• West Virginia is one of 19 states that require only a rear tag.wv license plate image by timur1970 from Fotolia.com
  
  Vehicles in the United States and Canada must display a license plate proving the vehicle's registration with a state or province. Laws vary within each jurisdiction; some jurisdictions require only a rear plate, while others require both front and back tags. The laws can also vary according to type of vehicle. One state, Nevada, makes an exception for automobiles that do not have the means to display a front tag.
  
  

United States

• Of the 50 U.S. states, 19 require only a rear plate: Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee and West Virginia.
  
  

Native American Tribes

• More than three dozen federally recognized North American Native American tribes offer legally accepted licenses. Tribes generally follow the requirements of the state in which they are based, with the exception of those based in Florida. Oklahoma has the most tribes offering tags, and all of them follow Oklahoma law and require only a rear plate. These tribes are Absentee Shawnee, Apache, Caddo, Delaware, Iowa, Cherokee, Cheyenne-Arapahoe, Choctaw, Chickasaw, Comanche, Eastern Shawnee, Miami, Modoc, Potawatomi, Ponca, Osage, Seneca-Cayuga, Quapaw, Seminole, Otoe, Ottawa, Peoria, Wichita Tawakonie, Kickapoo, Kiowa, Sac and Fox and Pakawani. The Michigan-based Ojibwa tribe also offers a solitary plate. Florida, which requires two plates for most vehicles, allows the Seminole and Miccosukee tribes to use a single tribal plate.
  
  

Canada

• Canada's 13 provinces and territories all require license plates on all vehicles. Of those, only five require a front plate: Yukon, The Northwest Territories, Nunavit Territory, Alberta, Quebec, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland and Labrador do not require a front plate. All Canadian native tribes require two plates.
  
  

Vehicle Exceptions

• Nevada makes an exception for automobiles not designed for a front plate display. Nevada law states that a front plate is optional if "the vehicle was not designed for a front plate and the manufacturer did not provide an add-on bracket or other means of displaying the front plate."
  
  Massachusetts changed to a two-plate system in 1988. Tags issued before then are still legal as a single, rear display. If an individual receives new plates, he must affix both a front and rear plate. (reference 5)