In 1912 Mississippi, New Mexico, and Puerto Rico joined the list of states and territories providing license plates to vehicle owners, and no new states entered the prestate era. There were now 28 states and 3 territories that were issuing license plates and 9 other states requiring owners to provide their own license plates.^[1][2][3][4]

In the table below, a light green background indicates that the owner of the vehicle was required to provide their own license plates. These plates are called "prestate" by most collectors. In the prestate era many states only provided the license plate number on a small disc or on paper, and the owner was required to have their license plate(s) made. These early license plates were created from kits that could be purchased at a hardware store, may have been available from automobile clubs or associations, they were forged by blacksmiths or other tradesmen, or the owner may have made their own plate with whatever materials they had on hand. Prestate plates were made from a variety of materials, but most often were made of leather, steel, or wood.

Image	State	Design	Slogan	Serial format	Serials issued	Notes
	Alabama
	Alaska					No prestate plates. State issued plates begin in1921.
	American Samoa					No prestate plates. Territory issued plates begin in1924.
	Arizona					No prestate plates. State issued plates begin in1914.
	Arkansas
	California					State issued plates begin in1914.
	Canal Zone
	Colorado					No prestate plates. State issued plates begin in1913.
	Connecticut
	Delaware
	District of Columbia
	Florida					State issued plates begin in1918.
	Georgia
	Guam					No prestate plates. Territory issued plates begin in1916.
	Hawai'i					No prestate plates. Territory issued plates begin in1922.
	Idaho					No prestate plates. State issued plates begin in1913.
	Illinois
	Indiana					Last year for prestate plates. State issued plates begin in1913.
	Iowa	Embossed white serial on brown plate; "IA 19" at right	none	123456	1 to approximately 362000
	Kansas					No prestate plates. State issued plates begin in1913.
	Kentucky
	Louisiana					No prestate plates. State issued plates begin in1915.
	Maine
	Maryland	Dark blue serial on white porcelain plate; "MD 1912" at right	none	12345	1000 to approximately 11000
	Massachusetts	Dark blue serial on white porcelain plate; vertical "MASS" and "1912" at left and right, respectively	none	12345	1 to approximately 41000
	Michigan
	Minnesota
	Mississippi					First year for state issued plates.
	Missouri
	Montana					Prestate plates start in1913. State issued plates begin in1915.
	Nebraska					State issued plates begin in1915.
	Nevada					Prestate plates start in1913. State issued plates begin in1916.
	New Hampshire
	New Jersey
	New Mexico					First year for state issued plates.
	New York
	North Carolina					Last year for prestate plates. State issued plates begin in1913.
	North Dakota
	Northern Mariana Islands					No prestate plates. Territory issued plates begin in1944.
	Ohio
	Oklahoma					No prestate plates. State issued plates begin in1915.
	Oregon
	Pennsylvania
	Puerto Rico					First year for territory issued plates.
	Rhode Island
	South Carolina					No prestate plates. State issued plates begin in1917.
	South Dakota					Last year for prestate plates. State issued plates begin in1913.
	Tennessee					State issued plates begin in1915.
	Texas					No prestate plates. State issued plates begin in1917.
	U.S. Virgin Islands					No prestate plates. Territory issued plates begin in1917.
	Utah					State issued plates begin in1915.
	Vermont
	Virginia
	Washington					State issued plates begin in1915.
	West Virginia
	Wisconsin	Riveted aluminum serial on red plate	none	12345W	1W to approximately 25000W	First reissue of all license plates. Last year of zinc plates.
	Wyoming					No prestate plates. State issued plates begin in1913.

• Antique vehicle registration
• Electronic license plate
• Motor vehicle registration
• Vehicle license

• 1912-related lists
• Vehicle registration plates of the United States in the 20th century
• 1912 in the United States
• Vehicle registration plates of the United States by year

• Articles with short description
• Short description matches Wikidata
• Use mdy dates from January 2019