The U.S. state of Utah first required its residents to register their motor vehicles in 1909. Registrants provided their own license plates for display until 1915, when the state began to issue plates.
, plates are issued by the Utah State Tax Commission through its Division of Motor Vehicles. Only rear plates are required for most classes of vehicles, including motorcycles and trailers. The front plate requirement was lifted for passenger vehicles on January 1, 2025. Month and year decals have now been consolidated into one sticker instead of two separate decals. New license plates will now be flat-screen printed instead of being embossed.
In 1956, the United States, Canada, and Mexico came to an agreement with the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators, the Automobile Manufacturers Association and the National Safety Council that standardized the size for license plates for vehicles (except those for motorcycles) at in height by in width, with standardized mounting holes. The 1954 (dated 1955) issue was the first Utah license plate that complied with these standards.
Utah currently offers over 60 optional license plates. With the exception of the Amateur Radio Operator & Historic Black & White plates, all use the same serial format â originally 1234A (with a high of 4285U), then A123B (A001A to M999Z), and now 12AB3 (00AA1 to 99FB9) alongside the generic disabled plate.
The Utah Motor Vehicle Division (DMV) publishes yearly statistics on vehicle license plates with active registrations.
Plates with the bolder dies have been spotted using the 'M' and 'W' dies being stamped incorrectly. In this image, the 'W' die in V62 0BW was stamped with an upside down 'M' die. This has been spotted on a variety of serial sequences throughout the years.