1927-34: Bid specifications below, some with colors.
1927 1928 1928 COLORS 1929
Passenger 272,000 P 280,000 P White/Black 300,000 P
Truck 31,000 P 31,000 P Black/White 35,000 P
Taxi 5,000 P 4,000 P White/Blue 4,000 P
Free 5,000 P 5,000 P Blue/White 5,000 P
Motorcycle 1,500 P 1,500 P Green/White 1,500 P
Dealer 1,000 P 1,000 P White/Green 1,000 P
1930 1931 1931 COLORS
Passenger 325,000 P 400,000 P Yellow/Black
Truck 35,000 P 45,000 P Black/Yellow
Taxi 4,000 P 4,000 P Yellow/Blue
Free 5,000 P 6,000 P Blue/White (County), White/Green (City)
Motorcycle 1,700 P 1,800 P White/Black
Dealer 1,000 P 1,100 P White/Blue
Trailer 2,000 P
1932 1932 COLORS 1934 1934 COLORS
Passenger 365,000 P White/Black 287,000 P White/Blue
Truck (C) 40,000 P Cream/Green 37,000 P White/Maroon
Taxi (T) 3,200 P Green/Cream 2,300 P Dark Brown/Light Tan
State Free (S) 3,200 P Blue/Yellow 2,500 P Black/White
County Free (*) 4,000 P Blue/White 4,000 P Black/Orange
City Free 200 P Green/Silver
Motorcycle 2,000 P White/Red 1,695 P White/Green
Dealer 1,100 P Red/Black 650 P Red/White
Trailer 3,000 S Orange/Purple 4,350 S Red/Dark Gray
1943 TABS TRUCK FARM TRUCK FOR HIRE TRUCK
Passenger C 326,000 P-1 29,000 F-1 23,900 H-1 240
Passenger D 19,000 P-2 17,900 F-2 2,700 H-2 415
Motorcycle A 1,750 P-3 6,200 F-3 480 H-3 690
Motorcycle B 240 P-4 2,600 H-4 550
Taxi C 2,600 P-5 1,500 H-5 1,230
Taxi D 1,340
Taxi D-3 1,350 TOTAL 57,200 TOTAL 27,080 TOTAL 3,125
1938: All types passenger colors except Dealer reverse colors.
1943: Tab assumed issued for all types. (Verify City, County, Dealer, Gov. Staff)
1945: Singles for Passenger, pairs for Bus, Taxi, Truck.
1971: All dealer, truck, trailer, bus and motorcycle types
issued singly, all others issued in pairs.
PREFIX GUIDE 1957-88
AP Auxiliary Police SA-ST Joint Truck
BA-BD Bus TCC Tenn. Constitutional Conv.
CAP Civil Air Patrol TE-TL Trailer
CD Civil Defense TM Mobile Home
EM Emergency Rescue Squad USJ United States Judge
FA-FM Joint Truck VF Volunteer Fireman
HA-HZ For Hire Truck WD Well Driller
JA-JZ Joint Truck W, Z Municipal Zone Truck
JCC Junior Chamber Commerce X, Y Multi-County Zone Truck
KA-KG Joint Truck YA-YL Joint Truck
MA-MZ Household Moving Truck ZG Taxi
MUS Music City Bus ZL Fixed Load
PA-PZ Private Truck ZT Municipal Zone Truck
R Replacement ZX Multi-County Zone Truck
RS Rescue Squad
PASSENGER (See Passenger page)
AGRICULTURE DEPARTMENT
One of four special prefixes reported in use in 1950 on undated
state-owned plates. "TDA" prefix.
AMATEUR RADIO
Ch. 67 P 2/27/1951. Began 1951.
All features except border screened 1951, all embossed 1952-76.
Suffix "2" for owner's 2nd car seen as early as 1960.
1977-80 passenger graphic design replaced by annual plates 1981-82.
LEGENDS: Vertical "TENN" over horizontal "51" left, "RADIO" and county code top 1951,
"RADIO" and county code top 1952-56,
"RADIO" top 1957, 1960,
no legend, passenger design 1958-59, 1961-62, 1983/84,
no legend, "/TENN/ 66" top 1966-69, 1971, 1976,
no legend, "70 /TENN/" top 1970, 1972, 1975.
COLORS: White/Black 1951, 1955, White/Dark Green 1952,
Dark Red/White 1953, Black/White 1954, 1956-57,
Passenger colors 1958-72, 1975-80, 1983/84,
Blue/White 1981, Black/White 1982.
Passenger stickers issued 1963-65, 1973-74, 1978-80.
1951 W4AA - W4ZZZ
1956 K4AAA - K4ZZZ
1962 WA4AAA - WA4ZZZ
1967 WB4AAA - WB4ZZZ
AMATEUR RADIO MOTORCYCLE
Ch. 561 P 2/28/1980, E 7/1/1980. Earliest seen 1994.
ANTIQUE
H.B. 368 P 2/16/1955. Issuance began March 1955.
Permanent plate issued for $5 fee to vehicles over 25 years old.
All are Gold/Black except Type 5 Gold/White, Type 13 Dark Blue/White,
Type 14, 16-17 Blue/White. #902 issued May 1958.
1957 dies Types 2-8, 1958-76 dies Types 9-12, 14, Georgia dies Type 13.
Discontinued 1985; replaced by Special plates.
Type 1: Map shaped, tiny serial top, large "ANTIQUE" center, "TENNESSEE" bottom.
Types 2-11: "ANTIQUE" top, "TENN." bottom.
Type 12: "/TENN/" top, "ANTIQUE" bottom, bolt holes.
Types 13-14: "TENN" top, "ANTIQUE" bottom.
Type 16: "[90] TENN" top, "SPECIAL" bottom,
Type 17: "TENN [90]" top, "ANTIQUE" bottom.
1955 Type 1: Map shaped 001 - 991 (991)
1958 Type 2: "58 TENN.", slots 1037 - 1246,3010 (191)
1959? Type 3: "TENN." right, slots 1340 - 1988 (649)
1960? Type 4: "TENN." center, slots 2043 - 2123 (81)
1961? Type 5: "TENN." center, holes ANT-295 - ANT-943 (649)
1962? Type 6: "TENN." right, holes ANT-86B - ANT-90B (5)
1963? Type 7: "TENN." left, slots ANT-16C - ANT-88C (73)
1964? Type 8: "TENN." center, holes ANT-4D - ANT-89H (482)
1964 Type 9: "TENN. 64", holes ANT-50J - ANT-49M (297)
1965? Type 8a ANT-3N - ANT-79R (274)
1965? Type 10: "TENN." left, holes ANT-21T - ANT-36V (215)
1965? Type 8b ANT31Z - ANT99Z (69)
1966? Type 10a 000-080 - 000-264, 000-298(186)
1966 Type 11: "TENN. 66", holes 000-292, 000-318 - 000-383 (67)
1967? Type 10b 000-430 - 000-589 (160)
1968? Type 8c 000-833 - 004-709 (3,877)
1971? Type 10c 004-864 - 004-974 (111)
1972? Type 12: "/TENN/" top 005-542 - 009-110 (3,669)
(007-732 steel, 008-024 aluminum)
1977 Type 13: Border 130-399 - 134-870 (4,472)
1982 Type 14: No border 135-495 - 135-641 (147)
Type 15: Black/White 137-440 - 137-815 (376)
1985 Type 16: "SPECIAL" A-02276 - A-04503 (2,228)
1986? Type 17: "ANTIQUE" A-12187 - A-22331(10,145)
ANTIQUE MOTORCYCLE
Earliest seen 1966-75 style, Undated, Gold/Black, "ANTIQUE" top,
"TENN." bottom left, #999020.
Also seen 1980-82 charts, undated, Dark Blue/White, "TENN"
top, "ANTIQUE" bottom, [000-000], same 1985 chart but [AZ-2148].
APPORTIONED
Began 1973. (First in U.S., along with Kentucky and Texas.)
Issued to H, M and P trucks.
After 1973, but by 1976, 0000-BA format added for Buses.
LEGENDS: "APPORTIONED" bottom 1973-85 (on sticker some 1977).
COLORS: Truck colors 1973-85.
1973 0738-HX, 9870-MR, 9959-PW, 9809-PX - 9930-PX, 9699-PY
1974 0290-PU, 3872-PX
1975 0276-PU, 0469-PV, 3966-PX
1976 0020-BA, 0001-HM, 0334-HW, 7250-HX, 0001-MM, 0148-PR,
0424-PU, 5485-PX
1977 0416-HX (sticker), 2309-HX, 0551-PU, 0840-PW, 5069-PX
1978 0110-PS, 8357-PX
1979 0209-HU, 0028-PR, 6416-PX
1980 9704-HX, 0041-MS, 0170-PV, 7874-PX
1981 8544-HX, 0249-PR, 7816-PX
1982 0432-HW (9), 6779-HY (11), 8591-HY - 9823-HY (no weight),
0185-PR (4), 0284-PU (7), 1296-PX (10), 3608-PY (no weight)
1983 0412-HW (9), 1389-HX (10), 6621-HY (11), 0646-PW (9), 4814-PY (11)
1984 0429-HW (9), 6841-HZ (11)
1985 3932-HY (11), 7832-HZ (11), 0585-PS (5), 0941-PV (8)
APPORTIONED SEMI-TRAILER
Earliest seen UND. in 1976 or older style. Likely began 1973, when Apportioned began.
A. Undated (1976), Black/White, "TENN" inside map top, "APPORTIONED" bottom, #109-20T - 233-00T.
B. Dated "77", Dark Blue/White, "TENN" top, "APPORTIONED" bottom, #302-79T - 399-99T.
C. Undated (1977-83), Dark Blue/White, "TENN" top, "APPORTIONED" bottom, border,
#494-23T - 961-88T, 434-03S - 799-98S.
D. Undated (1979), same, Texas dies, no border, #040-88S - 237-83S.
D. Undated (1985), same, new dies, no border, #81123-S.
AUXILIARY POLICE
Ch. 233 P 3/10/1955. Began 1955.
Undated 1977. (Verify 1970, 1972)
Discontinued 1985; replaced by Emergency plates.
LEGENDS: "AUXILIARY" top, vertical "TENN" left, "55" right, "POLICE" bottom 1955,
vertical "TENN" left, "AUX-POLICE 56" bottom 1956,
"AUX. POLICE" top 1957,
"AUX-POLICE" top 1958, 1963,
"AUX.POLICE" top 1959-62, 1964-65,
"C.D.POLICE" top 1966, 1969,
"C D POLICE" top 1967-68,
no legend, "AP" prefix 1971, 1973-74, 1976,
"AUX.POLICE" bottom 1977-78, 1980-83,
"AUX POLICE" bottom 1979.
COLORS: Red/Blue 1955, Red/White 1956, 1959-64, 1976, 1983,
Black/Light Blue 1957-58, 1966, White/Dark Green 1965,
Yellow/Light Blue 1967-68, Light Blue/Yellow 1969,
Blue/Yellow 1970, Black/Yellow 1971, Dark Blue/Yellow 1972,
Yellow/Green 1973, Dark Blue/White 1974, 1977-78, 1980,
Black/White 1975, 1981-82, Green/White 1979.
1955 FORMATS: 1-10 - 9-99
1956 FORMATS: CD1-1 - CD95-99
1957 FORMATS: 1 042, 27 016, 71 0001
1958 FORMATS: CD10-01 - CD95-99
1959 FORMATS: 1AP-001 - 9AP-099
1960 FORMATS: 10AP-01 - 95AP-99
1961-62, 1964 FORMATS: 1AP-1 - 95AP-99
1963 FORMATS: 1AP-000, 10AP-00
1965 FORMATS: 1AP-00
1966 ZJ-1014* 1973 AP-0494 1980 AP-1492
1967 ZJ-0637 1974 AP-0641 1981 AP-1980
1968 ZJ-0737 1975 AP-1290 1982 AP-1306
1969 ZJ-1084* 1976 AP-1381 1983 AP-0997
1970 1977 AP-1017 1984
1971 AP-0405 1978 AP-0502
1972 1979 AP-1393
BUS
Earliest seen 1958. Probably began 1958. Previously issued Taxi plates.
LEGENDS: "BUS-LIMITED" top 1958-65, 1967-70
(or "BUS-UNLIMITED" if final letter is "A"
or "CITY" if final letter is "C"),
no legend 1972-74, 1976, 1978-80, 1982,
"EXP TENN 3-86" top, "COMMERCIAL" bottom 1985.
1960 #3A-020C has "60 TENN." instead of "TENN. 60".
COLORS: Truck colors 1958-74, 1976, 1978-80, 1982, 1985.
Classes listed
1959-64: A = Unlimited
B = Limited, 50-mile route
C = Limited, single county or 15 miles (D added 1964)
1971: A = Unlimited
B = Limited, 50 miles from city limits of municipality where based
C = Limited, 7 miles from city limits of municipality where based
(was 5 miles until c.1964)
D = Limited, single county, or if based out-of-state, 15 miles from state line.
1980-85: Only B (Limited) issued. A had become Apportioned (after 1973 but by 1976).
1958-61 FORMATS: 1A-001A - 9A-999C, 10A-01A - 95A-01C
1962-65 FORMATS: 1A-1A - 9A-999C, 10A-1A - 95A-99C (D suffix added 1964)
1966 [BA-0000] 1976 BB-0078
1967 BA-2138, BB-0378*, BC-1099 1977
1968 BA-2093, BB-0090*, BC-0507 1978 BC-0181
1969 BA-2102*, BB-0091, BC-0565 1979 BC-0168
1970 BA-1853, BB-0012 1980 [BB-0000]
1971 [BA-0000] 1981
1972 BA-1697 1982 BB-0612, BC-0340
1973 BA-1174 1983
1974 BA-1023 1984
1975 3-86 [BB-9876]
CAPITOL PRESS
Ch. 346 P 3/18/1955. Began 1955. (Verify 1956) Last seen 1958.
Issued to media reporters covering news events of the state
legislature, but only the 79th General Assembly (1955-56 session).
(Previously issued Governor's Staff plates 1948-54.)
Numbers not assigned sequentially, but made to match the numbers
on owners' press cards assigned by the safety department.
LEGENDS: Vertical "TENN" left, "55" top right, "CAPITOL PRESS" bottom 1955,
"CAPITOL/PRESS" screened left 1957-58,
"CAPITOL PRESS" also embossed top 1957.
1955 Red/White 163
1956 Black/White
1957 White/Orange 4 - 854
1958 Yellow/Black 854
CITY OWNED
Began 1928. Issued 1928, 1940-65.
Issued Free plates 1927, 1931-39, Official plates 1929-30.
May have been issued "FREE" plates 1951.
Discontinued 1966; replaced by Government Service.
(Verify 1928, 1941, 1943-45, 1949-51, 1953, 1959)
LEGENDS: Vertical "CITY" after county code 1940, 1942, 1945-48, 1952-55,
"CITY" and county code top, large "GS" left 1956,
"G.S.-CITY" top 1957,
"GOVT.SERVICE" top, "M" suffix 1958, 1960-63, 1965 Type 1,
"GOV.SERVICE" top, "M" suffix 1964,
"GOVT.SERVICE" top, "GS" prefix 1965 Type 2.
(Note: Bus Class C has "CITY" top 1958-70, resembling City Owned plates.)
COLORS: Passenger colors 1940, 1942, 1947-48, 1950,
White/Black 1952, 1955, 1958, 1960, 1962, 1964,
Black/White 1954, 1956-57, 1959, 1961, 1963, 1965.
1928: 45917 - 46712 (796)
1940-55 FORMATS: 1-501 - 95-599 (1953 886, 1954 610 seen)
1956: 3 GS 10524 - 10526, 53 GS 13020
1957 FORMATS: 1/ 0001 - 95/ 9999
1958-61 FORMATS: 1A-001M - 9Z-999M, 10A-01M - 95Z-99M
1962-65 FORMATS: 1A-1M - 9Z-999M, 10A-1M - 95Z-99M
LATE 1965: GS-0048
CIVIL AIR PATROL
Ch. 198 P 3/8/1955. Began 1955.
Undated 1977. (Verify 1955, 1959, 1966-69)
Discontinued 1985; replaced by Emergency plates.
LEGENDS: "CAP" left 1956, "CAP" below county code 1957,
no legend, passenger design 1958, 1960-65,
no legend 1970-76, "CA PATROL" bottom 1977-84.
COLORS: Black/Orange 1956, Black/Silver 1957, Black/Yellow 1958, 1963-65,
Dark Blue/Light Blue 1959, 1970-71, Yellow/Dark Blue 1960-62,
Black/Light Blue 1966, Maroon/Silver 1969, Yellow/Dark Blue 1972,
Black/Green 1973, Dark Blue/White 1974, 1977, 1980,
Blue/White 1975, Red/White 1976, 1983, Black/White 1978-79, 1981,
Green/White 1982, 1984.
1955 1970 CAP-39
1956 CAP1-281 - CAP2-367 1971 CAP-433
1957 1 1, 2 440, 3 404, 4 443 1972 CAP-69
1958 3CAP438, 4CAP454 1973 CAP-324
1959 [1CAP001] 1974 CAP-395
1960 CAP-159 - CAP-170 1975 CAP-549
1961 CAP-323 - CAP-436 1976 CAP-126
1962 CAP-192 - CAP-253, 1977 CAP-331`
CAPSE66 (Special Emergency) 1978 CAP-94
1963 CAP-139 - CAP-425 1979 CAP-749
1964 CAP-249 - CAP-435 1980 CAP-368
1965 CAP-236 - CAP-321 1981 CAP-773
1966 [CA-0000] 1982 CAP-410
1967 1983 CAP-533
1968 1984 CAP-364
1969
CIVIL AIR PATROL RADIO
Ch. 198 P 3/8/1955. Began 1955. Last seen 1956. Reported 1957.
LEGENDS: Vertical "CAP" left, vertical "TENN" right, "55" top right,
"RADIO" bottom 1955, "CAP/RADIO" left 1956.
1955 Maroon/Blue 4-79
1956 Black/Orange CAP4-111
CIVIL DEFENSE
Ch. 198 P 3/8/1955. Began 1955. Earliest seen 1957.
(Verify 1955-56)
Discontinued 1985; replaced by Emergency plates.
LEGENDS: No legend, "CD" prefix 1957, "CIVIL-DEFENSE" top 1958,
no legend, "59 /TENN/" top, "CD" prefix 1959, 1961,
no legend, "/TENN/ 60" top, "CD" prefix 1960, 1962-65,
"CIVIL DEFENSE" top 1966-70,
no legend, "CD" prefix 1971-76,
"CIVIL DEFENSE" bottom 1977-84.
COLORS: Red/White 1957, 1976, 1983, Black/Light Blue 1958, 1966,
Yellow/Black 1959, Black/White 1960, 1962, 1981, 1984,
White/Dark Green 1961, 1963, 1965,
Dark Green/White 1964, Yellow/Light Blue 1967-68,
Light Blue/Yellow 1969-70, Black/Yellow 1971,
Dark Blue/Yellow 1972, Yellow/Green 1973,
Dark Blue/White 1974-75, 1977-78, 1980,
Green/White 1979, 1982.
1955 1969 CD-0272 - CD-4780*,CD-156
1956 1970 CD-0420 - CD-0609
1957 CD 379 - CD 507 1971 CD-1511 - CD-2569, CD-166
1958 CD-39 - CD-970 1972 CD-0460 - CD-3251
1959 [CD101]- CD-1370 1973 CD-1097 - CD-3614
1960 CD-1136 - CD-2030 1974 CD-0811 - CD-2143, CD-151
1961 CD-816 - CD-1635 1975 CD-0188 - CD-5054, CD-66
1962 CD-63 - CD-2496 1976 CD-0633 - CD-5754, CD-166
1963 CD-644 - CD-2854 1977 CD-4006 - CD-4907
1964 CD-63 - CD-551 1978 CD-0468 - CD-6476
1965 CD-2287 - CD-3916 1979 CD-1947 - CD-6668
1966 CD-0729 - CD-3792 1980 CD-0690 - CD-6962, CD-71
1967 CD-0359 - CD-4064 1981 CD-3780 - CD-6653
1968 CD-0317 - CD-4339* 1982 CD-0668 - CD-4718
1983 CD-0901 - CD-4208
1984 CD-0452 - CD-2341
COMMERCIAL MOTORCYCLE
Earliest seen 1974.
LEGENDS: No legend, "ZZ" prefix 1974, 1980, [1982],
"TENN" top, "CYCLE" bottom [1985].
COLORS: Motorcycle colors 1974, 1980, [1985], Green/White [1982].
1974 ZZ-0012 1982 [ZZ-0000]
1980 ZZ-0015 1985 [CZ-3455]
CONSULAR SERVICE
Listed 1955. Earliest seen 1958.
Discontinued 1985; replaced by Special plates.
LEGENDS: No legend, passenger design 1958,
"CONSELOR/SERVICE 1" screened center, "TENN. 60" embossed bottom 1960,
"TENN." top left, "CONSULAR 1" screened center, "1963" screened bottom 1963,
"TENN.1965" bottom, "CONSULAR" prefix, all screened 1965,
"CONSULAR" screened left 1972-74, 1976, 1979-80, 1983-84,
"CONSULAR" prefix and serial screened center 1982.
COLORS: Passenger colors 1956, 1960, 1965-66, 1969-72, 1974, 1976,
Yellow/Black 1958, Black/White 1979,
Dark Blue/White 1980, 1982, 1984, Blue/White 1983.
1958 MEXICO4
1960 1 1972 18 1976 19 1982 17
1963 1 1973 3 1980 19 1983 6
1965 7 1974 18 1981 13 1984 16
COUNTY OWNED
Began 1928. Issued 1928, 1940-65? Last seen 1964 chart.
Issued Free plates 1927, 1931-39, Official plates 1929-30.
Discontinued 1966; replaced by Government Service.
(Verify 1928, 1941, 1943-45, 1948, 1950, 1960-65)
LEGENDS: Vertical "COUNTY" after county code 1940, 1942, 1946-47, 1949-55,
"COUNTY" and county code top, large "GS" left 1956,
"G.S.-COUNTY" top 1957,
"GOVT.SERVICE" top, "P" suffix 1958-59.
COLORS: Passenger colors 1940, 1942, 1946, 1949-50,
Black/White 1947, 1956-57, 1959,
White/Black 1951, 1955, 1958,
White/Dark Green 1952, Red/White 1953, Blue/White 1954.
1928: 45544
1940-55 FORMATS: 1-1 - 95-99
1956: 3 GS 0635 - 0682, 19 GS 2603,
51 GS 5100 - 5105, 73 GS 6167
1957 FORMATS: 1/ 0001 - 95/ 9999
1958-59 FORMATS: 1A-001P - 9Z-999P, 10A-01P - 95Z-99P
DEALER
Ch. 8 P 1/29/1915, E 7/1/1915. Began 1915.
LEGENDS: "DEMONSTRATOR" top 1915,
"DEALER" bottom 1916-17,
"DEMONSTRATOR" bottom 1918,
"DEALER" bottom under shorter numbers 1921-22,
vertical "TENN" left, vertical "1923" right, "DEMONSTRATION" bottom under shorter numbers 1923-24,
vertical "TENN" left, vertical "1925" right, "DEMONSTRATION" bottom 1925,
"Dealer" script left 1927-28,
"TENN-29-DEALER" bottom 1929,
vertical "TENN30" left, "FOR SALE" top, "DEALER" bottom 1930,
"TENN/1932" left, "DEALER FOR SALE" bottom on taller plate 1932,
same 1933, 1935 except "1933/TENN" left,
vertical "DLR" after 3rd character 1938-39, 1941, 1947-54,
vertical "DLR" center 1955,
vertical "TENN" left, "DEALER 56" bottom OR just "DEALER 56" bottom 1956,
"DEALER" top 1957-60,
"DEALER" top, small "LR" after "D" 1961-68,
"DEALER" top, vertical "DLR" after county code 1969-71,
vertical "DLR" after county code 1972,
"DEALER" bottom 1973-84,
"EXP TENN 3-86" top, "AUTO DEALER" bottom 1985.
Small suffix letter(s) towards LR corner 1963-72.
(Verify 1915, 1917-20, 1922-23, 1925-26, 1928, 1931, 1934, 1936-37, 1940, 1942-45, 1947)
COLORS: Dark Red/Cream 1916, Red/Black 1921, White/Black? 1922, Black/White? 1923,
White/Maroon 1924, White/Dark Blue 1925, White/Dark Green 1926,
White/Red-Brown 1927, Orange/Black 1930, White/Blue 1931,
Red/Black 1932, Green/Black 1933, Red/White 1934,
Red?/Blue? 1935, "Rust and White" 1936, Black/White? 1947,
Reverse Passenger colors 1937-39, 1941, 1946, 1948-55,
Black/Yellow 1956, 1957, 1959, 1961, 1964, 1966, 1968,
Yellow/Black 1960, 1962, 1963, 1967,
White/Orange 1958, 1969, Red/White 1965, 1975, 1977,
White/Red 1970, White/Maroon 1971, 1973,
Black/Orange 1972, Black/White 1974,
Orange/White 1976, 1979, 3-86, Green/White 1978, 1980,
Red/White 1981, 1983, Black/White 1982, 1984.
ORDERED: 1918 500 P, 1919 750 P, 1927-29 1,000 P,
1931-32 1,100 P, 1934 650 P.
Numbers began at 3000 1917, 1 1922.
"FOR SALE" legend began 1930.
Ch. 61 P 2/25/1959 increased duplicate plates from 20 to 35.
Number prefix is county code 1961-82.
Issued singly 1964-71. "DL" series issued for subsequent orders.
1956: 03-128 C and 03-128 D have no "TENN".
1977: Wide or thin dies.
1915 -10-
1916 A3215, B3029
1917 A3375
1918 A3394, 3394B
1921 D 610
1922 A 114, B 627
1923 A 60, B 60, B489
1924 D-2-168, E-2-008
1925 [Montgomery 528 - ?]
1926 2-304
1927 F-631, C-769
1928 E-466
1929 D-357
1930 341D [Montgomery 717 - ?]
1931 [Montgomery 00721 - 00730]
1932 A-696, A-847, B-841, C-702
1933 A-988
1934 [Shelby A-1 - A-50, Montgomery A-158 - A-162]
1935 A-565, D-19 [Knox 101 - 140]
1937 [Numbers, not letters, to show extra sets]
1938 104-14 [101 - 900]
1939 121-12
1941 344-14
1946 332-5
1947 691-9
1948 410-6, 894-3
1949 198-9, 305-8
1950 62-10, 577-6, 61 A-1
1951 235-14, 250-13, 782-2
1952 2M-9, 29M-1, 62R-10, 859-4
1953 24R-1, 29A-5, 36A-15, 36K-3, 80R-1, 364-13, 879-4
1954 40W-3, 400-2, 723-12
1955 3 110-D, 4 90-R, 19 5-C, 41 17-B, 44 9 D, 60 6 D
1956 01-56G, 03-2 B & F, 03-128 C & D, 04-86D, 014-8 I, 017-13E, 029-25A, 045-26B, 057-1C
1957 A 4, C 72, E 31, ML 13, RD 15, RL 4, TF 6, UA 2, UH 8, UH 10, XD 6
1958 C 46 B, MJ 14 B, PG 7 B
1959 A 126 B, C 46 C & D, C 118 I & J, PA 7 B
1960 C 46 C & E, J 22 C, PA 3 E,TL 6 A
FORMATS:
1961-68 1D 1 A - 9D 999 Z, (County 1 - 95, Dealer 1 - 219, Set A - Z)
10D 1 A - 95D 99 Z (1961 Sets start with no suffix, then A)
1969-72 1 1 A - 9 999 Z, (County 1 - 95, Dealer 1 - 187,
10 1 A - 95 99 Z Set A - Z, ZA - ZZ)
1973-84 1-1-0 - 9-999-99, (County 1 - 95, Dealer 1 - 280, Set 0 - 39)
10-1-0 - 95-99-99 (County 1 - 95, Dealer 1 - 280, Set 0 - 39)
3-86 D-03670 - D-35196 (Also "DEALER" [DL-3457])
SUPPLEMENTAL SERIES:
1976 DL-0698 - DL-2310 1981 DL-4163 -
1977 DL-4111 - DL-4666 (wide) 1982
1978 DL-1501 - 1983 DL-4545 -
1979 DL-3293 - DL-4740 1984 DL-3780 -
1980 DL-1150 - DL-2819
DEMONSTRATOR
Earliest seen 1971. Not listed on 1971 or 1985 charts. Issued to
heavy truck dealers demonstrating vehicles under heavy load conditions.
LEGENDS: "DEMONSTRATOR" top 1971,
"DEMONSTRATOR" bottom 1974, 1976, 1979-82.
COLORS: Yellow/Dark Blue 1971,
Dealer colors 1972, 1974, 1976, 1979-82.
1971 DLR-022 1980 [DLR-000]
1974 DLR-024 1981 DLR-063
1976 DLR-026 1982 DLR-019
1979 DLR-099
DRIVEOUT (Cardboard)
Ch. 70 P 3/1/1951. Earliest seen 1956.
EMERGENCY
Ch. 966 P 5/24/1984, E 7/1/1984. Began 1985.
Previously issued Auxiliary Police, Civil Air Patrol, Civil Defense,
Emergency Rescue Squad, Special Fireman and Volunteer Fireman.
LEGENDS: "EXP TENN 3-86" top, "EMERGENCY" bottom 1985.
COLORS: Black/White 1985.
3-86 E-10604 - E-17254
EMERGENCY AMATEUR RADIO
Began 1985. Earliest seen "3-94".
EMERGENCY RESCUE SQUAD
Ch. 274 P 3/18/1959, E immediately. Earliest seen 1960.
Not on 1959 chart.
Last seen 1965. May have been discontinued between 1966 and 1969.
EM prefix issued in initial assignment of Passenger series 1966.
Ch. 71 P 4/8/1969, E immediately. Earliest seen 1971.
RS prefix not seen on 1966-70 Passenger series.
Discontinued again 1985; replaced by Emergency plates.
Rebegan late 1985.
LEGENDS: No legend, "EM" prefix 1960-61, 1965,
"RESCUE SQUAD" top 1971,
no legend, "RS" prefix 1972-76,
"RESCUE SQUAD" bottom 1977-84,
"EXP TENN 3-86" top, "EMERGENCY" bottom 1985.
COLORS: Passenger colors 1960-61, 1965, 1974, Blue/Yellow 1971,
Dark Blue/Yellow 1972, Black/Green 1973, Blue/White 1975,
Red/White 1976, 1979-82, 1984, Dark Blue/White 1977-78,
Black/White 1983, 1985.
1960 EM-528, EM T/1 -200 thru EM T/9 -008
1961 EM-499, EM T/2 -4
1962
1963
1964
1965 EM-2363
1969? 1975 RS-5008 1981 RS-4719
1970? 1976 RS-6481 1982 RS-4216
1971 RS-2218 1977 RS-5980 1983 RS-1133
1972 RS-2032 1978 RS-4273 1984 RS-4339
1973 RS-2960 1979 RS-4548 3-86 RS-4311
1974 RS-3229 1980 RS-5600
FARM FLOAT
Ch. 182 P 3/7/1957. Began 1957. Issued to vehicles moving farm
machinery. Discontinued 1961; replaced by P Truck plates.
LEGENDS: "FARM FLOAT" or "FARM.FLOAT" top 1957, "FARM USE" top 1958,
"FARM-FLOAT" top 1960.
COLORS: Passenger colors 1957-58, 1960.
1960: 23-AU02, 71-AU06 have "FARM-USE" instead of "FARM-FLOAT".
1962: 12-AU5 seen with "FARM-USE".
1957 49 AU03, 78 AU03, 893
1958 3A-AU03, 10-AU03
1960 34AU-08
FARM TRUCK
Ch. 55 P 2/21/1935. Began 1936.
Discontinued 1968; replaced by Joint Truck.
Weight classes assigned same blocks as "P" Truck 1939-67.
3 classes as of 1937-47. F/4 added by 1955.
F/5 added 1957. FT (6th class) added 1967; only 1 issued.
LEGENDS: Vertical "FARM" left 1936,
"FARM" over "1", "2" or "3" left 1937,
vertical "FARM" left, "1 TENN. 38" (or 2 - 3) bottom 1938,
vertical "FARM" after county code, "1939 TENN. 1" (or 2 - 3) bottom 1939,
no legend, "F/1" (or F/2 - F/4) after county code 1940-57, 1959-63,
"F-1" 1943 tab,
"FARM USE" top, "F/1" (or F/2 - F/5) after county code 1958,
"FARMER" top, "F/1" (or F/2 - F/5) after county code 1964-65,
"FARMER" top 1965-67.
COLORS: Black/Light Blue (or Gray?) 1936,
Passenger colors 1937-62, Truck colors 1963,
White/Green 1964, 1966, Green/White 1965, 1967.
1936 2-327 - 6-938 (4,612)
1937 1: 8-022 - 18-912, 2: ?, 3: ? (10,891)
1938 1: 3 015 - 15 566, 2: ?, 3: ? (12,552)
FORMATS:
1939: 1-1 - 95-999
1940-50: 1 F/1-1 - 9 F/4-9999, 10 F/1-1 - 95 F/4-999
(10 F/1-A1 - 95 F/1-Z99 added 1946-50)
1951-56: 1 F/1-1 - 95 F/4-9999
(1 F/1-10000 - 9 F/1-99999 added 1954-56)
1957: 1/ F/1 001 - 9/ F/4 999, 1/A F/1 001 - 9/Z F/4 999
10/ F/1 001 - 95/ F/4 999, 10/A F/1 001 - 95/Z F/4 999
(Verify all F/5)
1958: 1A F/1-001 - 9Z F/4-999, (Verify all F/5)
10 F/1-001 - 95 F/4-999, 10 F/1-A01 - 95 F/1-Z99
1959-61: 1 F/1-0001 - 9 F/4-9999, 1 F/5-001W - 9 F/5-099W
10 F/1-001 - 95 F/4-999, 10 F/5-01W - 95 F/5-99W
(10 F/1-A01 - 95 F/1-Z99 added 1960-61)
1962-65: 1 F/1-1 - 9 F/4-9999, 1 F/5-1W - 95 F/5-99W
10 F/1-1 - 95 F/4-999, 10 F/1-A1 - 95 F/1-Z99
CLASS 1 CLASS 2 CLASS 3 CLASS 4 CLASS 5 CLASS 6
START FA-0001 FM-0001 FP-0001 FR-0001 FS-0001 FT-0001
1966 FJ-3765* FN-6089* FQ-3692* FR-0936* (none)
1967 FG-3051 FM-8174* FP-9387 FR-0953* FS-0910* (only 1)
FIXED LOAD
Ch. 200 P 3/6/1961. Began 1961.
LEGENDS: "FIXED-LOAD" top 1961-65, 1967-70,
no legend, "ZL" prefix 1973, 1977-78, 1980, 1982,
"FIXED LOAD" bottom 1979, "COMMERCIAL" bottom 1985.
COLORS: Truck colors 1961-73, 1977-80, 1982, 1985.
1961 FORMATS: 1FL-001 - 9FL-999, 10FL-01 - 95FL-99
1962-65 FORMATS: 1FL-1 - 9FL-99, 10FL-1 - 95FL-99
1966 [ZL-0000] 1973 ZL-1231 1980 [ZL-0000]
1967 ZL-0305 1974 1981
1968 ZL-1050 1975 1982 [ZL-0000]
1969 ZL-0885* 1976 1983
1970 ZL-0020 1977 ZL-0118 1984
1971 [ZL-0000] 1978 ZL-0985 1985 [FL-3388]
1972 1979 ZL-1485
FOR HIRE TRUCK
Began 1940.
Weight classes, formats, colors same as Truck all years except
"H" instead of "P". "H/8A" listed 1957-59, H/9A listed 1959,
1961-62; unknown class.
1940 22 H/2-508 1970 "0" HX-3528
1941 1 H/4-9359 1973 "0" HX-1379 - HX-4626
1942 34 H/4-915,36 H/4-914 1974 HT-0053
1945 5 H/6-Y020 1976 HA-0407, HX-0994
1954 3 H/8-X054 1979 HR-0388, HX-0866
1956 15 H/7-Z06 1980 HX-0782
1966 1871HX 1981 HM-0048, HW-0264
1967 1982 HX-0067
1969 "5" HS-0601, no weight HP-0049, "9" HW-1322
FORMER GOVERNOR
Earliest listed 1948 with #1-X assigned to oldest living
ex-governor, up to at least 4-X. Listed 1950 as #X-1.
Earliest seen 1956. 6 issued as of 1957.
LEGENDS: No legend 1956-59, 1966, 1971, 1975, 1980, 1982.
COLORS: Black/White 1965-66, 1969, 1971-72,
Passenger colors 1980, 1982.
1956 5X (1X - 5X reportedly issued) 1959 7X
1957 6X 1975 2X
1958 2X
FORMER PRISONER OF WAR
Ch. 380 P 5/1/1973, E immediately. Began 1974.
Discontinued 1985; replaced by Memorial plates.
Rebegan 7/1/1985.
LEGENDS: "FORMER P.O.W." bottom 1974-85.
COLORS: Red (POW and bottom legend) and Blue/White 1974-84,
Red (legends) and Blue (serial)/White 1985.
1974 POW-276 UND. POW-809 (1976 sticker)
1975 POW-017
UND. (1977-80 dies) POW-635 (FEB 1978-83 stickers)
POV-064 - POV-072, POZ-079,
014-POW - 383-POW ("FEB","83" stickers)
UND. (1985 base) 418-POW
FREE
Began 1927.
Issued 1927, 1931-39 to city- and county-owned vehicles.
In 1937, issued to city-, county-, state- and federal-owned vehicles.
Discontinued 1928-30, 1940; replaced by City-, County-, (and possibly
State-Owned) 1928, Official 1929-30, City- and County-Owned 1940-on.
LEGENDS: Vertical "FREE" left 1927, 1938,
no legend, star prefix 1931-34,
star in place of hyphen 1935-36,
"FREE" left 1937,
vertical "FREE" after county code 1939.
COLORS: Brown/White 1927, Blue/White (County) or White/Green (City) 1931,
Blue/White 1932, Green/Cream 1933,
Green/Silver (City) or Black/Orange (County) 1934,
Black/Yellow 1935, White/Green 1936, Passenger colors 1937-39.
ORDERED: 1927 5,000 P, 1931 6,000 P, 1932 County 4,000 P,
1934 County 4,000 P, City 200 P.
1927 7 407 - 11 077 (3,671)
1931 * 4 622 - [Montgomery 2 101 - 2 150]
1932 *3-473 - *4-354 (882)
1933 *6-610 - *7-578 (969) [Montgomery 1-353 - 1-362]
1934 * 413 - *3 977 (3,565) [Shelby 1 - 400, Montgomery 1 195 - 1 244]
1935 1*750 - 3*867 (2,118) [Knox 501 - 900]
1936 1*990 -
1937 868 - 3-991 (2,796)
1938 1 196 - 8 576 (7,381)
1939 9-45, 22-34 - 22-42, 32-46, 86-32
GOVERNMENT SERVICE
Began 1966. Permanent undated Black/White plate issued to city-
owned and county-owned (and presumably federal-owned) vehicles.
(Previously issued City Owned, County Owned or U.S. Government
Owned plates, suffixes M = Municipal, P = ? or F = Federal in
1958-65).
A. (1966-71) "GOVT.SERVICE" top, "TENN." bottom center, [GA-0000], GB-5728 - GD-9937
B. (1972?-76) "
/TENN/" top, "GOV'T SERVICE" bottom, GF-1285 - GG-0620
C. (1977-80) "TENN" top, "GOVT. SERV." bottom, border, GH-2626 - GI-1916, GJ-1482
D. (1981-82) "TENN" top, "GOVT. SERV." bottom, no border, GI-5289, GK-9474, GL-5462, GM-0753
E. (1983?) "TENN" top, "GOV'T. SERV." bottom, no border, GK-1919, GL-5514, GL-6792
GOVERNMENT SERVICE MOTORCYCLE
Listed 1970. Not listed on 1971 chart, but listed on 1972 chart.
A. Undated, Black/White, "GOVT.SERV" top, "TENN." bottom left, GZ0319
B. Undated, Black/White, "GOV.SER." top, "TENN" bottom center, GZ-0659 - GZ-0702
GOVERNOR
Earliest seen 1976. Probably began 1975 with Gov. Ray Blanton.
(No legend on 1972 chart, so still considered part of Governor's
Staff series.) Still listed on 1985 chart.
1976: "GOVERNOR" bottom, #1.
GOVERNOR/GOVERNOR'S STAFF (See Misc. 1 page)
Began 1928. (Governor reportedly issued #222 222 in 1927.)
HANDICAPPED
Began 1976. Baseplates renewed with passenger stickers.
1976: Black/White, "/TENN/ 76" top, "HANDICAP-DRIVER" bottom, wheelchair center,
UA 047 - 934, UB 261 - 294, UN 605 - 696, UV 793 - 799.
1977-83: Dark Blue/White, "TENN 77" top, "HANDICAP DRIVER" bottom, wheelchair center, border,
UA 495, UB 697, UE 976, UF 144, UH 166, UJ 414.
1983-86: Dark Blue/White, "TENN 83" top, "HANDICAPPED DRIVER" bottom, wheelchair center, no border,
UC 970, UF 945
HANDICAPPED VETERAN
Ch. 249 P 3/14/1951. Began 1951.
As of 1977, only the first registration (ZK) was free.
ZA-ZB added (after 1972 but by 1976) for veteran's additional paid
vehicles, with same number.
Discontinued 1985; replaced by Memorial plates.
Rebegan 7/1/1985.
LEGENDS: Vertical "TENN" left, "51" top right, "HANDICAPPED VET." bottom 1951-56,
"HANDICAP.VET" top 1957,
"HANDICAP.VET." top 1958-67, 1970-72,
"HANDICAP VET." top 1968-69, bottom 1973-76,
"HANDICAP VET" bottom 1977-78,
"HANDICAPPED VET" bottom 1979,
"DISABLED VET" bottom 1980-85,
"TENN PERM" top, "DISABLED VET" bottom 1985.
COLORS: White/Red (left) and Dark Blue (right) 1951-53, 1958, 1960, 1964, 1966,
White/Dark Blue (left) and Red (right) 1954, 1956-57, 1959, 1961, 1963, 1965,
Red/White (left) and Dark Blue (right) 1955,
Dark Blue/Red (left) and White (right) 1962,
Red/White (top/right) and Blue (bottom/left) 1967-68, 1973,
White/Blue (top/right) and Red (bottom/left) 1969,
Blue/White (top/right) and Red (bottom/left) 1970, 1972,
Red/White (top/left) and Blue (bottom/right) 1971, 1974-78, 1980-83,
Red/White (serial) and Blue/White (legends) 1979
Blue/White (serial) and Red/White (legends) 1985.
1951 1000 - 1093 1971 ZK-1293
1952 1121 - 1464 1972 ZK-0976
1953 1083 - 1506 1973 ZK-1320
1954 1071 - 1650 1974 ZK-1059
1955 1022 - 1385 1975 ZK-1240
1956 1136 - 1535 1976 ZK-1999, ZA-0994
1957 HV 156 - HV1040 1977 ZK-2173
1958 HV 401 - HV 914 1978 ZK-1805
1959-65 (See below) 1979 ZK-2899, ZA-0755
1966 ZK-1268 1980 ZK-1130, ZA-0601
1967 ZK-1840* 1981 DV-2926
1968 ZK-1030 1982 DV-4353
1969 ZK-1264* 1983-85 DV-0321
1970 ZK-1372*
UND. (1985) DV-5106
1959 FORMATS: 1-HV001 - 9-HV999, 10-HV01 - 95-HV99
1960-61 FORMATS: 1HV-001 - 9HV-999, 10HV-01 - 95HV-99
1962-65 FORMATS: 1HV-1 - 9HV-999, 10HV-1 - 95HV-99
HIGHWAY PATROL
One of four special prefixes reported in use in 1950 on undated
state-owned plates. "THP" prefix.
All are undated. Earliest seen with 1951-55 dies.
(State Owned #S2-330 - S2-343 assigned to Highway Patrol 1934.)
Discontinued by c.1972; issued State Government Service plates.
A. (1951?) White/Red, "TENN." bottom, thin dies, #THP-99.
B. (1955?) White/Dark Green, vertical "TENN" right,
"DRIVE-SAFELY" bottom, thin dies, #THP-79 - THP-289.
C. (1957) White/Dark Green, "DRIVE SAFELY" top, "TENN." bottom
center, large map, #THP128
D. (1960?) White/Light Blue, "
/TENN/" top, holes, #THP-103 - THP-639.
HIGHWAY PATROL MOTORCYCLE
All are undated. Earliest seen assumed to also be 1951-55 era.
(100 sets of State Free Motorcycle assigned to Highway Patrol 1931.)
A. (1955?) Map shape, "TENN." bottom left, #THP-4.
HOUSE/SENATE
Began 1955. House or Senate Joint Resolutions as follows:
H.J.R. 14 P 3/30/1949, reserving low numbers for 32 Senate and
99 House members, in addition to the ones already assigned to
State Officials, Colonels on the Governor's Staff and other
dignitaries. (Legislators were assigned #201 - 332 of the
Governor's Staff series.)
S.J.R. 31 P 3/3/1953, assigning low numbers as follows:
#2 = Speaker of the Senate, #3 = Speaker of the House, #4 to 134
= Senate or House. This is when the separate reverse-color
low-number series began, duplicating Governor's Staff
series. 1953 #9 seen.
S.J.R. 52 P 4/9/1953, allowing duplicate plates for legislator's
second car. "These two sets of plates may or may not be
designated by the suffix 'A' after their duplicate numbers."
H.J.R. 6 P 2/4/1955, E 3/1/1955, provided for specially marked
plates. Numbers and legends as follows: #2 = "Lt. Gov.",
#3 = "Speaker of the House", #4 to 134 = "State Senator" or
"State Representative".
H.J.R. 34 P 3/10/1955, making the above legends optional.
S.J.R. 6 P 1/30/1957, established numbers 2 to 133, legends
still optional, and additional cars to have "A", "B", "C" added.
S.J.R. 20 P 2/26/1959, assigned numbers as follows:
#2 = Lt. Governor, #3 = Speaker of the House, #4 to 5 = Senate
Majority Floor Leaders, #6 to 35 = Senate (alphabetically),
#36 to 37 = House Majority Floor Leaders, #38 to 133 = House
(alphabetically).
S.J.R. 48 P 3/9/1961, re-assigned numbers, same as 1959 except:
#6 to 7 = House Majority Floor Leaders, #8 to 37 = Senate.
There is very little uniformity among plates ordered by members
of the legislature, because they could select custom numbers,
initials, county names or codes, legends, reversed colors, etc.
Note 3 different terms for Legislator in 1960!
COLORS: Red/Dark Green 1955, Yellow/Black 1956,
White/Orange 1957, Yellow/Black 1958, Black/White 1959, 1961,
White/Black or Black/White 1960, White/Black 1962,
Blue/Tan 1963, White/Blue, White/Black or Black/White 1965,
White/Black 1966-67, White/Dark Green 1969,
Gray/Blue or White/Green 1970,
Black/White or White/Dark Blue 1971, Gray/Blue 1972,
Yellow/Black 1973, Dark Blue/White 1974, Black/White 1975,
Green/White 1979, Blue/White 1981.
Passenger stickers issued 1976, 1978, 1980, 1982.
(Verify 1964, 1968)
1955: A. "REPRESENTATIVE" top, "TENN. 1955" bottom, #95, 107
B. "STATE SENATOR" top, "TENN. 1955" bottom, #33
1956: A. Vertical "TENN" left, "56" top right, "UNICOI" bottom, #HR-125
B. Vertical "TENN" left, "56" top right, "3 SENATORIAL" bottom, #SS26
(C. Reported with "8 FLOTERIAL")
1957: A. "LAKE" top, #HR 6
B. "SENATOR" top, #6 A, 6 C
1958: "LEGISLATOR" top, "58 TENN." bottom, #39
1959: A. "LEGISLATOR" top, "59 TENN." bottom, #16
B. "LEGISLATIVE" top, "59 TENN." bottom, #104A, #110
C. "SENATE" top, "59 TENN." bottom, #1B
1960: A. "LEGISLATURE" top, "TENN. 60" bottom, Black/White, #1
B. "LEGISLATIVE" top, "TENN. 60" bottom, Black/White, #1
C. "LEGISLATOR" top, "TENN. 60" bottom, White/Black, #5B, #16
D. "LEGISLATIVE" top, "TENN. 60" bottom, White/Black, #18
E. "LEGISLATURE" top, "TENN. 60" bottom, White/Black, #121 5A
F. "SENATOR" top, "TENN. 60" bottom, White/Black, #5A, 21
1961: A. "61 /TENN/" top, Black/White, #HOUSE-2
B. "STA. SENATOR" top, "TENN. 61" bottom, Black/White, #19.
1962: A. "BUFORD EVANS" top, "TENN. 62" bottom, #65A.
B. "HAROLD RONEY" top, "TENN. 62" bottom, White/Black, #HNR.
1963: A. "LEGISLATOR" top, "TENN. 63" bottom, #91A, 0.C.L., 0.C.L.-1
B. "SENATOR" top, "TENN. 63" bottom, #H.F.A.9A
1965: A. "LEGISLATOR" top, "TENN. 65" bottom, #E, J.A., J.P.R.
B. "SENATE" top, "TENN. 65" bottom, Black/White #2
C. "SENATE" top, "TENN. 65" bottom, White/Black #21
D. "SENATOR" top, "TENN. 65" bottom, White/Black #28A.
1966: A. No legend, "TENN" inside map top, followed by "66",
#JA, White/Black, same initials as 1967 Senator.
B. "SENATE" top, "TENN. 66" bottom, White/Black, #CLS.
C. "SENATOR" top, "TENN. 66" bottom, White/Black, #FOB-13.
1967: A. "REP." top, "TENN. 67" bottom, #40, LAURIE
B. "SENATOR" top, "TENN. 67" bottom, #24, 24A, both '68 sticker.
C. Same as B., but #J.A., White/Black with 68 sticker.
1969: A. "LEGISLATOR" top, "TENN. 69" bottom, #RCA-1 embossed
B. "LEGISLATOR" top, "TENN. 69" bottom, #LONGLEY 2 screened
C. "SENATOR" top, #DENISE embossed
1971: A. "LEGISLATOR" top, "TENN. 71" bottom, #129, GB, WEBB
B. "SENATOR" top, "TENN. 71" bottom, #RCA
1973: A. "TENN" inside border map top, "73" top right, "REPRESENTATIVE" bottom, #RP-2, NKC
B. Same, "SENATOR" bottom, #RCA
C. Same, no bottom legend, #B (Senator Ben Longley)
1974: "19" and "74" screened in upper corners, "TENN" inside border map top,
"House of Representatives" or "Senate" screened bottom,
large state seal decal left, House #96, I, BES, LOY, Senate #GT-1, FOB
1975: Same design as 1974, House #86, 67-B, M-1B, B.L., Senate #H-1
1977: Same design as 1974, House #11, Senate #9A.
1979: Same design as 1974, House #63 D.
1981: Same design as 1974, House #SD.
1983: Same design as 1974, House #CBW 2, '83 sticker.
1985: Same design as 1974.
HOUSEHOLD MOVING TRUCK
Began 1957.
LEGENDS: "HOUSEHLD.MVR." top 1957-59,
no legend 1961-62, 1964, 1966-71, 1973, 1975-76, 1979-82,
"COMMERCIAL" bottom 1985.
COLORS: Truck colors 1957-59, 1961-62, 1964, 1966-71, 1973, 1975-76, 1979-82, 1985.
1957 3 M/2 603, 3 M/4 806, 3 M/5 903 1966 MR-0184 1976 MV-0124
1958 3A M/2-620, 3 M/5 02-6W, 1967 MV-0044 1979 MR-0147
3 M/7 01-4Y, 19 M/3 -701 1968 MP-0132 1980 MA-0146
1959 3 M/3 0-016, 3 M/5 0-12W 1969 MP-0131, MR-0115 1981 MR-0112
1961 3 M/5 009W 1970 MA-0083 1982 [MA-0000]
1962 3 M/3 -9 1973 MS-0100 1985 [MA-3456]
1964 5 M/6-1W 1975 MV-0008
JOINT (See Truck page)
Ch. 283 P 3/19/1965. Began 1966.
Issued to semi-commercial trucks.
JUDICIARY
Senate Joint Resolution 16 P 3/8/1967. Began 1967.
Includes the following titles, perhaps more: Chief Justice,
Judge Retired, Judiciary, Supreme Court, Trial Judge.
Ch. 406 P 5/4/1973, adding Judges of Special Probate Courts.
Ch. 212 P 5/8/1975, adding General Sessions Court Judges.
Ch. 271 P 5/20/1975, adding Juvenile Court Judges.
Ch. 521 P 2/25/1980, adding Juvenile Court Judges - Retired.
LEGENDS: "CHIEF/JUSTICE" screened center (no serial) or "JUDGE/RET." or
"TRIAL/JUDGE" screened left, "TENN. 67" embossed bottom 1967,
"TRIAL/JUDGE" screened left, "TENN. 68" embossed bottom 1968,
"TENN. 69" top, "JUDICIARY" bottom 1969-72,
"JUDICIARY" bottom 1973-83,
"SUPREME/COURT" screened left 1970, 1977, 1982-83,
"SUPREME COURT" screened above number 1978.
COLORS: White/Black or Dark Blue? 1967-68, White/Dark Blue 1969-75,
Dark Blue/White 1976-80, 1982-85, Black/White 1981.
(Verify 1967-68)
1967 128*, R-I-J 1970 114, 122-J 1973 68J, 99, 99J
1968 26J, 86, 86J 1971 107 1974 132, 141J
1969 86* 1972 103J, 125 1975 153J, 91 and 91J found together
GENERAL SESSIONS AND JUVENILE COURT JUDGES:
Legends screened bottom with first and last words raised
"GEN. SESSIONS COURT JUDGE" or "JUV. COURT JUDGE" 1976,
"GENERAL SESSIONS COURT JUDGE" screened bottom 1977-78,
"GENERAL SESSIONS JUDGE" screened bottom 1979-80,
"GENERAL SESSIONS JUDGE" embossed bottom 1982,
"GENERAL SESSION JUDGE" embossed bottom 1984.
"JUVENILE COURT JUDGE" screened bottom 1978-80,
"JUVENILE COURT JUDGE" embossed bottom 1981-84.
JUDICIARY GENERAL SESSIONS JUVENILE COURT
1976 10J-1 - 131J-1 257J - 311J 514J - 6 11J
1977 58J-1 - 145J 275J -
1978 56J-1 - 173J, 13C 218J - 235J 427J -
1979 32J-1 - 170J 209 J - 317 J 420 J - 571 J
1980 39J-1 - 186J 267-J - 290-J 476 J - 504 J
1981 - 155J 513 J -
1982 85J-1 - 198J-1 223J - 271J 538J -
1983 46J - 61J-1 408 J - 508 J
1984 729J - 471J -
Ch. 966 P 5/24/1984, consolidated all types on "JUDICIARY" base
starting 1985. Replaced Supreme Court, Court of Appeals, Court
of Criminal Appeals, Chancery Court, Circuit Court, Probate Court,
Juvenile Court and General Sessions Court.
3-86 "JUDICIARY" for all J-00710 -[J-17781]
JUNIOR CHAMBER COMMERCE
Earliest seen 1956. (Verify 1962-63, 1966, 1969, 1971-74, 1978)
Map shape 1957; only full-sized type.
Discontinued 1985; replaced by Special plates.
LEGENDS: "JUNIOR/CHAMBER/COMMERCE" left 1956,
vertical "TENN" left, "JUNIOR/CHAMBER" center, "57 COMMERCE" bottom,
serial top right, map shape 1957,
no legend, "JC" prefix 1958, 1964-65, "EX.7-1" screened top right 1959,
no legend, "JCC" prefix 1960-61, 1968, 1970-72, 1975-77, 1979,
no legend, "JCC" suffix 1967, "JAYCEES" bottom 1980-84.
COLORS: Yellow/Black 1956, Black/White 1957, 1959-60, 1967-68, 1975, 1979, 1981,
White/Black 1958, Blue/White 1961, Blue/Yellow 1964-65,
Yellow/Light Blue 1970-72, Red/White 1976, 1983,
Dark Blue/White 1977, 1980, Green/White 1982, 1984.
1956 36 1966 1976 JCC-20
1957 44 1967 123-JCC 1977 JCC-116
1958 JC-08, JC-10 1968 JCC-71 1978
1959 JCC-50 1969 1979 JCC-497
1960 JCC-91 1970 JCC-037* 1980 JCC-784
1961 JC-248 1971 JCC-094 1981 JCC-254
1962 1972 [JCC-0] 1982 JCS-333
1963 1973 1983 JC'S-333
1964 JC-350 1974 1984 JC'S-244
1965 Sticker 1975 JCC-159
LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR
House Joint Resolution 6 P 2/4/1955. Began 1955.
Earliest seen 1960.
1960: White/Black, "LT GOV" top, #2A, 2B.
1970: Black/White, "LT.GOV." top, #2.
LOGGING TRUCK
Ch. 316 P 3/17/1955. Began 1955.
Issued in weight classes: P/3 L (or ZA) = Up to 18,000 lbs.,
(added 1964) P/4 L (or ZB) = Up to 24,000 lbs.
ZA assigned to Handicapped Veteran by 1976.
Discontinued by 1980.
LEGENDS: No legend, P/3 truck plate with "L" after class code (P/4 added 1964) 1955-65,
"LOGGER" top, "TENN. 66" bottom 1966-67, 1969.
(Verify 1968, 1970-75)
COLORS: Truck colors 1955-67, 1969-72.
1955 45 P/3 L-028, 53 P/3 L-037 1966 ZA-0911, ZB-2063*
1957 70/L P/3 20 1967 ZA-1171*, ZB-0440
1958 3A-P/3 L-07 1968
1960 95 P/3 L03 1969 ZA-0104, ZB-1099*
1961 61 P/3 L09 1970
1963 8 P/3 L-13 1971 [ZA-0000]
1965 19 P/4 L-35
MANUFACTURER
Earliest seen 1960. Not listed on 1959 or 1985 chart.
LEGENDS: "MANUFACTURER" top 1960, bottom 1974, 1976-82, 1984.
COLORS: Dealer colors 1960, 1965-66, 1969-72, 1974, 1976-82, 1984.
1960 A 74 C (misspelled "MANUFACTORER") 1979 MFR-162
1974 3-241-3 1980 [MFR-000]
1976 8-44-4, DL-0049 1981 M F R-037, MFR-415
1977 53-37-10, DL-0189 1982 52-25-21, [MFR-000]
1978 52-25-63 1984 MFR-139
MEDAL OF HONOR
Ch. 589 P 3/10/1980, E immediately. Began 1980.
Discontinued 1985; replaced by Memorial plates.
Possibly rebegan 7/1/1985.
LEGENDS: "MEDAL OF HONOR" screened bottom 1980-83.
COLORS: Black/White 1980-83.
1980-82 CMH-006 - CMH-022
1983 CMH-008 -
MEMORIAL
Ch. 966 P 5/24/1984. Began 1985.
Previously issued Former Prisoner of War,
Handicapped Veteran and Medal of Honor.
Permanent undated base, "TENN PERM" top, "MEMORIAL" bottom,
Red/White legends, Blue/White serial, #M-11275 - M-14317.
Replaced 7/1/1985, and former types reinstated.
MOBILE HOME
Ch. 143 P 3/12/1963. Began 1963.
Numbers began at #TM-0001 1966-76.
LEGENDS: "MOBILE HOME" top 1963-70,
no legend 1971, 1973-74, 1976, 1980, 1982, 1985.
COLORS: Dark Blue/Light Blue 1963, Yellow/Green 1964, 1971,
Truck colors 1965, 1973-74, 1976, 1980, 1982, 1985,
Trailer colors 1966-70, White/Dark Green 1972.
(Verify 1972, 1975, 1977-79, 1981)
1963 MH-9741* 1971 TN-0142 1979
1964 MH-9846* 1972 1980 [TM-0000]
1965 MH-8898* 1973 TM-4099 1981
1966 TN-3644* 1974 TM-1397 1982 [TM-0000]
1967 TM-9799 1975 1983
1968 TN-0367 1976 TM-2612 1984
1969 TN-3639* 1977 3-86 [TM-1679]
1970 TN-5843* 1978
MOBILE HOME DEALER
Earliest seen 1968.
Not listed on 1971, 1985 charts.
Number prefix is county code; number suffix is plate set 0 - 9.
LEGENDS: "MOBILE HOME" top 1968,
"M.H.DEALER" bottom 1973, some 1975, 1976,
"MOBILE HOME" bottom some 1975, 1977, 1979-80,
"MOBILE HOMES" bottom 1982.
COLORS: Dealer colors 1968, 1973, 1976-77, 1979-80, 1982.
1968 6D 45 E 1977 62-24-0, DL-0024
1973 4-155-0 1978
1974 1979 85-10-2, MHD-034
1975 33-32-1, 33-30-2, 37-59-1 1980 [MHD-000]
1976 10-58-1 1982 23-45-0, [MHD-000]
MOTORCYCLE (See Motorcycle page)
Began 1916.
MOTORCYCLE DEALER
Reported 1955. Earliest seen 1956.
(Not listed in 1951 vehicle code.)
LEGENDS: "DEALER" top, "TENN. 1956" bottom 1956, 1964-65,
vertical "DLR" after county code 1966-75,
"MC DLR" top 1976,
"DEALER" bottom 1977-78, 1980, 1982-84,
"CYCLE DLR" bottom 1979, 1981, 1985.
COLORS: Dealer colors 1956, 1964-85. 1984 undated with "85"
sticker which expired in March 1985, like Motorcycle.
1955 1971 3-173D, 87-7 A
1956 02-184C 1972 2-278A, 28-40N, 46-20A
1957 1973 10 66-4, 36-20-5
1958 1974 3 249-2, 66 19-0
1959 1975 40 50-2
1960 1976 9-72-0, 67-16-9, D-0065
1961 1977 62-25-2, D-0063
1962 1978 62-2-11
1963 1979 4 180 0, 18 57 2, 58 30 0, MCD-198
1964 2 213 B 1980 18-61-0, MCD-036
1965 1 204 A 1981 15 54 5, MCD 095
1966 8 47 A 1982 2 10 62, 62 15 5, MCD 057
1967 32 21B 1983 MCD 063
1968 2 205B, 19 81A 1984 "85" MCD 070
1969 1 134A 1985 DZ 0261 -[DZ 2789]
1970 3-174E
MOTORCYCLE WITH SIDECAR (See Motorcycle page)
Listed in Knoxville Journal, 11/27/1934, with Knox county being
assigned "225 motorcycle tags, 50 side-car tags". 12/4/1934 lists
numbers: "Motorcycles 401 to 625, Side-cars 151 to 200".
Earliest seen 1947.
Listed 1937-43 as "Motorcycle with 3 wheels."
Last seen 1953; last listed 1955.
MULTI-COUNTY ZONE TRUCK
Ch. 324 P 5/8/1969, E immediately. Listed on 1971 chart.
Earliest seen 1973. Issued to private and for-hire trucks
18,001 to 73,280 lbs. operating only in county where based
plus any one adjacent county. Number after "X" believed to
be county code. 1980 also issued in ZXA-000 format.
1982-85: X = Up to 74,000 lbs., Y = Up to 80,000 lbs.,
X2-A00C format = Ready Mix Concrete trucks.
LEGENDS: No legend, county name top, "ZX" prefix 1971,
no legend, "ZX" prefix 1972,
no legend, "X" prefix 1973-77, 1980-81,
no legend, "X" or "Y" prefix 1982-84,
"COMMERCIAL" bottom, "X" or "Y" prefix 1985.
COLORS: Tan/Green 1971, White/Orange 1972,
Truck colors 1973-77, 1980-85.
1971 [ZX-0000] 1976 X32-A44, X46-A18 1981 X15-A08
1972 [ZX-0000] 1977 X18-A76, X32-A16 1982
1973 X3-0049 1978 1983 XZ-0291
1974 X4-A016 1979 1984 X3-A21C
1975 X84-A04 1980 X10-A10 1985
MUNICIPAL ZONE TRUCK
Began 1964.
Issued to private and for-hire trucks up to 73,280 lbs. operating
only within 15 miles of city limits of municipality where based.
Number after "Z" believed to be county code in 1975-80. 1980 also
issued in ZTA-000 format.
1982-85: W = Up to 74,000 lbs., Z = Up to 80,000 lbs.,
W2-A00C format = Ready Mix Concrete trucks.
LEGENDS: "URBAN" top 1964, county name top 1966,
county name top, "TENN. 67" bottom 1967, 1970-72,
no legend, "Z" prefix 1975-76, 1979-80,
no legend, "W" or "Z" prefix 1982-83
"COMMERCIAL" bottom, "W" or "Z" prefix 1985.
COLORS: Green/Yellow 1964, 1966, White/Blue 1967, Yellow/Green 1969,
White/Orange 1970, White/Red 1971, White/Black 1972,
Truck colors 1965, 1975-76, 1979-80, 1982-83, 1985.
1964 4Z/T-297, 19Z/T-1 1972 ZT-4035 1980 Z3-A380
1965 1973 1981
1966 (ZT-0000) 1974 1982
1967 ZT-2517 1975 Z16-A83 1983 W4-A295, WZ-0457
1968 1976 Z18-B43 1984
1969 1977 1985
1970 ZT-7968* 1978
1971 ZT-3678 1979 Z3-A224, Z5-A271, Z10-A76, Z18-B51
MUSIC CITY BUSEarliest seen 1974. Issued to private buses operated for
business use, such as those used for bands travelling on tour.
LEGENDS: No legend, "MUS" prefix 1974, 1976, 1978-83, 1985,
"COMMERCIAL" bottom, "MUS" prefix 1984.
COLORS: Red/White 1974, 1978, 1985, Black/White 1976, 1980, 1983-84,
Green/White 1979, 1981-82.
1974 MUS-134 1978 MUS-232 1982
1975 1979 MUS-275 1983 MUS-102
1976 MUS-150 1980 MUS-220 1984 MUS-084
1977 1981 MUS-184 3-86 MUS-153
NATIONAL GUARD
House Joint Resolution 25 P 4/13/1949. Began 1949 with 2,500 P made.
1949-51 and 1953 are Infantry colors, 1954 Artillery Branch.
Ch. 514 P 2/21/1980, E 7/1/1980, provided for new series with
the new design and numbers 1 to 15000 specified in the law.
LEGENDS: Vertical "TENN" left, vertical "1949" right, "NATIONAL GUARD" bottom 1949-56,
"GUARDSMAN" top 1957-69,
"TENN. 71" top, "GUARDSMAN" bottom 1971-79, 1980 NG series,
"NATIONAL GUARD" bottom 1980 numeric series, 1981-85.
COLORS: White/Blue 1949-53, White/Red 1954, 1957,
Dark Green/Yellow 1955-56, White/Light Blue 1958-59,
Yellow/Dark Green 1960, Red/Gray 1961, Purple/Gray 1962,
Maroon/White 1963, Black/Yellow 1964,
Blue/Red 1965, Black/Silver 1966-67,
White/Black 1968-69, Red/Dark Blue 1971-72,
Black/White 1973-75, White/Blue 1976,
Dark Blue?/White 1977-78, 1982, Green/White 1979, 1982,
1985, White/Light Blue 1980, Red/White 1981, 1983-84.
Sticker issued 1970.
1949 2076 - 2224 1971 , NG-14 - NG-74
1950 1001 - 1907 1972 NG-0534 - NG-0797, NG-19 - NG-66
1951 1230 - 1516, 1 1973 NG-0746 - NG-1040, NG-9 -
1952 1299 - 1352 1974 NG-82 - NG-2131
1953 18 - 1792 1975 NG-1574 - NG-2469,
1954 1 - 2676 45 - 83, 68A (White/Blue - Officer)
1955 521 - 3384 1976 NG-782 - NG-2604, 35 - 178
1956 30 - 3174 1977 NG-2033 - NG-3780, 66 - 120
1957 186 - 4910 1978 NG-0788 - NG-3889, 63 - 196
1958 17 - 3197 1979 NG-0391 - NG-5654, NG-14 - NG-178, NG-206-A, 61
1959 17 - 2834 1980 NG-0250 - NG-4048, NG-178 -
1960 80 - 1899 0367 - 12323, 256
1961 65 - 3424 1981 50 - 16064, 8-A
1962 56 - 640 1982 5 - 14903, 5A,
1963 11 - 3446 A-1960 - A-2713
1964 1 - 2802 1983 50 - 14057, A-2211, 66 B
1965 44 - 4093 1984 1 - 5048, A-2383
1966 46 - 3672 3-86 [5566]- 8669, A-2647
1967 46 - 4077
1968 117 - 4904
1969-70 35 - 3550
OFFICIAL
Began 1929. Issued 1929-30 only to city-, county- and state-owned vehicles.
Previously issued City-, County- (and possibly State-Owned) plates 1928.
Replaced by Free or State-Owned plates 1931.
LEGENDS: "TENN-29-OFFICIAL" bottom 1929.
COLORS: White/Brown 1930.
1929 405-099 - 409-287 (4,189) (5,000 P ordered)
1930 C9-714 - [Montgomery C11-389 - ?]
PERSONALIZED
Ch. 11 P 3/14/1973. Began 1974.
2-6-characters allowed for $50 extra annual fee.
Annual dated plates, passenger colors 1974-76,
passenger graphic bases 1977-83, 1984-88.
Ch. 966 P 5/24/1984 reducing fee to $25 and allowing 7 characters, starting 1985.
PERSONALIZED MOTORCYCLE
Ch. 966 P 5/24/1984, E 7/1/1984. Began 1985.
Earliest seen "85" debossed on Red/White base #VAROOM.
PUBLIC HEALTH
One of four special prefixes reported in use in 1950 on undated
state-owned plates. "PH" prefix.
PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSIONER
A. Undated, c.1965-70, Black/White, "TENN" in full map top,
vertical "PSC" screened left, "COMMISSIONER/ZDA-1" screened center.
Z. D. Atkins was elected as PSC Commissioner for Middle Tennessee
in November 1964 to fill a partial term, and reelected in November
1968 and November 1974 to 6-year terms. He became Chairman of the
3-person Commission in January 1967, off and on through 1980.
B. Same as A. but "1" screened in UR corner, "PENTECOST" screened
bottom instead of "ZDA-1". Cayce L. Pentecost was elected in
November 1954 for Western Tennessee, and served through 1976.
C. 1972, Black/White, "72 /TENN/" top, "Hammond Fowler" screened
bottom, #PSC-1. Mr. Fowler was also a Commissioner.
PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION TRAILER
Undated, 1953-70 Trailer size, Black/White, "TRAILER" top,
vertical "TENN" left and right, "PUB. SER. COMM." bottom, #10089.
PUBLIC WELFARE
One of four special prefixes reported in use in 1950 on undated
state-owned plates. "PW" prefix.
REPLACEMENT
Began 1962 with DMV ruling. Previously, plates with a new
number were issued. Passenger, Motorcycle and Truck P,F,H seen.
Last seen 1964, although tiny "R" seen in LL corner of 1969 base
Semi-Trailer plate. Passenger cars with 1963 replacement plates
required to get new plates in 1964.
LEGENDS: No legend, small or full-size "R" prefix 1962-64.
RURAL VOLUNTEER FIRE DEPARTMENT
Ch. 198 P 3/15/1963, E immediately. Earliest seen 1965.
Issued to vehicles owned by rural fire departments. Permanent
plate as of 1971. Last seen 1977. Not listed on 1980 chart.
LEGENDS: "R.V.F.D." top, "TENN. 65" bottom 1965,
"RVFD" top listed 1966, verified 1968,
"/TENN/" top, "RVFD" bottom UND. (1972),
"TENN 77" top, "R.V.F.D." bottom 1977.
COLORS: Yellow?/Black 1965, Black/Light Blue 1966, Yellow/Light Blue 1968,
Light Blue/Yellow 1969, Gold/Blue UND. (1970-71),
Black/White UND. (1972), Dark Blue/White 1977.
1965 12FD-1
1966 [ZI-0000]
1968 ZI-0013
UND. (1972) ZI-0816 - ZI-0904
1977 ZI-1149 - ZI-1303
SAMPLE
Earliest seen 1926. 1926-28 "FRONT".
1926-28, 1930-31, 1934 000 000 1952, 1954-56 00-000
1929, 1932-33, 1935-36 000-000 1957 0/D 0000
1937 00-000, C000-000 1958 0A-D0-00
1938 00 000 1959 00-T000
1939 00 000, 0-000, 0-0000 1960 00-0000, 00-Z000
1940 0-000, 0-0000 1961-65 00-0000
1941, 1945, 1949 0-0000 1966-70 AA-0000
1942, 1944, 1946, 1950 0-000 1971-83 2-A0000
1947, 1951, 1953 00-0000 1984-88 SAMPLE
1948 000-000
1943 TAB "O" 00000
SEMI-TRAILER
Began 1956. (Verify 1956 colors)
Listed in registration figures as "P Trailer" 1956,
"Ident. Trailer" 1957-58, "Semi-Trailer" 1958-70.
Small size, rectangular 1956-57, full size 1958-on.
Optional plate issued for identification only as of 1959-64.
Permanent plate in use as of 1969.
LEGENDS: "TRAILER" top, "1956 TENN." bottom, "P" prefix 1956-57,
"SEMI-TRAILER" top 1958-67,
"SEMI-TRAILER" top, "TENN." bottom center UND. (by 1969) Type 1,
"/TENN/" top, "SEMI-TRAILER" bottom UND. (by 1971) Type 2.
COLORS: Truck colors 1957-67, Black/White UND. (by 1969).
1961: 3A-134S has "SEMI.TRAILER", holes,
10A-14S has "SEMI.TRAILER", long slots,
27D-15S - 27D-23S, 44A-07S have "SEMI-TRAILER", long slots.
1956 P-344 1966 TS-0001 - TT-0018
1957 P-1259 1967 TS-0001 - TT-4600
1958 FORMATS: 1A-P001 - 9A-P999, 10A-P01 - 95A-P99
1959-61 FORMATS: 1A-001S - 9A-999S, 10A-01S - 95A-99S
1962-65 FORMATS: 1A-1S - 9A-999S, 10A-1S - 95A-99S
UND. (by 1969) Type 1 - Old design 006-951 - 117-714
Type 2 - 1971 design 082-460
(1980, 1982 charts: No legend, "TENN" top, T-00000, Dark Blue/White, T-00709, T-62301 seen)
(1985 chart: No legend, "TENN" top, S2-3567, Dark Blue/White)
("TENNESSEE" top, "SEMI" bottom, W-67938 - Z-99999, T000000 Dark Blue/White)
SHELBY COUNTY RESCUE SQUAD
Earliest seen 1980 chart, Red/White, "80 TENN" top, "SCES"
bottom, ES-0000 format. Same 1982 chart but "TENN 82" top.
SCES = Shelby County Emergency Services.
Not listed on 1985 chart.
SHERIFF
Began 1957 before being authorized yet.
Serial is county code #1 - 95 1959, probably all years.
LEGENDS: "SHERIFF" right all years.
"TENN. 57" bottom 1957, 1960-70,
"59 TENN." bottom 1959,
"/TENN/ 71" top 1971-76,
"TENN 77" top 1977, 1979, 1981,
"78 TENN" top, 1978, 1980, 1982,
"EXP TENN 3-86" top 1985.
COLORS: Black/White 1957, 1964, 1977-78, 1980-82,
Passenger colors 1959-62, 1966-75,
White/Black 1963, 1965, Yellow/Light Blue 1976,
Dark Blue/White 1985.
(Verify 1958)
SHRINE
Earliest seen 1973. Discontinued 1985; replaced by Special plates.
LEGENDS: "SHRINE" prefix screened left 1973, 1975-76, 1978,
"SHRINE" suffix screened right 1979, 1984,
serial and "SHRINE" suffix screened center 1982.
COLORS: White/Blue 1973, 1975-76, Dark Blue/White 1978-80, Black/White 1984.
1973 2L
1975 3L 1978 9V, 3W 1982 9V
1976 3L - 8L 1979 7V 1984 1
SHRINE MOTORCYCLE
Earliest seen 1968.
LEGENDS: "SHRINE" prefix 1968-76; no "CYCLE" top 1971-75,
"76" handpainted 1976, "SHRINE" prefix screened 1977-81,
"SHRINE" embossed bottom 1982,
"SHRINE" screened bottom 1983.
COLORS: Blue/White 1968-69, White/Blue 1970-76,
Black/White 1977-79, 1981, 1983, Dark Blue/White 1980,
Green/White 1982.
1968 2A - 5A 1974 57, 7E, 9F, 1H 1980 89, 9A, 7D
1969 18 1975 97, 8B 1981 3H
1970 9I 1976 4B, 1E, 2E 1982 2D, 6N, 7N
1971 9A 1977 38 1983 69, 3D
1972 57, J4 1978 3A, 5N, 8P 1984
1973 51, 7I 1979 5, 51, 5D, 8K, 2L, 8N
SPECIAL
Ch. 966 P 5/24/1984. Began 1985. "3-86", SA prefix.
Earliest seen "3-87". Previously issued Antique, Consular Service,
Junior Chamber Commerce, Shrine, Street Rod, Metropolitan Council.
SPECIAL FIREMAN
Ch. 366 P 4/25/1973, E 7/1/1973. Earliest seen 1974.
Issued to full-time members of Fire Departments.
Number prefix is county code.
Discontinued 1985; replaced by Emergency.
LEGENDS: "FIREMAN" bottom 1974, 1976,
"SPECIAL FIREMAN" screened bottom 1978,
"SPECIAL FIREMAN" embossed bottom 1979-84.
COLORS: Black/White 1974, 1980-82, Red/White 1976, 1983,
Dark Blue/White 1978, Green/White 1979, 1984.
1973? 1979 6-24, 12-48
1974 74-9 1980
1975 1981 18-1
1976 18-14 1982
1977 1983 21-1
1978 5-113 1984 7-9
STATE GOVERNMENT SERVICE MOTORCYCLEA. Undated, White/Green, "GOV.SER." top, "TENN." bottom left,
#S0-J087
STATE OWNED
Listed 1931-32. May exist for 1928. Earliest seen 1933.
The Tennessean (Nashville), 1/23/1932: "The 1931 licenses were
distributed as follows: state free, approximately 2,600, and
state free motorcycle tags for the highway patrol, 100 sets."
1932 bid specifications list "S" prefix; 3,200 P ordered.
1934 #S2-330 - S2-343 assigned to Highway Patrol; 2,500 P ordered.
Apparently issued Free plates 1937.
The Commercial Appeal (Memphis), 4/16/1939:
"There are only 95 counties in Tennessee but the 1939 auto license
tags show 97 county serial numbers...No. 96 is used to designate
state cars driven supposedly on state business...No. 97 is used on
the license tags for prison trucks and cars."
LEGNDS: No legend, "S" prefix 1933-36,
vertical "FREE" after "county" 96 1939,
vertical "STATE" prefix 1940.
COLORS: Blue/Yellow 1932, Black/White 1934, White/Red as of 1941-51,
White/Dark Green as of 1954, 1956, 1959,
White/Light Blue as of 1965-71.
1933 S3-128 - S3-964 (837)
1934 S 41 - S2 466 (2,426) 1938?
1935 S41 - 1939 96-639 - 96-762 (124)
1936 S 908 - S1-352 (445) 1940 2919 -
A. (1941-53?) Undated, White/Red, vertical "STATE" prefix,
"TENN." bottom center, wide dies, #3915 - 6778
(thin dies, c.1951? #12)
B. (1954?) Undated, vertical "STATE" left, vertical "TENN" right,
"DRIVE-SAFELY" bottom, thin dies, #12, 6-3808, 14-20, 18-149,
seen in 2/14/1954 news article (square dies, c. 1956? #28-11)
C. (1957) Undated, "DRIVE SAFELY" top, "TENN." bottom, large map,
#25, 7-20, 9-266 - 9-267, MP-450 (Motor Pool?), ATU-15
D. (1958?) Undated, White/Dark Green, "DRIVE SAFELY" top, "TENN."
bottom, no map, #CON-066 (Dept. of Conservation?)
E. (1959?) Undated, White/Dark Green, "
/TENN/" top, #AGR-066
(Dept. of Agriculture?)
F. (1965-71) Undated, White/Light Blue, "
/TENN/" top, #9 T/3 041,
18S2314, 19S0023 (reportedly for Highway Patrol), 27S T/1 280
G. (1972?) Undated, White/Green, "
/TENN/" top, "GOV'T SERVICE"
bottom, #S1-B960 (S1 reportedly for cars), S1-K825, S4-F474,
S5-G759
H. (1977-80) Undated, White/Green, "/TENN/" top, "GOVT. SERV."
bottom, #S1-T686 - S1-V514
I. (1981-82) Undated, White/Green, "TENN" top, "GOVT. SERV."
bottom, #S1-AW94
J. (1983?) Undated, White/Green, "TENN" top, "GOV'T. SERV." bottom,
#S1-CN55
STATE OWNED MOTORCYCLE
Listed 1931.
The Tennessean (Nashville), 1/23/1932: "The 1931 licenses were
distributed as follows: state free, approximately 2,600, and
state free motorcycle tags for the highway patrol, 100 sets."
Earliest seen 1939, in photo of Tennessee Highway Patrol motorcycle.
(Tennessee has only 95 counties.)
1939: No legend, "96" prefix, #96-48.
UND. White/Dark Green (1958-64 era) 5
STREET ROD
Ch. 644 P 3/9/1978. Earliest seen 1979.
Discontinued 1985; replaced by Special plates.
LEGENDS: "STREET ROD" bottom 1979-86.
COLORS: Green/White 1979-83, Dark Blue/White 1983-85.
Each based renewed with passenger stickers.
1979-83 ROD-194
1983-85 ROD-356
SUPPLEMENTAL "96"
Only issued 1958. (Tennessee has only 95 counties.)
Passenger plates issued for any county exhausting its original stock.
No non-passenger types issued. Not needed in 1962-70 systems.
Reinstated 1971 with AAA-000 format (see Passenger).
Johnson City Press, 2/22/1959, page 1: "Those late 1958 auto license
tags with the "96" prefix do not designate an 'extra' county. They are
'emergency' issue plates distributed by state authorities at Nashville
for counties such as Washington whose stock of passenger car tags ran
out just before the new shipment, County Court Clerk Marion Carr
explained yesterday...An estimated 400 of the unusual issue have been
sold in the 1,000 stamped in the state prison plant for ALL counties to
use the last few weeks of the old tag year, Carr said. They are only
in the passenger car category."
1958: No legend, "96" prefix, #96-A0-97.
TAXIBegan 1925. (Verify 1925, 1927-28, 1931, 1935-36, 1941,
1971, 1974, 1977-78, 1982)
LEGENDS: Vertical "TENN" center, "TAXI 26 REAR" bottom 1926,
vertical "TAXI" left 1927, 1930,
"TENN-29-TAXI" bottom 1929,
no legend, "T" prefix 1932-36 (reported 1931-36),
"TAXI" over letter left 1937,
vertical "TAXI" left 1938,
vertical "TAXI" left if "D" class, or vertical "TAXI" after county code 1939,
vertical "TAXI" after county code 1940, 1942-56,
"TAXI" top some 1957,
"TAXI-CAB" top some 1957, 1958-70,
no legend, "ZG" prefix 1972-73, 1976,
"TAXI" bottom 1979-83,
"EXP TENN 3-86" top, "TAXI" bottom 1985.
COLORS: Dark Blue/Yellow 1925, Red/Yellow 1926, White/Dark Brown 1927,
Black/Gold 1929, White/Green 1930, 1933, "Blue and Yellow" 1931,
Green/Cream 1932, Dark Brown/Light Tan 1934, "Gray and Black" 1936,
Passenger colors 1937-62, White/Black 1963, 1965, Black/White 1964,
White/Green 1966, Green/White 1967, 1969, White/Dark Green 1968,
White/Maroon 1970, White/Orange 1971, Maroon/Silver 1972,
Truck colors 1973, 1975-76, 1979-83, 1985.
ORDERED: 1927 5,000 P, 1928-29, 1931 4,000 P, 1932 3,200 P, 1934 2,300 P.
2 classes listed 1937 (C and D); 3 classes listed 1940-50 (C, D, D/3).
D/3 class listed 1943 as "used for city busses".
3 classes listed 1956. D/2 seen 1957.
Classes dropped 1958, presumably when Bus plates began.
1925 300 453 - [Montgomery 102 037 - ?]
1926 403 003 - 403 140 (138)
1927 D 4 853 - D 4 858 (6)
1928 3-977 - 4-724 (748)
1929 400-651 - 401-828 (1,178)
1930 5-186 - [Montgomery 4-210 - ?]
1931 [Montgomery T5-151 - T5-200]
1932 T4-828 - T6-643 (1,816)
1933 T2-077 - T2-884 (808) [Montgomery T1-151 - T1-200]
1934 T2-276 - [Shelby T-1 - T-250, Montgomery T-837 - T-886]
1935 T1-429 -
1936 T10-303 -
1937 C 2-181 - C 2-947, D 478 - D 1-129 (1,419)
1938 2 039, D4 769
1939 22-4, 22D-6
1940 21-141, 22 D/3-5
1942 34-30, 34 D-3, 32 D/3-52
1944 9-2
1945 31 D-7
1946 3-163
1947 27-37
1948 75-20, 87 D/3-52
1949 22-16
1950 1 D/3-767
1951 41-22
1952 33-33
1953 3 D-190, 38 D-3
1954 3-132, 3 D/3-568, 53-24
1955 3-131
1956 7 D/3-520, 21 D/3-69, 53-21, 53 D-2
1957 "TAXI" 3/D D096 - 3/D D118, 3/D D/2 015, 19/D D/3 003 - 004, 78/D D004
"TAXI-CAB" 19 0001, 49 0018, 78 0003
Unknown 71 0004
1958-61 FORMATS: 1A-001T - 9A-999T, 10A-01T - 95A-99T
1962-65 FORMATS: 1A-1T - 9A-999T, 10A-1T - 95A-99T
1966 ZG-2699* 1973 ZG-2036 1980 ZG-1378
1967 ZG-3773 1974 1981 ZG-2161
1968 ZG-1818 1975 ZG-2404 1982 [ZG-0000]
1969 ZG-2783 1976 ZG-0875 1983 ZG-1656
1970 ZG-2794 1977 1984
1971 1978 3-86 TX-0784
1972 ZG-2450 1979 ZG-2312
TENNESSEE CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION
Began 1966. Last seen 1976.
LEGENDS: "DELEGATE" top, "TENN. 66" bottom 1966-67, 1971-72, 1974,
no legend, "TCC" prefix 1973, 1975-76.
COLORS: Black/White 1966-67, 1971-76.
1966 TCC-3A 1972 TCC-99, TCC-80A
1967 TCC-3A 1973 TCC-61
1968 1974 (TCC-000)
1969 1975 TCC-61, TCC-22A
1970 1976 TCC-88, TCC-95A
1971 TCC-99, TCC-85A
TRACTOR
Began 1956. Registration figures listed 1956-58 only.
Discontinued 1959. Not listed on 1959 chart.
1956: Vertical "TENN" left, "TRACTOR 56" bottom, #23-P905.
TRAILER
Began 1931.
Repealed by Ch. 55, P 2/21/1935. Discontinued mid-1935;
replaced by Truck plates 1935-53.
Ch. 167 P 4/8/1953, E 5/1/1953, for Class "E" Trailer.
Re-began 1953. Listed as "Trailer E" 1963-70.
Issued to house and rental trailers as of 1959-64, rental
trailers as of 1966, rental and travel trailers as of 1971.
Full size 1931-35, 1971-83, small size, rectangular 1953-70
(4 1/4" x 9" 1958).
Numbers began at #TE-0001 or TE0001 1966-88. 1984 base renewed through 1988.
1971: Type 1 - Closely spaced "TRAILER" top, "TENN. 71" bottom TE-5785 - TE-9456
Type 2 - Widely spaced "TRAILER" top, "TENN. 71" bottom TF-1701 - TF-7226
Type 3 - No legend, "/TENN/ 71" top TG-1822 -
LEGENDS: Vertical "TENN" right, "TRAILER 1931" bottom on wider plate 1931-33,
vertical "TENN" left, "TRAILER 1934" top 1934,
vertical "TENN" left, "TRAILER 1935" bottom on wider plate 1935,
"TRAILER" top, "1953 TENN." bottom 1953-65,
"TRAILER" top, "TENN. 66" bottom 1966-70, 1971 Types 1-2,
no legend, "TE" to "TL" prefix 1971 Type 3, 1972-88.
COLORS: White/Red (RP) 1931, Orange/Purple 1932, "Yellow and Black" 1933,
Red/Dark Gray 1934, White/Dark Blue? 1935,
Passenger colors 1953-62, Truck colors 1963-65, 1973-84,
Red/White 1966, 1971, Black/Silver 1967,
White/Black 1968, White/Dark Green 1969,
Maroon/White 1970, Dark Green/White 1972, Dark Blue/White 1985-88.
(Verify 1931, 1933, 1935)
1931 2-807 - [Montgomery 2-913 - 2-929]
1932 3-399 -
1933 6-026 -
1934 118 - 2-323 [Montgomery 1-156 - 1-195]
1935 3-784 - 4-601 [Knox 601 - 775]
1953-62 FORMATS: 1-1 - 9-9999, 10-1 - 95-999
1963 1-38, 28-19 E, 32-2 E
1964 19-151, 1-3253E, 87-5 E
1965 1-7E - 1-5847E, 02674 E - 03450 E
1966 TF-5024* 1973 TF-7201 1980 TG-3943
1967 TF7408* 1974 TG-0211 1981 TG-8302
1968 TF-5344* 1975 TG-3439 1982 TG-9531
1969 TF8270* 1976 TG-5742 1983 TH-1265
1970 TG-0817* 1977 TH-3419 1984 TG-4116
1971 TG-1822 1978 TG-8770 1985-88 TH-2038 - TL-6170
1972 TG-3804 1979 TH-2099
TRAILER DEALER
Reported in Kingsport Times 5/9/1965. Earliest seen 1965.
Dealer colors 1965-66, 1969.
Discontinued by 1971; replaced by Dealer plates.
1965: Smaller size, "TRAILER" top, smaller "DLR" after county prefix,
"1965 TENN." bottom, #21 26A.
1966: Smaller size, "TRAILER" top, vertical "DLR" after county prefix,
"TENN. 66" bottom, #1 21A.
TRANSPORTER
Listed 1970. Earliest seen 1971. Not listed on 1985 chart.
Number prefix is county code; letter/number suffix is plate set.
LEGENDS: "TRANSPORTER" top, vertical "DLR" after county code,
suffix letter towards LR corner 1971,
"TRANSPORTER" bottom 1973, 1976, 1980, 1982.
COLORS: Dealer colors 1970-73, 1976, 1980, 1982.
1971 56 31 A 1980 [TRS-000]
1973 2-77-7 1982 TRS-108
1976 5-157-2
TRUCK (See Truck page)
Began 1920.
UNITED STATES CONGRESS
Began 1954. (Previously issued Governor's Staff plates 1938-54.)
Tennessee has had 10 U.S. Representatives in 1873-1932 and
1943-52, 9 in 1933-42, 1953-72 and 1983-2032, and 8 in 1973-82.
Tennessee has always had 2 U.S. Senators.
There is very little uniformity among plates ordered by members
of congress, because they could select custom numbers, initials,
legends, etc.
Discontinued 1985; replaced by United States Official plates.
COLORS: (Light/Dark) 1954, Red/White 1955, Yellow/Black 1956,
White/Orange 1957, 1971 Types B,D, Yellow/Black 1958,
Black/White 1959, 1963, 1965-66, 1969-70, 1971 Type A,
1972-73, 1976, 1978, White/Black 1960-61, (Dark/Light) 1965,
Dark Blue/White 1980, 1984, Blue and Black/White 1982.
(Verify 1954, 1962, 1964, 1967-68, 1974-75, 1977)
1954: Vertical "TENN" right, "54 SENATOR" bottom, #MC - 9.
1955: Vertical "TENN" left, "55" in UR corner, "U-S CONGRESS" bottom 1955, #12
1956: Vertical "TENN" right, "56 REP-DIST 2" bottom 1956, #MC-12
1957: A. "CONGRESSMAN" top, #MC 13
B. No legend, #MC 12 , MC 14, MC 23
1958: A. "U.S.CONGRESS" top, "58 TENN." bottom, #REP009, SEN001
B. No legend, passenger design, #MC-20
1959: "U.S.CONGRESS" top, #9 HOUSE, 2SENATE
1960: A. "TENN. 60" top, "CONGRESSMAN" bottom, #8 HOUSE
B. "TENN. 60" top, "U.S.SENATE" bottom, #2SENATE
1961: "61 TENN." top, "U.S.SENATE" bottom, #2SENATE
1962: "U.S.CONGRESS" top, #HOUSE-8, 1SENATE
1963: A. "U.S.REP." top, #HOUSE-5 and HOUSE-9
B. "U.S.SENATE" top, #2SENATE
1965: "U.S.SENATE" top, "TENN. 65" bottom, #2SENATE
1969: "U.S.REP." top, #HOUSE-2
1971: A. "U.S.REP." top, "TENN. 71" bottom, #RB-2
B. "/TENN/ 71" top, "U.S./CONGRESS" screened left, #3A
C. "U.S.SENATE" top, "TENN. 71" bottom, "A" towards LR
corner, #1SENATE
D. "
/TENN/ 71" top, "U.S./SENATE" screened left, #1A
1972: A. "U.S./CONGRESS" screened left, #1
B. "U.S./SENATE" screened left, #1
1973: "U.S./CONGRESS" screened left, #4A
1974: "U S/CONGRESS" screened left, #7
1976: "U.S./CONGRESS" screened left, #-2A
1978: "U.S./CONGRESS" screened left, #4
1979: "U.S./CONGRESS" screened left, #3B,
"U.S./SENATE" screened left, #2B
1980: "U.S./CONGRESS" screened left, #1B
1982: "U.S./CONGRESS" screened left in black, #7A
1984: "U.S./SENATE" screened left, #2
UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT OWNED
Listed 1956. Earliest seen 1959. Last seen 1964 chart.
Issued to federal-owned vehicles 1956-59.
Probably discontinued 1966; replaced by Government Service.
1956: Black/White.
1959: Black/White, "GOVT.SERVICE" top, "F" suffix, #3A-004F.
UNITED STATES JUDGE
Began 1966. Earliest seen 1967.
Discontinued 1985; replaced by United States Official plates.
LEGENDS: "FEDERAL JUDGE" top 1967, 1970,
no legend, "U S J" prefix 1973,
"USJ" prefix 1975, 1977, 1979, 1982,
"U.S.J." prefix 1980.
COLORS: Black/White 1967, 1970, 1973, 1975, 1979, 1982,
Dark Blue/White 1980.
1967 USJ-3 1975 USJ-9 1980 U.S.J.-1
1970 USJ-4 1977 USJ - 4 1982 USJ-4
1973 U S J-4 1979 USJ-1
UNITED STATES OFFICIAL
Ch. 966 P 5/24/1984. Began 1985.
Previously issued U.S. Congress and U.S. Judge plates.
"SPECIAL" bottom, "SF" prefix.
UNIVERSITY OF TENNESSEE
Knoxville News-Sentinel, 6/24/1951:
"Cars owned by U-T will soon get license plates with the prefix
"U-T," instead of the county prefix. The new tags will be the
same orange and white color as other Tennessee plates."
All are undated. Earliest seen with 1951-55 dies.
A. (1951) (White/Orange), "TENN." bottom center, thin dies,
#UT-1034.
B. (1954?)(Light/Dark), vertical "STATE" left, vertical "TENN"
right, "DRIVE-SAFELY" bottom, thin dies, #UT-293.
C. (1956?) White/Dark Green, vertical "TENN" right,
"DRIVE-SAFELY" bottom, square dies, #UT-152 - UT-157.
D. (1958?) White/Light Blue, "TENN" inside full map top, #UT-570.
VEHICLE PREPARATION SERVICE
Ch. 534 P 2/16/1978. Began 1978.
Not listed on 1985 chart.
LEGENDS: "VEH. PREP. SER." screened bottom 1980, similar legend 1982,
"VEH PREP SER" embossed bottom 1979.
COLORS: Dark Blue/White 1978, Dealer colors 1979-80, 1982.
1978 VPS-033 1981
1979 VPS-294 1982 [VPS-000]
1980 VPS-248
VOLUNTEER FIREMAN
Ch. 352 P 3/21/1963, E immediately. Earliest seen 1965.
Issued to private vehicles owned by firefighters.
Discontinued 1985; replaced by Emergency plates.
LEGENDS: "VOL.FIREMAN" top 1965-70,
no legend, "/TENN/ 71" top 1971,
no legend 1972-76,
"VOL.FIREMAN" bottom 1977-78, 1980-84,
"VOL FIREMAN" bottom 1979.
COLORS: Black/Red 1965, Black/Light Blue 1966, Yellow/Light Blue 1967-68,
Light Blue/Yellow 1969, Blue/Yellow 1970-71, Dark Blue/Yellow 1972,
Yellow/Green 1973, Dark Blue/White 1974-75, 1977, 1980,
Red/White 1976, 1983, Black/White 1978, 1981, Green/White 1979, 1982, 1984.
(Verify 1963-64)
1963? 1971 VF-1507 1979 VF-0134
1964 1972 VF-1696 1980 VF-7988
1965 46-1F, 88-10F 1973 VF-3145 1981 VF-7455
1966 ZH-0858* 1974 VF-3421 1982 VF-8367
1967 ZH-0980 1975 VF-4065 1983 VF-5389
1968 ZH-1194* 1976 VF-5993 1984 VF-5138
1969 ZH-0750 1977 VF-4867
1970 ZH-0057 1978 VF-6857
WELL DRILLER
Ch. 336 P 3/10/1960. Began 1961.
LEGENDS: "WELL-DRILLER" top 1961,
"WELL DRILLER" top 1962-67, 1969,
no legend, "WD" prefix 1976-80, 1982,
"COMMERCIAL" bottom, "WD" prefix 1985.
COLORS: Truck colors 1961-67, 1969-72, 1976-80, 1982, 1985.
1961 FORMATS: 1WD-001 - 9WD-999, 10WD-01 - 95WD-99
1962-65 FORMATS: 1WD-1 - 9WD-99, 10WD-1 - 95WD-99
1966 WD-0365 1971 [WD-0000] 1978 WD-0373
1967 WD-0387* 1976 WD-0593 1979 WD-0527
1969 WD-0530 1977 WD-0098
PERMITS:
DEPARTMENT OF FINANCE AND TAXATION INSPECTOR
Undated, map shape, all screened except border, "INSPECTOR" top,
"DEPT. OF FINANCE AND TAXATION/STATE OF TENNESSEE" bottom, no
serial.
MOTOR CARRIER INSPECTOR
Undated, map shape, "MOTOR CARRIER" top, vertical "TENN" left,
"INSPECTOR" center, "PUB. SER. COMM." bottom, no serial.
Railroad and Public Utilities Commission became the Public
Service Commission 1955.
OUTDOOR ADVERTISING
Began 1939 with small brass tag issued for 50 cent fee. 997 signs
registered as of 9/1/1939, when enforcement and removal of unlicensed
billboards began. Earliest seen 1941 in Knoxville News-Sentinel
photo 3/11/1942. Earliest seen Exp. 6/30/1954.
Rectangular with embossed map and legends 1941, map shape, flat 1954-55.
1941: "AUTHORIZED OUTDOOR/ADVERTISING SIGN/STATE OF TENNESSEE" top,
"1941 - No. 4696" bottom, White?/Black?
1954: "AUTHORIZED OUTDOOR/ADVERTISING SIGNS/STATE OF TENNESSEE"
top, "EXPIRE JUNE 30, 1954/NO. 2188" bottom, Yellow/Purple.
1955: Same, but "SIGN", not "SIGNS", White/Black.
SIGNS
Ch. 655 P 3/30/1972. First issued 6/26/1972, mandatory by 9/1/1972
for 1973 year. Began 1973. Issued for $5 annual fee to billboards
on all Interstate and primary roads. About 13,000 sold as of 11/1/1972,
but 17,000 signs still without permits. Number prefix is probably county code.
A. 1973 White/Red, "SIGNS" top, "TENN. 73" bottom, #15-0016, 33-2885
B. 1974?
C. 1975 Black/Yellow, "75 /TENN/" top, "SIGNS" bottom, #05-0272, 62-0012, 71-0193, 90-0003
D. Undated, White/Blue, "/TENN/" top, "SIGNS" bottom, #01-0314, 07-0004, 11-0084,
13-0209, 33-1835, 47-1018, 57-0511, 71-0257, 73-0246, 84-0034
TELEVISION NEWSREELOnly seen 1956. "TELEVISION" top, large "NEWSREEL" center,
"56 TENN." bottom, no serial 1956.
UNKNOWN TYPE "MT"Undated, Black/White, 3" x 14", 2 top slots, "TENN-M-T-1246".
Motor Transport? Length matches 1925-26, 1928-35 plates.
