issued in October, 2002, by which point the quality issue with the stickers had apparently been noted and the stickers subsequently discontinued. From this point on, motorists in Douglas, Lancaster and Sarpy counties have no specific county designator on their plates.
	Nebraska 2005 passenger issue. Another one bites the dust. Nebraska has joined the ranks of states issuing 3M digital flat passenger plates. The state decided to change over to the new system for its new baseplate, introduced in early 2005. Late issues of the sandhill crane issue were also made using the flat technology, however. Flat plates exist on this base for some, but not all, county-coded plates, including this issue from Dodge county (#5).
	Nebraska 2005 passenger issue. Example of a ABC-123 format flat plate issued in either Douglas, Lancaster or Sarpy county. For some reason, the bar code on the ABC-123 flat plates was placed beneath the web address, while on the county code issues it was located to the right of the web address. Seems like an odd thing to do, especially since nobody seems to know why the plates have a bar code in the first place. Flat plates apparently started in this series somewhere between the OHF and OIX series.
	Nebraska 2005 passenger issue. A handful of counties ran low on 2002 bases near the end of 2004, resulting in a variation of the baseplate including a white border and a change from "www.state.ne.us" to "www.nebraska.gov," both of which would be incorporated into the next baseplate. This example was issued in Clay county, #30.
	Nebraska 2005 passenger issue. Nebraska changed plates again starting in January, 2005 to this issue. This graphic plate makes use of elements from some previous issues, including the state shape, covered wagon and sunset. The web address remains on this plate, changed to "www.nebraska.gov," and in smaller type at the top. The state retained the system introduced on the last base where the three largest counties are issued plates in an ABC-123 format, while the rest of the state keeps the traditional county code system. This is a county coded plate issued in Adams county, #14.
	Nebraska 2006 passenger issue. This is the Douglas/Lancaster/Sarpy version of the new graphic base, issued in an ABC-123 format, starting where the previous base left off. There actually was some overlap in the numbering, with plates on this base being reported as early as the OIS series while plates on the previous base were issued as early as OIX and as high as OSW. I doubt there are actual duplicate numbers - more likely they needed more sandhill plates after the new plate was in production and set aside some higher letter blocks to make more of the old plates.
	Nebraska 2011 passenger issues. Late in the run of this base a slight production change was made, adding a beveled border to the outside of the plate. This feature was carried over to the next base, introduced in 2011.
	Nebraska 2012 passenger issue. Nebraska began issuing a new plate in January, 2011, replacing all previous issues by the end of that year. The new issue features a graphic of the Western Meadowlark and goldenrod (state bird and flower, respectively) and is issued in two formats, one ABC-123 format for the three largest counties and county coded issues for the others, as on previous recent bases. It also uses a distinctive flat serial font which is a vast improvement over previous issues using the generic ugly 3M serial. This plate is a county-code issue from Lincoln county (#15.)
	Nebraska 2012 passenger issue. This is the Douglas/Lancaster/Sarpy ABC-123 format version of the 2011 issue. The serials on these plates picked up in the late R series where the previous base left off. These plates are slightly different in design than the county coded issues in a couple ways, first being the bar code on the plate moved up above the markings in the lower right corner of the plate as opposed to the lower border of the county coded plates. Also, the "sticker" on the ABC-123 format plates is actually screened onto the plate as part of the background graphic for some reason. Some plates appear with 2011 or 2012 stickers as well in cases where the expiration month differed from the pre-screened supply. This appeared to be a 2012-only condition, with all 3x3 format plates having screened 2012 stickers with appropriate stickers placed over them throughout this plate's run.
	Nebraska 2014 passenger issue. Continuation of the Meadowlark base, again with this issue some of the larger two-digit counties ran out of single-alpha prefixes and had to continue into two-alpha territory to extend the series.
	Nebraska 2018 passenger issues. Nebraska began replacing the 2011 issue with a new graphic starting in January, 2017. The new issue, which celebrates the state's sesquicentennial in 2017, features a graphic depiction of the sower statue from the top of the state's capitol. Serial formats remain as expected, with the three metro counties using the ABC-123 format, progressing from where the previous issue left off, and the other counties retaining the standard code system. As with the previous base, 2018 "stickers" on the ABC-123 format plates are screened on, while are traditional stickers on the county coded plates.
	Nebraska 2022/2023 passenger issues. In 2022, Nebraska switched production of the sesquicentennial/sower base to a new vendor, using Avery-provided sheeting and a new serial font, the same used in Kentucky to avoid licensing issues to 3M. The sheeting took on a different appearance due to the change in manufacturer and elements like the bar code and lot code information being relocated. The change also replaced the state-shaped separator on county coded plates with a standard dash instead, also presumably due to licensing issues. These plates were not issued in all counties, as some had not run out of older stock by the end of the plate's issuance in 2022. These examples come from the tri-county area (no longer distinguishable via lot code) and county #9, Buffalo.
	Nebraska 2023/2024 passenger issues. Nebraska released a new general issue in January, 2023 featuring a, uh, unique graphic. The background image depicts the mosaic work entitled "Genius of Creative Energy" by Hildreth Meière featured in the great hall of the state capitol in Lincoln and notable, among other things, for its prominently displayed male nipples. This has led to some consternation on social media by the demographic you'd expect it from, but I for one am quite pleased to finally see the nipple getting its due. These examples come from the tri-county area (with the K and 9 affording maximum nip viewing) and from county #52, Kearney. The state-shaped separator remains AWOL on these plates as the font and sheeting vendors carried over from the late sower plates.

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