# North Dakota license plate: Blackout

> The North Dakota blackout license plate: format 999 LLL, for example 170 XLG, documented since 2025, car, truck, and motorcycle.

Page: https://vehiclesdb.com/license-plates/united-states--north-dakota/blackout · Markdown version of the HTML page, which is canonical. Site map: https://vehiclesdb.com/llms.txt · Terms of use: https://vehiclesdb.com/legal/terms

Part of [North Dakota license plates](https://vehiclesdb.com/license-plates/united-states--north-dakota) (6 registration series).

![North Dakota (United States) license plate, Blackout (documented since 2025)](https://vehiclesdb.com/plates/us-nd/us-nd-blackout/north-dakota-license-plate-blackout.svg)

| Fact | Value |
|---|---|
| Format | `999 LLL` (L is any letter, 9 any digit) |
| Years | ~2025 → today (documented from 2025; the format is likely older) |
| Class | specialty |
| Issued for | car, truck, motorcycle |
| Colours | background #000000; characters #FFFFFF |
| Checking a registration | The format above follows the issuing rules: a registration that fits it is one this series could have issued. |
| Series id | `us-nd-blackout` (https://vehiclesdb.com/license-plates/united-states--north-dakota/blackout) |

Sources:

- [NDCC § 39-04-10.18: the $25 per-period fee; (2) 'a solid black background' and 'white numbers and letters'; (3) the passenger / <=20,000 lb truck / motorcycle eligibility limit](https://ndlegis.gov/cencode/t39c04.pdf)
- [NDDOT: 'solid black background with crisp white lettering'; available for 'passenger cars, light trucks, and motorcycles'; 'Like other specialty plates, it comes with an additional fee'; the plate 'maintains all required plate elements'](https://www.dot.nd.gov/motor-vehicle/license-plates/blackout-plate)

## About this plate

BLACKOUT PLATES. Two things make this series worth its own entry rather than a colour sub-entry on the standard series. Recorded rather than guessed. North Dakota and Iowa both run statutory blackout plates (Iowa Code § 321.34(11C)), a small Midwestern convergence worth noting for the encyclopedia.

## About the format

ARRANGEMENT INHERITED, NOT SEPARATELY SOURCED. NDDOT says the blackout plate 'maintains all required plate elements such as registration decals and identification numbers', which implies but does not state that it carries the standard 123 ABC arrangement. Flagged as a gap.

## Who can have one

§ 39-04-10.18(3): the director may issue blackout plates ONLY to the owner of a passenger motor vehicle, a truck whose registered gross weight does not exceed 20,000 pounds [9071.85 kg], or a motorcycle

## Fee

$25.00 per registration period in addition to all other registration fees (§ 39-04-10.18(1))

## Other specialty plates here

- [Specialty index](https://vehiclesdb.com/license-plates/united-states--north-dakota/specialty-index) (documented since 2025)

## Use it

- Plate image (SVG): https://vehiclesdb.com/plates/us-nd/us-nd-blackout.svg
- Make it with your own text: https://vehiclesdb.com/license-plate-generator/north-dakota?series=us-nd-blackout
- API: `GET https://vehiclesdb.com/api/v1/plates/us-nd` returns this series as the entry with `"id": "us-nd-blackout"` (https://vehiclesdb.com/api)

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