Automotive · Free tool

License Plate Format Lookup

US state license plate format reference. Standard pattern, max length, personalized and commercial rules.

Updated April 2026

Select state

California standard plate

1 digit + 3 letters + 3 digits

Regex: ^[0-9][A-Z]{3}[0-9]{3}$

1ABC234

7XYZ890

5JKL012

Plate specifications

Max length (standard)

7 characters

Personalized max

7 characters

Commercial

Number prefix + letters

Vanity rules

Up to 7 characters incl. spaces

Formats shown reflect current standard-issue passenger plates. Specialty, antique, dealer, and military plates follow separate patterns not covered here. Your state’s DMV is the authoritative source — confirm before printing.

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What it does

Buying a specialty plate? Custom vanity idea? This covers every US state’s plate format, max length, and plate-type rules.

Runs entirely in your browser — no upload, no account, no watermark. For more tools in this category see the full tools index.

Embed this tool on your siteShow snippet

Paste this snippet into any page. Loads on-demand (lazy), no tracking scripts, and sized to most dashboards. Replace the height to fit your layout.

<iframe src="https://freetoolarena.com/embed/license-plate-format-lookup" width="100%" height="720" frameborder="0" loading="lazy" title="License Plate Format Lookup" style="border:1px solid #e2e8f0;border-radius:12px;max-width:720px;"></iframe>

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How to use it

Pick a state.
Read format + regex.
See example plates.