Hawaii was a sovereign constitutional monarchy until this government was overthrown in January 1893, but many of its laws were already modeled after those of the United States, including (for example) registering dogs and issuing metal tags for them since the 1870s. The Republic of Hawaii which replaced the previous government was annexed as a Territory by the United States in August 1898, and the first automobiles to be shipped to the Hawaiian Islands arrived in 1899. Each of Hawaii's four counties registered vehicles completely autonomously starting with the City & County of Honolulu in 1906, and license plates were homemade / owner-provided. The first government-issued plates were used by both Honolulu and the County of Hawaii in 1915. Maui County first issued plates in 1919, while Kauai County retained homemade plates through 1921; this was the last jurisdiction in the United States to do so. All license plates were standardized throughout the Territory of Hawaii for the first time in 1922. Despite its status as a territory, Hawaii's vehicle registration laws and license plates were the same as the rest of the United States. Hawaii was admitted to the Union as the 50th state in August 1959.
Passenger baseplates
1922 to 1952
No slogans were used on passenger plates during the period covered by this subsection.
Image
Dates issued
Design
Serial format
Serials issued
Notes
1922
Embossed white on dark green; vertical "HAWAII" and "1922" at right
Embossed green on white with border line; "HAWAII 1923" at bottom
12345
Issued in blocks by county
1924
Embossed red on white with border line; "HAWAII 1924" at top
12345
Issued in blocks by county
1925
Embossed black on orange with border line; "HAWAII 1925" at bottom
12345
Issued in blocks by county
1926
Embossed white on green with border line; vertical "HAWAII" and "1926" at left
12345
Issued in blocks by county
Serials started from 50000 in Honolulu County; starting serials in other counties same as 1922–25. This continued through 1939.[1]
1927
Embossed black on silver with border line; "HAWAII 1927" centered at bottom
12-345
Issued in blocks by county
1928
Embossed orange on black with border line; "HAWAII 1928" centered at bottom
12-345
Issued in blocks by county
1929
Embossed golden yellow on blue with border line; "HAWAII 1929" centered at top
12-345
Issued in blocks by county
1930
Embossed white on red with border line; "HAWAII 1930" centered at bottom
12-345
Issued in blocks by county
1931
Embossed white on black with border line; "HAWAII 1931" centered at top
12-345
Issued in blocks by county
1932
Embossed yellow on green with border line; "HAWAII 1932" centered at bottom
12-345
Issued in blocks by county
1933
Embossed red on orange; "HAWAII 1933" centered at top
12-345
Issued in blocks by county
1934
Embossed white on blue; "HAWAII 1934" centered at bottom
12-345
Issued in blocks by county
1935
Embossed black on golden yellow; "HAWAII 1935" centered at top
12-345
Issued in blocks by county
1936
Embossed white on green; "HAWAII 1936" centered at bottom
12-345
Issued in blocks by county
1937
Embossed blue on white; "HAWAII 1937" centered at top
12-345
Issued in blocks by county
1938
Embossed yellow on black; "HAWAII 1938" centered at bottom
12-345
Issued in blocks by county
1939
Embossed white on blue; "HAWAII 1939" centered at top
12-345
Issued in blocks by county
1940
Embossed black on yellow; "HAWAII 1940" at bottom, offset to right
A/A1234
County-coded (see right)
Honolulu County used O as the second letter and numbers 5000–9999; Hawaii County used H and numbers 2000–2999; Maui County used M and numbers 3000–3999; and Kauai County used K and numbers 4000–4999. The number allocations were used through 1950.[1]
1941
Embossed red on gray; "HAWAII 1941" centered at top
A1234
County-coded
1942–45
Embossed white on black; "HAWAII 1942" centered at bottom
A1234
County-coded
Revalidated for 1943, 1944 and 1945 with windshield stickers, due to metal conservation for World War II.
1946
Embossed black on white; "HAWAII 1946" centered at top
A1234
County-coded
1947
Embossed white on green; "HAWAII 1947" centered at bottom
A1234
County-coded
1948
Embossed black on golden yellow; "HAWAII 1948" centered at top
A1234
County-coded
1949
Embossed golden yellow on black; "HAWAII 1949" centered at bottom
A1234
County-coded
1950
As 1948 base, but with "HAWAII 1950" at top
1A1234 A1234
County-coded
1A1234 serial format used in Honolulu County, with the prefix progressing 1A-5A, 1B-5B, etc.[1]
1951
As 1949 base, but with "HAWAII 51" at bottom
1A-123 A 123 A-1234
County-coded
Honolulu County used letters A, B, C, E, F, N, T, W and X; Hawaii County used H and Z; Maui County used M and L; and Kauai County used K. This continued through 1980.[1]
1952
As 1948 base, but with "HAWAII 52" at top
1A-123 A-123 A-1234
County-coded
1953 to present
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 6 inches (15 cm) in height by 12 inches (30 cm) in width, with standardized mounting holes.[2] The first Hawaii license plate that complied with these standards was a modification of the 1953 plate, introduced in 1956.[3]
Since 1969, all Hawaii passenger plates have featured a round mounting hole at the top right and horizontal slots in the other three corners. This irregularity is to accommodate the yearly registration sticker in the upper right corner of the rear plate.
Image
Dates issued
Design
Slogan
Serial format
Serials issued
Notes
1953–56
Embossed golden yellow on black; "HAWAII" at bottom, offset to left
none
1A-123 A-123 A-1234 1A-1234
County-coded
Validated annually with one metal tab attached to the lower right corner of the front license plate: 1953 - plain aluminum, 1954 - black on yellow, 1955 - red on white, and 1956 - black on deep yellow.
1957–60
Embossed white on red with border line; "HAWAII" centered at bottom
"ALOHA" centered at top
1A-123 A-123 A-1234 1A-1234
County-coded
Validated annually with windshield stickers: 1957 - red on white, 1958 - gold on green, 1959 - black on yellow, 1960 - white on blue.
1961–68
Embossed white on green with border line; "HAWAII" centered at top
"ALOHA STATE" centered at bottom
1A-1234 A-1234 K-12345
County-coded
Validated annually with windshield stickers: 1961- white on green, 1962 - red on yellow with Hawaii Visitors Bureau Hawaiian warrior logo, 1963 - yellow on red with Hawaii Visitors Bureau Hawaiian warrior logo, 1964 - black on gold, 1965 - white on blue, 1966 - white on green, 1967 - yellow on red, 1968 - black on gold.
1969–75
Embossed black on reflective yellow with border line; "HAWAII" centered at top; "69" etched at top right
"ALOHA STATE" centered at bottom
1A-1234 A-1234 K-12345
County-coded
1976–80
Embossed blue on reflective white with border line; "HAWAII" centered at top; pink graphics of King Kamehameha I and Diamond Head screened in background; red hibiscus screened at top left and "76" at top right
"ALOHA STATE" centered at bottom
1A-1234 A-12345
County-coded
1981–90
Embossed brown on reflective white; orange warrior head graphic screened in center; "HAWAII" screened in brown centered at top; "81" screened at top right
"ALOHA STATE" screened in brown centered at bottom
ABC 123
County-coded (see right)
Honolulu County used A, B, C and D as the first letter; Hawaii County used H; Maui County used M; and Kauai County used K. Letters I, O and Q not used, and H, K, L and M not used in Honolulu County; these practices continue today.[1][4][5]
1991–present
Embossed black on reflective white; rainbow graphic screened in background; "HAWAII" screened in black centered at top
"ALOHA STATE" screened in black centered at bottom
ABC 123
County-coded
Honolulu County has used E, F, G, J, N, P, R, S, T, and W as the first letter; Hawaii County has used H and Z; Maui County has used M and L; and Kauai County has used K.[1][4] The design was set to run out in Honolulu County mid 2024 with the letter W however it was announced in late 2023 that the letters Y, A, B, C, and D have been added to Honolulu County. It is estimated that this will keep the Rainbow series in production for the next 15 years.[6]
Non-passenger types
1981 base
Image
Type
Serial format
Serials issued
Notes
City and County Government
City and County of Honolulu: C&C ####
City and County Of Honolulu: 3 Numbers: ###
County of Hawaii: CofH ###
County of Maui: CofM ###
County of Kauai: CofK ###
County of Kauai: 1981 Vehicles: 2 Numbers: CofK ##
City and County of Honolulu: C&C 1700-3199
County Of Hawaii: CofH 430-999
County Of Maui: CofM 100-799
County Of Kauai: CofK 130-599
County Of Kauai: 1981-1982: 2 Numbers: CofK 10-99
County and State Governments have a history of renewing their old vehicles, so some vehicles that have fairly new license plates may be an old vehicle. Also, the state/county tends to reuse numbers, so it may not be accurate, this data has been reported and estimated based on remaining renewed state/county vehicle title information.
Honolulu County used X as the first letter; Hawaii County used H (starting from HMC); Maui County used M (starting from MMC); and Kauai County used K (starting from KMC).[7]
State Government
1981-1990: State ####
Some Older Vehicles: (such as 1970, 1960, etc or some vehicles) State ###
1981-1990: State 2600-5699
Airport Division: Older Vehicles: State 2100-2599
Early 1981: State 200-299 - State 300-399 - State 400-499 - State 500-599 - State 700-799 - State 800-899 - State 900-999 - State 1000-1099 - State 1100-1199 - State 1200-1299 - State 1500-1599 - State 1600-1699 - State 1700-1799 - State 1800-1899 - State 1900-1999 - State 2000-2099 - State 2600-2699
County and State Governments have a history of renewing their old vehicles, so some vehicles that have fairly new license plates may be an old vehicle. Also, the state/county tends to reuse numbers, so it may not be accurate, this data has been reported and estimated based on remaining renewed state/county vehicle title information.
Honolulu County used T as the first letter; Hawaii County used H; Maui County used M; and Kauai County used K.
1991 base
Image
Type
Serial format
Serials issued
Notes
City and County Government
City and County of Honolulu: C&C ####
County of Hawaii: CofH ####
County of Maui: CofM ####
County of Kauai: Older Plates: CK ####
County of Kauai: Newer Plates: CofK/Or CK ####
City and County of Honolulu:
1991-1992: C&C 3000-3499/5000-5499
1993-present: C&C 4000-9444
County Of Hawaii: CofH 1000-3775
County Of Maui: CofM 1000-2728
County Of Kauai: Older Plates: CK 1000-1999
County of Kauai: Newer Plates: CofK/Or CK 2000-2528
County and State Governments have a history of renewing their old vehicles, so some vehicles that have fairly new license plates may be an old vehicle.
County and State Governments have a history of renewing their old vehicles, so some vehicles that have fairly new license plates may be an old vehicle.
