Vehicle registration plates of California

The U.S. state of California first required its residents to register their motor vehicles in 1905. Registrants had to provide their own license plates for display until 1914, when the state began to supply plates.

In 1956, the U.S. states and Canadian provinces came to an agreement with the Automobile Manufacturers Association that standardized 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 1955 (dated 1956) issue was the first California license plate that complied with these standards.

License plates are currently issued by the California Department of Motor Vehicles.

Passenger baseplates

California alternated issuing single-year and multi-year plates.

Base plate colors 1913 to 1962

Some plates were revalidated for multiple years. For example, the 1947-dated plate was revalidated with metal tabs until 1950.

Image	First issued	Design	Serial format	Serials issued	Validation tabs (if multi-year)
	1913	dark blue on white	123456	unknown	single year
	1914	white on brick	123456	unknown	single year
	1915	black on yellow	123456	unknown	single year
	1916	blue on white	123456	unknown	1917 1918 1919
	1920	white on black	123-456	unknown	single year
	1921	black on yellow	123-456	unknown	single year
	1922	blue on white	123456	unknown	single year
	1923	white on black	123-456	unknown	single year
	1924	white on green	123-456	unknown	single year
	1925	black on yellow	123 456	unknown	single year
	1926	white on blue	123 456	unknown	single year
	1927	white on maroon	1-234-567	unknown	single year
	1928	yellow on blue	1-234-567	unknown	single year
	1929	orange on black	1A-23-45	unknown	single year
	1930	black on orange	1A-23-45	unknown	single year
	1931	orange on black	1A 23 45	unknown	single year
	1932	black on orange	1A 23 45	unknown	single year
	1933	orange on black	1A 23 45	unknown	single year
	1934	black on orange	1A 23 45	unknown	single year
	1935	orange on black	1A 23 45	unknown	single year
	1936	black on orange	1A 23 45	unknown	single year
	1937	orange on black	1A 23 45	unknown	single year
	1938	black on yellow	1A 23 45	unknown	single year
	1939	yellow on blue	1A 23 45	unknown	single year
	1940	black on orange	1A 23 45 12 A 345	unknown	single year
	1941	yellow on black	1A 23 45 12 A 345	unknown	1942 - 1943 - 1944 -
	1942	yellow on black	1A 23 45 12 A 345	unknown	1943 - 1944 -
	1945	white on black	1A 23 45 12 A 345	unknown	single plate - no pairs issued, 1946 -
	1947	black on yellow	1A 23 456 12 A 3 456	unknown	1948 - 1949 - 1950 -
	1951	yellow on black	1A 23 456 12 A 3 456	unknown	1952 - 1953 - 1954 - 1955 -
	1956	black on yellow	AAA 123	AAA 123 to ?	1957 - 1958 - 1959 - 1960 - 1961 - 1962 -

Baseplates 1963 to present

All base plates from 1963 to present are still valid for use, assuming the plate never left the vehicle and the vehicle maintained concurrent registration.

Modern standard issue automobile plates use a 7-digit format with a leading digit that remains constant plus a 6-digit serial starting with AAA000 and ending at ZZZ999. At that point the leading digit increases by one and the series starts over at AAA000. 6ZZZ999 was followed by 7AAA000, and should count up until the 1ABC123 series is exhausted at 9ZZZ999. At that point if the California DMV follows the precedent of reversing serial numbers at exhaustion as it has done since 1963, the next series should be in the 123ABC1 format.

Exclusions: The letters I, O, and Q are not used in the first or third alpha positions of the 7-digit alpha-numeric series.

Image	First issued	Design	Serial format	Serials issued	Notes
	1963	gold on black, non-reflective, embossed state name	ABC 123	AAA 000 to ZZZ 999	In addition to all plates in the section above these bases can be used for the year of manufacture program with appropriate year sticker. They can also be seen as regular registration with modern month/year stickers if the plates were originally registered to the vehicle.
	1969	gold on blue, non-reflective, embossed state name	123 ABC	000 AAA to 999 ZZZ	Stamping dies were narrowed around the 123 Wxx series to prepare for the production of 7-digit passenger plates.
	1980	gold on blue, non-reflective, embossed state name	1ABC123	1AAA000 to 1SZZ999	1Uxx123 and 1Vxx123 series have been issued on special plates such as Yosemite, Lake Tahoe, and "whale tail" plates. 1ZZx123 series are issued on "LIVERY" plates used for vehicles such as for-hire limousines.
	1982	blue on white with graphic state name, reflective Introduced as an optional plate in 1982.	1ABC123	2AAA000 to 2GPZ999	Awarded "Plate of the Year" for best new license plate by the Automobile License Plate Collectors Association in 1983, the first and, to date, the only time that California has been so honored and the first time that an optional-issue plate was so recognized.
	1987	blue on white with embossed red state name, reflective	1ABC123	2GQA000 to 3FZZ999
	1994	blue on white with graphic red state name, reflective	1ABC123	3GAA000 to 3XZZ999	The state name was modified twice to increase its size. (The third and largest version is shown.) 3YAA-3ZYZ series not issued. 3ZZx123 series are issued on "LIVERY" plates used for vehicles such as for-hire limousines.
	1998	blue on white with graphic red state name and "Sesquicentennial - 150 Years", reflective	1ABC123	4AAA000 to 4NOZ999
	2000	blue on white with graphic red state name, reflective	1ABC123	4NPA000 to 6TPV999	Identical in design to later plates on the 1994 base.
	2011	blue on white with graphic red state name and "dmv.ca.gov" website address at bottom, reflective	1ABC123	6TPW000 to 7MJY000 (as of June 28, 2015)

Non-passenger types

Image	Type	First issued	Serial format	Serials issued	Notes
	Disabled Person	1995	12345D/P	00001D/P to 99999D/P
	Disabled Person	Late 1990s	D/P12345	D/P00001 to D/P99999
	Disabled Person	Early 2000s	D/PA1234	D/PA0001 to D/PZ9999
	Disabled Person	2006	1234AD/P	0001AD/P to 9999ZD/P
	Disabled Person	2011	D/P123AB	D/P001AA to present
	Disabled Veteran		12345D/V
	Disabled Person—Motorcycle		1234D/P
	Distributor		D/S/T 1234 1/2/A		Full-size number is constant for each distributing entity; stacked prefix varies.
	Exempt-Local	1963-1968	E123456	E100000-E999999	Black plate with yellow numbering consisting of letter E in octagon and 6-digit number for city- and county-owned vehicles
	Exempt-State	1963-1968	E12345	E00000-E99999	Black plate with yellow numbering consisting of letter E in diamond and 5-digit number for state-owned vehicles
	Exempt-Local	1969-1986	E123456	E100000-E999999	Blue plate with yellow numbering consisting of letter E in octagon and 6-digit number for city- and county-owned vehicles
	Exempt-State	1969-1986	E12345	E00000-E99999	Blue plate with yellow numbering consisting of letter E in diamond and 5-digit number for state-owned vehicles
	Exempt-Local	1987-1997	E123456	E100000-E999999	White plate with blue numbering consisting of letter E in octagon and 6-digit number for city- and county-owned vehicles
	Exempt-State	1987-1997	E12345	E00000-E99999	White plate with blue numbering consisting of letter E in diamond and 5-digit number for state-owned vehicles
	Exempt	1998	1234567	1000001 to present	"CA EXEMPT" across top.
	Foreign Organization		123	001 to present.	"FOREIGN ORGANIZATION" printed to left of serial.
	Manufacturer		M/F/G 1 1/A M/F/G 1 1/2/A M/F/G 12 1/A M/F/G 12 1/2/A		Full-size number is constant for each manufacturing entity; stacked prefix varies.
	Motorcycle		12A1234
	Permanent Trailer		4AB1234		"California Perm Trailer" across top.
	Press Photographer		P/P 1234
	Press Photographer	2000	P/P 1234
	Special Equipment		S/E123456		Motorcycle-sized.
	Tournament of Roses[1]	1998	TOFR123	TOFR1 to present	Used on parade vehicles during the Tournament of Roses parade.
	Trailer		1AB1234		Indistinguishable from passenger plates aside from serial format.
	Truck	Mid-1970s	1A12345	1A00001 to 8Z99999	Indistinguishable from passenger plates aside from serial format. Series was exhausted in early 2011. 9A12345 plates are issued to tractor trailers.
	Truck	2011	12345A1	00001A1 to 00001R1 (as of June 2014)	Indistinguishable from passenger plates aside from serial format.

Optional types (specialty plates)

Image	Type	First issued	Serial format	Serials issued	Notes
	1984 Olympics	1984	L/A12345 U/S12345	L/A00000 to present	No longer issued but still revalidated.
	Arts Council	1994	ABC123 123ABC	Using previously unused letter blocks.	"Coastline" design by Wayne Thiebaud.
	Bill of Rights	1990	1234 US
	Children's Trust Fund		ABC123	Using previously unused letter blocks.	An embossed heart, hand, star, or plus sign appears to the left of the serial, or can be incorporated into "vanity" numbers.
	Congressional Medal of Honor 84 —Passenger	1984	12		Given to Medal of Honor recipients.
	Congressional Medal of Honor 93 —Passenger	1993	12		Given to Medal of Honor recipients.
	Firefighter—Motorcycle		00A12	00A01 to present.
	Firefighter—Passenger	1995	ABC123	Using previously unused letter blocks.	Only active or retired firefighter can apply for this type of plate. Logo of a firefighter on a blazing background.
	Gold Star Family —Passenger	2011	123ABC	Using previously unused letter blocks.	Given to family of fallen soldiers while in the line of duty.
	Lake Tahoe Version 1	1996	1ABC123	No longer issued but still revalidated.
	Lake Tahoe Version 2	2011	1ABC123	Using previously unused letter blocks.
	Legion of Valor—Passenger		123		A sticker is placed to the right of the license plate number denoting the decoration held by the recipient. Air Force Cross -Air Force Medal of Honor -Army Medal of Honor - Army Distinguished Service Cross -Navy Cross -Navy Medal of Honor -
	Olympic Training Center Version 1	1990	C/A12345 U/S12345	No longer issued but still revalidated.
	Olympic Training Center Version 2	1999	C/A12345 U/S12345	No longer issued but still revalidated.
	Olympic Training Center Version 3	2000	C/A12345 U/S12345
	Pearl Harbor Survivor —Passenger		1234		Pearl Harbor Survivor of World War II
	Protect Our Coast & Ocean Version 1	1997	1ABC123	No longer issued but still revalidated.
	Protect Our Coast & Ocean Version 2	2011	1ABC123	Using previously unused letter blocks.
	Purple Heart—Motorcycle		PH1234
	POW Ex-Prisoner of War —Motorcycle		POW1234
	POW Ex-Prisoner of War 93 —Passenger	1993	POW1234
	POW Ex-Prisoner of War 00 —Passenger	2000	POW1234
	Veteran Version 1	1994	ABC123 123ABC	No longer issued but still revalidated.
	Veteran Version 2	2012	123ABC	Using previously unused letter blocks.
	We Will Never Forget	2002	1234MA
	University of California, Los Angeles	1994	ABC123	Using previously unused letter blocks.
	Yosemite National Park	1996	1ABC123	Using previously unused letter blocks.

Year-of-manufacture plates

The use of year-of-manufacture (YOM) plates is authorized by Section 5004.1 [2] of the California Motor Vehicle Code. It is a law that allows vintage cars to be registered to use vintage license plates. Any officially manufactured California license plates which were produced prior to 1963 and plates on a currently registered vehicle or trailer of a corresponding model year. If used on the original plate, a sticker or metal tab that corresponds to the year of the vehicle is required.

In July, 2009, California extended its YOM program to include passenger vehicles from 1963-1969, and commercial vehicles (pick-ups, etc.) through 1972. Any black and gold plate from this era may be used on these vehicles, as long as they are "clear" with the DMV (i.e., not used, reported stolen, or no records found, for the last 10 years). A valid sticker must be attached to the plate corresponding to the year of the vehicle that is to be registered.

As of January, 2014, in very rare, select cases, California has extended custom license plates to exceed 7 digits, all the way up to, but not exceeding 9 characters.

A California car license plate saying ANRCHST (a vanity plate speak form of anarchist) from 2006

California Legacy License Plate program

California Legacy License Plate program offers vehicle owners the opportunity to purchase replicas of California license plates similar to those issued in the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s. Only the 1960s plate reached the required 7,500 minimum orders before January 1, 2015, and will be the only one implemented. The 1950s and 1970s plates did not achieve the required 7,500 minimum orders. The plates will be issued from late spring through summer 2015. Additional time is required for personalized plates.

References

• CA Department of Motor Vehicles License Plate Introduction
• California License Plate Data (1914-1962)
• Special Recognition Plates
• Other types of Specialty Plates
• Legacy Plates

External links

• California license plates 1969-present
• Classic Car Owners Get A Chance At Vintage California Plates (DMV page on Assembly Bill (AB) 1658)
• More Photo of California license plates