Montana License Plate Generator
Preview / mockup only — not a real or registrable plate. Montana still prints a county number in front of the serial. Optional plates drop it.
ONLY
County code + 6 characters: 1-12345A or 10-1234A. Input limit: 6 after the county code.
Documented styles: White with blue lettering; optional plates use ABC123 since 2003
Colour choices are preview concepts; registration rules and availability remain with the issuing authority. Preview / mockup only — not a real or registrable plate.
Plate formats by region
12 formats. Examples are previews only.
| Region | Pattern and example | Characters | Styles | Authority and sources |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Japan | Region kanji + class code + hiragana + 4 digits (e.g. 足立 500 き 21-41)足立 500 き 21-41 | Kanji office name, hiragana, digits 0-9. Limit: 4 digits plus prefix. | White/green (private car), green/white (commercial), yellow/black (kei private), black/yellow (kei commercial), 字光式 illuminated | MLIT Land Transportation Offices 2 sources. Checked 2026-11-09. |
| Saudi Arabia | 3 Arabic letters + up to 4 Arabic-Indic digits, with Latin/numeral transliterationا ب د 1234 | 17 Arabic letters only; digits 0-9. Limit: 3 letters + 4 digits. | White base; coloured strip (coat of arms, KSA, seal) on the right at 335x155 mm or centred at 550x110 mm | Government Printing Press, Riyadh (issued via MOI / Absher) 1 source. Checked 2026-11-09. |
| United Kingdom | 2 letters (memory tag) + 2 digits (age identifier) + 3 random letters, e.g. AB12 CDEAB12 CDE | A-Z excluding I and Q in the random block; area codes exclude I, Q, Z. Limit: 7. | White front, yellow rear, black characters; optional blue band (pre-2021 GB/EU) or UK identifier with flag | DVLA 2 sources. Checked 2026-11-09. |
| Germany | 1-3 letter area code + 1-2 letters + 1-4 digits, e.g. B-AB 1234B AB 1234 | A-Z including umlauts Ä, Ö, Ü in area codes; digits 0-9. Limit: 8 total including the area code. | White with black FE-Schrift; blue EU band with D; red expiry bar on export (Ausfuhrkennzeichen) plates | German district registration authorities; register held by KBA (ZFZR) 3 sources. Checked 2026-11-09. |
| Europe (EU common format) | Varies by member state; the common element is the blue band with 12 stars and the country codeD · B AB 1234 | Varies by member state. Limit: Varies by member state. | White or yellow base; blue band on the left with EU stars above the country code | National registration authorities under Council Regulation (EC) No 2411/98 2 sources. Checked 2026-11-09. |
| Czech Republic | Digit + region letter + digit + 4 digits (1x0 0001 series), later 1xa 0000 two-letter series1A0 1234 | A-Z excluding G, CH, O, Q, W on personalised plates; digits 0-9. Limit: 7 (standard), 8 (personalised XXX-XXXXX). | White with black characters; blue EU band with CZ since 2004; motorcycle plates two-line | Ministry of Transport / regional registration offices 2 sources. Checked 2026-11-09. |
| California | 1ABC123 (1980-2026), 123ABC1 (from March 2026)123ABC1 | A-Z and 0-9; I, O, Q only allowed as the second letter. Limit: 7. | White with red script 'California' (current), 1960s Legacy black with yellow lettering, blue/yellow legacy variants | California Department of Motor Vehicles 2 sources. Checked 2026-11-09. |
| Michigan | ABC1234 (three letters, four digits); Mackinac Bridge plates use ABC123ABC1234 | A-Z and 0-9. Limit: 7 standard; personalised up to 6 or 7 depending on plate type. | Pure Michigan base; special-cause and university plates use the same base with an emblem | Michigan Secretary of State 2 sources. Checked 2026-11-09. |
| New Jersey | A12-BCD (letter, two digits, three letters)A12 BCD | A-Z and 0-9. Limit: 7. | White with blue/yellow gradient band; front and rear plates required for most classes | New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission 2 sources. Checked 2026-11-09. |
| Ontario | ABCD-123 (four letters, three digits)ABCD 123 | A-Z and 0-9. Limit: 7 standard; personalised 2-8 characters. | White with blue lettering; over 60 graphic options (loon, trillium, sports teams) | ServiceOntario 2 sources. Checked 2026-11-09. |
| Montana | County code + 6 characters: 1-12345A or 10-1234A1-12345A | A-Z and 0-9. Limit: 6 after the county code. | White with blue lettering; optional plates use ABC123 since 2003 | Montana Department of Justice, Motor Vehicle Division 2 sources. Checked 2026-11-09. |
| Russia | Letter + 3 digits + 2 letters + 2-3 digit region code, e.g. А777АА 77А777АА 77 | 12 Cyrillic letters that resemble Latin: А, В, Е, К, М, Н, О, Р, С, Т, У, Х. Limit: 6 characters plus region code. | White with black characters and the RUS flag/code on the right; trailers use 2 letters + 4 digits | GIBDD / traffic police registration units 2 sources. Checked 2026-11-09. |
Preview / mockup only — not a real or registrable plate. The full format list remains readable without JavaScript.
A county number that is older than the font
Wikipedia describes the serial grammar, and the Montana Association of Counties independently lists the county-number mapping: passenger plates carry a county code from 1 to 56, and those numbers follow the 1930 census population order, a scheme in place since 1934. Code 1 is not “whichever county feels first today.” The association’s table is the lookup for which seat wears which number. I do not copy all 56 names into this essay. I link the table and I let the button show the shape: 1-12345A or 10-1234A. A one-digit county code is followed by five digits and a letter; a two-digit county code is followed by four digits and a letter.
Optional and personalised plates, since 2003, use an ABC123 pattern and leave the county prefix off. If you came here to put a nickname on a plate, that is the series the state actually issues for that job, and it is a different picture from the numbered prefix. The DOJ motor vehicle site, dojmt.gov, sat behind a Cloudflare wall when the research fetch ran, so the authority URL is recorded and the wording leans on Wikipedia plus the counties association. I will not invent a fee from a wall page.
The base colours in the article are white with blue lettering. Size is 12×6 inches, 305×152 mm. Michigan is the foil: that state ended county codes in 1970, and a generator that adds one is wrong. Montana is the state where leaving the number off is wrong for the standard plate and right for the optional plate. Both sentences can be true. The menu on this page draws the prefixed form.
This is the smallest state essay on the site, and it earns the URL because the prefix is not a column I can hide in a shared US blurb. If a later pass cannot add a fact that is only true here, the URL should fold back into the format table. For now the 1930 census order is that fact.
Related plate previews
Compare Michigan passenger formats, California serial order. Open all formats, random mockups or the custom plate maker.
RUS
Questions
Why is county 1 not the current largest county?
The numbers follow the 1930 census order and have stayed put since 1934. Later population shifts did not renumber the plates.
Do personalised plates keep the county number?
Optional plates since 2003 use ABC123 and drop the prefix. Standard plates keep it.
Sources
- Wikipedia — Montana plates — checked 2026-11-09
- Montana Association of Counties — checked 2026-11-09
- Montana DOJ motor vehicles — checked 2026-11-09
Checked 2026-11-09. How these pages are checked.