All about Kansas license plates

Primer

Cars/Light Trucks

The difference between cars and light trucks are merely semantics and a "12M Regular" sticker — vehicle registration fees for both classes are equivallent.  Legally, a vehicle that is used solely for carrying passangers is considered a car — so Vans and SUV's used for carrying people usually are registered as cars, and those used in buisness are classified as light trucks.

Automobiles and Trucks with a gross weight of less than 12,000 pounds are registered according to the staggered schedule below.

Code Last Name Renewal Expiration
A A 15 January 28 Feburary
B B 15 Feburary 31 March
C C, D 15 March 30 April
E E, F, G 15 April 31 May
H H, I 15 May 30 June
J J, K, L 15 June 31 July
M M, N, O 15 July 31 August
R P, Q, R 15 August 30 September
S S 15 September 31 October
V T, V, W 15 October 31 November
U U, X, Y, Z 15 November 31 December

Trucks

Trucks with a gross weight of over 12,000 pounds register at the start of the year.  Registration on these vehicles, in essence, is done on a calander year basis.

The weight classifications are: 16M, 20M, 24M, 26M, 30M, 36M, 42M, 48M, 54M, 60M, 66M, 74M, 80M, and 85M.

There are also three different truck Classifications
Regular:  (White Decal) Like the name sugguests, this is the standard truck issue.
Local:  (Yellow Decal) For use within 3 miles of a city.
Farm:  (Red Decal) For vehicles used for agricultural use.
6000 Mile: (Yellow Decal) A variant of the "local" classification, for use on vehicles that will not be driven more than 6,000 miles a year.

Trailers

Trailers are registered on the same calendar year basis, except that a trailer over 12000 pounds may be registered for five (5) years in advance.  Trailers carry red stickers with three classifications:  8M (2000-8000), 12M (8000-12000), and 12+M (Over 12000)