Hi and welcome to my big table of information that has a lot of information in one place and isn't particularly readable.
I will be providing additional information for each column/category.
# Plates Issued: For states that only require a single plate to be displayed on the rear of the vehicles, "single" is used followed by the year that this change was made (as it seems the assumption is that all states required plates to be displayed on the front and back before that point). Thus, "pair" is used for all states that still require front and back plates to be displayed.
Issuing Body: Who issues the plates. If it's a smaller department or division or office under a larger body, both are stated. Acronyms are provided at my convenience.
Standard Plate Stays With: This section deals with what each state requests be done with the license plate on a vehicle when the vehicle is sold. Regardless of policy, most states consider plates to be the property of the state, but some are more lenient than others. Because this information on these policies isn't always clear, I cannot guarantee the information here is 100% accurate or not outdated. As a note, "sold" here does not include vehicles that are being junked.
"Owner" means that the plates do not stay with the vehicle if the vehicle is sold, but should instead be removed.
"Vehicle" means that the plates should stay with the vehicle when it is sold.
"Transfer" means that a license plate can be transferred to another car registered to the same owner of the sold car. You may be required to do this in a certain number of days.
"Surrender" means that you must surrender the plates to the issuing body. You may or may not get a partial refund for your registration. I tried to only include this one for states where this is a required option (as in you are not supposed to keep your plate unless you transfer it where available).
"Destroy" means that you should destroy the plate if it is no longer in use, typically as an alternative to transferring the plate to a new car or surrendering it to the issuing body.
Current Material: Somewhat self-explanatory. What base material the currently issued base plates are made of.
Rental Cars: Traits held by rental car plates. These traits are not necessarily exclusive to rental cars and thus cannot necessarily be absolutely used to determine if a car is a rental car or not. This usually depends on context. Many states avoid making it obvious if a car is a rental as tourists may be targeted for theft/etc.
| State | # Plates Issued | Issuing Body | Standard Plate Stays With | Current Material | Replacement Cycle | Rental Cars |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | single (1963) | ADOR (Department of Revenue) | Owner (Transfer) | Aluminum | 5 years | fleet plate |
| Alaska | single (2022) | DMV (Division of Motor Vehicles) | Vehicle | Aluminum | None | none |
| Arizona | single (1989) | MVD (Motor Vehicle Department) (under ADOT (Department of Transportation)) | Owner (Transfer/Surrender/Destroy) | Aluminum | None | perm sticker |
| Arkansas | single (1944) | OMV (Office of Motor Vehicles) (under DFA (Department of Finance and Administration)) | Owner (Transfer/Surrender) | Aluminum | None | none |
| California | pair | DMV (Department of Motor Vehicles) | Vehicle | Aluminum | None | fleet sticker |
| Colorado | pair | DMV (Division of Motor Vehicles) (under CDOR (Department of Revenue)) | Owner (Transfer) | Aluminum | None | fleet plate |
| Connecticut | pair | DMV (Department of Motor Vehicles) | Owner (Transfer) | Aluminum | None | none |
| Delaware | single (1945) | DelDOT (Department of Transportation) | Owner (Transfer/Surrender) | Aluminum | None | none |
| Florida | single (1922) | DHSMV (Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles) | Owner (Transfer/Surrender) | Aluminum | 10 years | perm sticker |
| Georgia | single (1942) | MVD (Motor Vehicle Department) (under GDOR (Department of Revenue)) | Owner (Transfer) | Aluminum | None | fleet sticker |
| Hawai‘i | pair | Issued by Local County Government | Vehicle | Aluminum | None | none |
| Idaho | pair | DMV (Division of Motor Vehicles) (under ITD (Idaho Transportation Department)) | Owner (Transfer) | Aluminum | None | serial (FL00000) |
| Illinois | pair | ILSOS (Secretary of State) | Owner (Transfer) | Aluminum | 10 years | fleet plate |
| Indiana | single (1956) | BMV (Bureau of Motor Vehicles) | Owner (Transfer) | Aluminum | 7 years | fleet plate (FL000aaa) |
| Iowa | pair | MVD (Motor Vehicle Division) (under IowaDOT (Department of Transportation)) | Owner (Transfer) | Aluminum | 10 years | none |
| Kansas | single (1956) | DOV (Division of Vehicles) (under KDOR (Department of Revenue)) | Owner (Transfer) | Aluminum | None | serial (R prefix) |
| Kentucky | single (1944) | DMVL (Division of Motor Vehicle Licensing) (under KYTC (Kentucky Transportation Cabinet)) | Owner (Transfer) | Aluminum | None | none |
| Louisiana | single (1952) | OMV (Office of Motor Vehicles) (under LADPS (Public Safety Services) division of the DPS&C (Louisiana Department of Public Safety and Corrections)) | Owner (Surrender/Destroy) | Aluminum | None | commercial plate |
| Maine | pair | BMV (Bureau of Motor Vehicles) (under SOS (Department of the Secretary of State)) | Owner (Transfer/Surrender) | Aluminum | None | none |
| Maryland | pair | MVA (Motor Vehicle Administration) (under MDOT (Maryland Department of Transportation) | Owner (Transfer/Surrender) | Aluminum | None | none |
| Massachusetts | pair (1993) | RMV (Registry of Motor Vehicles) (under MassDOT (Massachusetts Department of Transportation)) | Owner (Transfer) | Aluminum | None | none |
| Michigan | single (1981) | SOS (Secretary of State/Department of State) | Owner (Transfer/Surrender) | Aluminum | 10 years | non-exp fleet plate |
| Minnesota | pair | DVS (Driver and Vehicle Services) (under DPC (Department of Public Safety)) | Vehicle | Aluminum | 7 years | none |
| Mississippi | single (1925) | MVL (Motor Vehicle Licensing Bureau) (under DOR (Department of Revenue)) | Owner (Surrender) | Aluminum | 5 years | none |
| Missouri | pair | DOR (Department of Revenue) | Owner (Transfer) | Aluminum | None | LR plate (Lease-Rental) |
| Montana | pair | MVD (Motor Vehicle Division) (under DOJ (Department of Justice)) | Owner (Transfer) | Aluminum | 5 years | none |
| Nebraska | pair (single beginning in 2029) | DMV (Department of Motor Vehicles) | Owner (Transfer) | Aluminum | None | none |
| Nevada | pair | DMV (Department of Motor Vehicles) | Owner (Transfer/Surrender) | Aluminum | None | perm sticker |
| New Hampshire | pair | DMV (Division of Motor Vehicles) (under DOS (Department of Safety)) | Owner (Transfer) | Aluminum | None | none |
| New Jersey | pair | MVC (Motor Vehicle Commission) | Owner (Transfer/Surrender) | Aluminum | None | none |
| New Mexico | single (1961) | MVD (Motor Vehicle Division) (under Taxation and Revenue Department) | Owner (Transfer/Surrender) | Aluminum | None | none |
| New York | pair | DMV (Department of Motor Vehicles) | Owner (Transfer/Surrender) | Aluminum | None | none |
| North Carolina | single (1956) | DMV (Division of Motor Vehicles) (under NCDOT (Department of Transportation)) | Owner (Transfer/Surrender) | Aluminum | 7 years | none |
| North Dakota | pair | MVD (Motor Vehicle Division) (under NDDOT (North Dakota Department of Transportation)) | Owner (Transfer) | Aluminum | None | none |
| Ohio | single (2020) | BMV (Bureau of Motor Vehicles) (under ODPS (Ohio Department of Public Safety)) | Owner (Transfer) | Aluminum | None | fleet sticker |
| Oklahoma | single (1944) | Service Oklahoma | Owner (Transfer) | Aluminum | None | none |
| Oregon | pair | DMV (Oregon Driver & Motor Vehicle Services) (under ODOT (Oregon Department of Transportation)) | Owner Choice (Owner may keep, transfer, or leave on vehicle.) | Aluminum | None | none |
| Pennsylvania | single (1952) | DVS (Driver and Vehicle Services) (under PennDOT (Pennsylvania Department of Transportation)) | Owner (Transfer/Surrender) | Aluminum | 20+ years | none |
| Rhode Island | pair | DMV (Division of Motor Vehicles) (under RIDOR (Rhode Island Department of Revenue)) | Owner (Transfer/Surrender) | Aluminum | None | none |
| South Carolina | single (1975) | DMV (Department of Motor Vehicles) | Owner (Transfer/Surrender (Unexpired)) | Aluminum | 10 years | none |
| South Dakota | pair | MVD (Motor Vehicle Division) (under DOR (Department of Revenue)) | Owner (Transfer) | Aluminum | None | none |
| Tennessee | single (1977) | VSD (Vehicle Services Division) (under TDOR (Tennessee Department of Revenue)) | Owner (Transfer) | Aluminum | 8 years* *Tennessee redesigns their license plates every 8 years and replaces all plates currently on the road. |
none |
| Texas | pair | TxDMV (Texas Department of Motor Vehicles) | Owner (Transfer) | Aluminum | None | none |
| Utah | single (2025) | DMV (Division of Motor Vehicles) (under USTC (Utah State Tax Commission)) | Owner (Transfer) | Aluminum | None | non-exp sticker |
| Vermont | pair | DMV (Department of Motor Vehicles) (under VTrans (Vermont Agency of Transporation)) | Owner (Transfer) | Aluminum | None | none |
| Virginia | pair | DMV (Department of Motor Vehicles) | Owner (Transfer/Surrender) | Aluminum | None | orange year sticker |
| Washington | pair | DOL (Washington State Department of Licensing) | Owner (Transfer) | Aluminum | None | perm sticker |
| West Virginia | single (1944) | DMV (Division of Motor Vehicles) (under WVDOT (West Virginia Department of Transportation)) | Owner (Transfer) | Aluminum | None | none |
| Wisconsin | pair | DMV (Division of Motor Vehicles) (under WisDOT (Wisconsin Department of Transportation)) | Owner (Transfer) | Aluminum | None | fleet plate |
| Wyoming | pair | WYDOT (Wyoming Department of Transportation) | Owner (Transfer) | Aluminum | None | none |
| Washington, D.C. | pair | DC DMV (District of Columbia Department of Motor Vehicles) | Owner (Transfer/Surrender/Destroy) | Aluminum | None | none |