Vehicle registration plates of Connecticut

Connecticut

Current series
Slogan	Constitution State
Size	12 in × 6 in 30 cm × 15 cm
Material	Aluminum
Serial format	AB·12345
Introduced	January 1, 2000 (2000-01-01)
Availability
Issued by	Connecticut Department of Motor Vehicles
History
First issued	September 1, 1905 (1905-09-01) (pre-state plates from 1903 through August 31, 1905)
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The U.S. state of Connecticut first required its residents to register their motor vehicles in 1903. Registrants provided their own license plates for display until 1905, when the state began to issue plates.^[1] Since then, Connecticut has used a variety of license plate designs, and has issued different designs for passenger, non-passenger, and, more recently, optional plate types that often require an additional fee. As of 2024^[update], plates are issued by the Connecticut Department of Motor Vehicles.

For most classes of vehicles, plates are issued in pairs, for the front and rear of the vehicle respectively, though single rear plates were issued between 1980 and 1987. Plates were validated with metal date tabs from 1937 through 1963, then with plate stickers until 2006, and finally with windshield stickers until 2010. Plate stickers continue to be used on plates for vehicles that do not have a windshield, or are part of fleets that frequently rotate plates among vehicles. All issues (including re-issues) since 2000 are currently valid.

Until 2013 Connecticut, as a rule, skipped the number 0 as the leading digit in its plates, with the exception of dealer plates. Between July 2013 and August 2015, temporary 1ABCD2 and 1AB-CD2 serial formats were used, both of which allowed 0 to be used as the leading digit. In August 2015, a permanent AB-12345 serial format was introduced, and the number 0 could be used as the first of the five digits in the serial.