07/07/11

Ohio

PASSENGER - 1980 BLUE/WHITE BASE (TYPES I, II, and III)

Passenger:  Up through 1974, Ohio had issued yearly plates.  In 1975, the state issued a renewal sticker that was placed on the 1974 plates and then in 1976 the state began issuing multiyear designs that were either continued or fully replaced when a subsequent design was released.  Like many states, Ohio county coded the plates through (and including) the 1976 base plate, but in a most unusual way.  See the Ohio county codes page for a full explanation.  I have many Ohio plates and the pages can get enormous to download.  Therefore, beginning with the 1976 base, I have split the pages into the following bases, each being a link to my website page of that type:

Pre-1976 base (yearly issues)

1976 red/white base

1980 blue/white base (types I, II, and III)

1985 green/white base

1991 white "the heart of it all!" base

1996 gold fade "the heart of it all!" base

1997 gold fade "BIRTHPLACE OF AVIATION" base

2001 "Ohio Bicentennial" base

2004 sunburst base

2010 "Beautiful Ohio" base

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

1980 blue/white type I base: This blue/reflective white base was used to begin staggered registrations.  The embossed "OHIO" was 3/4" and had sticker boxes in the lower corners.  After January 1, red "EXP 80" stickers were issued if your registration expired after January.  If it expired in January 1980 you received a white/blue "EXP 81" sticker.  "AAA 000" plate number format, serial blocs used - "AAB"-"LZZ" and "MTF"-"MXC".

1980 blue/white type II base: Same as type I above, with with a 1" screened "OHIO" top; sticker boxes lower corners; 3/8" outline of the state used as a separator in the alpha-numeric serial; changeover to the graphic base started in the "MAA" to "MTF" series and "MXD" to "NMA" used the white/red "EXP 80" sticker OR white/blue "EXP 81" sticker; "AAA 000" plate number format.

1980 blue/white type III base: Similar to type I above, these were "leftover" embossed bases used before the green/white base was released and was only used with the "Uxx 000" block.  The embossed "OHIO" was also slightly different than the type I above.