The U.S. state of Tennessee first required its residents to register their motor vehicles and display license plates in 1915.
Contents
Passenger baseplates 1915 to present
In 1956, the U.S. states and Canadian provinces came to an agreement with the Automobile Manufacturers Association that fixed the size for license plates for vehicles, except those for motorcycles, at six inches in height by twelve inches in width, with standardized mounting holes. The 1956 (dated 1957) issue was the state's first license plate that complied with these standards.
County coding
From 1939 through 1965 and from 1971 through 1988, Tennessee license plates began with a one- or two-digit county code. The order of the codes was based on the respective populations of each county.
The codes remained constant from 1939 through 1965, then were re-allocated according to population shifts in 1971, 1976 and 1983.