Ohio BMV License Plate Lookup is a free service that allows you to find vehicle license plate information.
Several cities within the state of Ohio issued their own license plates early in the 20th century, despite the fact that Ohio first required residents to register their vehicles in 1908.
The Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles is a division of the Ohio Department of Public Safety.All classes of vehicles have only rear plates since July 1, 2020.The plates have been manufactured out of aluminum and galvanized steel by inmates at the Lebanon Correctional Institute.Every five years, the BMV issues a new license plate design with each new administration.10
Cleveland became one of the first cities in the country to require motorists to display government-issued registration numbers on their vehicles.In the following years, various local governments in Ohio issued standard metal plates of varying design or numerals, which were mounted on a dark background.
The Ohio Supreme Court ruled in favor of the law that the state tried to take over.The Bureau of Motor Vehicles was established in 1907 by the Ohio Secretary of State's Automobile Division.The Automobile Division did not begin issuing plates for another 30 days due to a manufacturing defect after the Ward Law went into effect.The first state vehicle registration was issued to a Cincinnati man.Local plates were used for motorcycles until 1914, when they were phased out for automobiles.The Ward Law eliminated a significant revenue stream for cities like Cincinnati, which took in about $5,000 a year from auto registration.[15]
The front and rear plates of automobiles were required by the Ward Law.Front and rear plates would be issued for passenger vehicles for over a century, through June 30, 2020, with the exception of 1944–46, when only back plates were issued due to World War II.Due to metal preservation, Ohio issued single-year plates from 1910 through 1973, except in 1943 and 1952 when windshield stickers were issued to revalidate the previous year's plates.
The state name was not spelled out in the license plate designs.The first plate in the state to feature a graphic and a slogan was created to honor the 150th anniversary of the Northwest Territory's creation.In 1953, the Bureau of Motor Vehicles commemorated the state's sesquicentennial by issuing a special front plate with a state shape and the word "s" instead of the passenger serial.
Blocks of serials were allocated to each of the state's 88 counties.The serials used to feature one or two letters.In 1949, six-character serials were introduced, followed by all-numericserials in 1962.The scheme was abandoned in 1980.[16]
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 to standardize the size of license plates.The first Ohio license plate that complied with these standards was issued in 1957 and it was 6 inches in height and 12 inches wide.[18]
Special plates were issued to offenders with limited driving privileges.A 2004 state law made it mandatory for all offenders with limited driving privileges to have them.[19]
The 1974 plate was revalidated with a sticker at the bottom right corner.The first multi-year plate was issued in 1976.There are no comments at this time.
Plates carry the county of issuance on a sticker.The county name was displayed on the long sticker at the bottom of the plate.In 1992, the state introduced a numerical county-coding scheme, with the county number being displayed on a red sticker at the bottom left corner of the plate, and this scheme was initially used only on specialty plates.The scheme was discontinued on standard passenger plates in favor of a return to county-name stickers at the bottom of the plate.[3]
On April 3, Governor Mike DeWine signed a two-year state transportation budget bill that eliminated the requirement for front license plates to be displayed.On July 1, 2020, this became effective.[5]
If the passenger plates have been continuously registered, they are valid for display today.
Ohio state law allows the Bureau of Motor Vehicles to issue a number of specialty passenger plates.Chapter 4503 contains sections 4 and 5.
License plates for pickup trucks and other light truck-related vehicles were "Non Comm" from 1976 until 1996 while semi-trucks were issued plates that said "Commercial".The more consumer-oriented truck plates now say "Truck" instead of "Non-Comm."
A temporary tag is given to vehicles purchased from a dealership.The tag is filled out by hand.It has had a hologram since 2001.On a 2001-series temporary tag, the plate number is preprinted and the vehicle details are written in marker.The Ohio Department of Public Safety will stop issuing traditional paper tags in January 2021.[25]