US and Canadian license plates

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In the United States and Canada, license plates are issued by an agency of the state or provincial government (or its equivalent, for example, the District of Columbia). In the U.S., some Native American tribes also have their own plates. The US Federal Government issues plates only for its own vehicle fleet and for vehicles owned by foreign diplomats. In Canada, diplomats and consular staff are issued plates by the province their consulate or embassy is in, as was the case in the United States until the 1980s.

Generally, the appearance of plates is frequently chosen to contain symbols, colours, or slogans associated with the issuing jurisdiction.

Vehicle plates in Canada are technically called registration plates (drivers are licensed, vehicles are registered), but the term 'license plate' is common in informal usage. In the United States, on the other hand, the term "license plate" is frequently used in statutes.

Contents

[edit] Numbering and lettering

Generally, the appearance of plates is frequently chosen to contain symbols, colors, or slogans associated with the issuing jurisdiction. Formats for license plate numbers, which are usually alphanumeric, are designed to provide enough unique numbers for all motor vehicles a jurisdiction expects to register. For example, Wyoming, the smallest U.S. state by population, issues most of its plates with in the format 12-3456 or 12-345A, with the first two numbers restricted to 1-23 and 99 (one code for each of the state's 23 counties, and 99 for rental vehicles); Rhode Island, the smallest state by area, uses the formats AB-12, AB-123, and 12345; while California uses the seven-character format 1ABC234; and several other populous states use the seven-character ABC-1234 format.

In some states, information such as county of registration or month of expiration is incorporated into the number. For example, the last number on a license plate in Massachusetts indicates the month the bearer's registration expires (1234 AB would expire in April, the fourth month; zero is used for October expirations; and prior to 1978, X and Y were used for November and December expirations, respectively. In Alabama, Indiana, Montana, Nebraska, South Dakota, and Wyoming, a one- or two-digit number representing the county of issue begins a license plate number. Standard issue Idaho license plate numbers begin with a single-letter or a number-letter code representing the county of issue.

Several states - Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Iowa, Mississippi, and Tennessee - place the full name of the county of registration explicitly on their standard-issue plates but not as part of the plate serial. Kansas plates carry a sticker bearing a two-letter county code, and Ohio plates a sticker with a two-number county code, but neither is a part of the plate serial. Texas places the county name on the windshield registration sticker but it likewise is not part of the plate serial.

In most states, plates for vehicles other than passenger cars, such as trucks and trailers, may use different numbering formats, either with or without the type name appearing explicitly on the plate.

Some other examples of standard-issue passenger plate numbering:

Note: a hyphen indicates either a dash or other divider or a space between numbers.

An unissued New Brunswick "ASS" plate, circa 1986.
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An unissued New Brunswick "ASS" plate, circa 1986.

While it is popularly believed that license-plate numbers are assigned randomly, the usual practice is to assign them in ascending order, beginning with a starting point such as AAA-001. Thus, someone familiar with the sequence can determine roughly when the license plate was issued. In a few cases, numbers are assigned in descending order. For example, when Virginia switched to a seven-character for its standard issue in 1993, numbers beginning with AAA-1000 were already in use for extra-cost, optional-issue plates; therefore, the new standard license plates were issued in descending order from ZZZ-9999. The "400th Anniversary" license plates, issued since 2003, are numbered in ascending order from JAA-1000.

The gradual increase in the use of letters in the serials of license plates has given rise to an increased possibility of unintentional profane or inappropriate words or messages arising from the use of sequential alphanumeric combinations. Thus, numbering sequences generally exclude certain combinations of letters or numbers that would be potentially offensive. Jurisdictions' attention to excluding offensive combinations varies widely, however. (See the section below on Diplomatic License Plates for an urban legend about the "FC" code on plates assigned to vehicles of the Soviet embassy during the Cold War.) In 1986, Waldale, a Canadian licence plate manufacturer, due to a production error, produced an entire batch of New Brunswick plates that began with the letters ASS. The plates were never issued, and were officially scrapped, but many found their way into the collectors' market.

A sample Iowa disabled license plate.
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A sample Iowa disabled license plate.

In the United States and some parts of Canada, special plates are issued to persons with disabilities having the International Symbol of Accessibility on them, which entitle them to special parking privileges. Alternately, a placard, which in some jurisdictions can be hung from the rear view mirror, is issued and has the advantage of being transferred easily from vehicle to vehicle.

[edit] Appearance

A Northwest Territories licence plate in the shape of a polar bear. North American license plates in all jurisdictions other than the Northwest Territories and Nunavut are rectangular.
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A Northwest Territories licence plate in the shape of a polar bear. North American license plates in all jurisdictions other than the Northwest Territories and Nunavut are rectangular.

In the United States and Canada, many states and provinces distinguish their license plates through distinctive color schemes and logos, which historically have been changed annually. For example, the cowboy logo often associated with the state of Wyoming has appeared on that state's license plates continuously since 1936. The license plates of the Yukon have long featured a prospector panning for gold. Vermont license plates have frequently featured a green and white color scheme. Other states such as California offer simpler schemes, often with a white background and little decoration. In recent years, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Nebraska, Maryland, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia have placed the address of the state's official web site on their general issue plates. In Canada's Northwest Territories and Nunavut, all license plates are cut in the shape of a polar bear. Most plates in Washington, D.C., contain the phrase "Taxation without representation" to highlight the District's lack of a voting representative in Congress.

Typically, the registration number is embossed (or, more rarely, debossed) onto the license plate. Other identifying information, such as the name of the issuing jurisdiction and the vehicle class, can be either surface-printed or embossed; Virginia, for example, does the former for passenger cars and the latter for most non-passenger vehicles. However, it is increasingly common in states for the registration number to be surface-printed as well, using digital printing technology. Some jurisdictions do so only for certain license plates, such as vanity tags and special issues; Indiana, Iowa, Montana, South Dakota, Tennessee, Wyoming, and the District of Columbia have switched to the so-called "flat plate" technology for all their license plates. Delaware license plates have not been embossed for many decades.

In 1956, the U.S. states and Canadian provinces came to an agreement with the Automobile Manufacturers Association that fixed the size for all North American passenger vehicle plates at 6" x 12". Smaller sizes are used for motorcycles and, in some states, mopeds and certain types of trailers and construction equipment.

[edit] Showing current registration on plates

Historically, many U.S. and Canadian plates were replaced every year, although the most common practice in modern times is to send new validation stickers to vehicle owners every year or two, to indicate that the vehicle registration is still valid.

Tags that are not up to date quickly attract the attention of law enforcement, because registration "renewal" is a transaction that can usually be undertaken only by the car's registered owner, once certain requirements have been met, and because registration fees are a source of government revenue. A delinquent registration tag is often an indicator that the vehicle may be stolen, that the vehicle's owner has failed to comply with the applicable law regarding emission inspection or insurance, or that the vehicle's owner has unpaid traffic or parking tickets. Even with the tags, most states previously required that all license plates be replaced every few years; that practice is being abandoned by many states because of the expense of continually producing large numbers of plates. Maryland, for example, formerly mandated that all license plates be replaced every five years (except for apportioned trailers, which were registered on an eight-year schedule), but has not done so since 1986.

The sticker is usually placed on one corner of the plate, while the month of the year in which the plate would expire is printed in an opposing corner. Some jurisdictions combine the year and month on one sticker. In others, the plate's validation is a decal displayed from the inside of the windshield. The color of plate stickers and windshield decals often change annually, to allow for easier detection by police.

Most validation stickers are either serialized (with the serial number recorded on the registration), or are printed by a special printer at the time of registration or renewal with the vehicle's license plate number on them to discourage fraudulent sticker use, as the sticker will be valid only for the plate for which it was intended. In the District of Columbia, the license plate is validated with a windshield sticker that indicates the expiration date, the license plate number, the year and make of vehicle, and part of the vehicle identification number, thereby allowing easier detection of fraudulent use, as well as serving as a parking permit for neighborhood residents.

Currently New York, Texas, and Washington, D.C. use windshield stickers exclusively, rather than plate stickers, for most vehicle classes. Connecticut switched to this method in September 2006. New Jersey required the use of plate decals for a few years, beginning with November 2000 expirations, but has not required them on passenger cars since October 1, 2004, at which point the state switched back to windshield stickers for most vehicle classes.

In Hawaii, the case of vehicle registration dues are a heated debate between the counties. Vehicles are purchased at a discount on [O'ahu] compared to the neighboring islands where there is usually only one dealer per vehicle make. That outlying counties issues plates starting with M (Maui County), K (Kaua'i), or H (Big Island of Hawai`i) helps to identify the source of the vehicle.

[edit] Lifecycle

In the United States, plates typically stay with vehicles throughout their useful life, unless owners move to another state and bring their vehicles with them. In American law, when a person moves to a new state, he or she is required to establish residency in the new state, which includes registering the vehicle with that new state's government — it will then issue a new plate or plates that must be attached to the vehicle. One prominent exception is active duty military servicemembers; under Federal law, they do not change their legal residence when they move to a new posting and are not obliged to re-register their vehicle with the state in which they are newly assigned.

When a vehicle is sold, the disposition of the license plates depends on state law and varies by state. In some states, license plates are transferred with the vehicle to its new owner. In other states, the license plates remain with the seller, who may, for a fee, transfer the license plates and any unused portion of the current registration to a new vehicle. Some states issue a new plate whenever the car is sold.

[edit] Mounting

Many American states are now strictly enforcing laws that require vehicles to display two license plates (on the rear and front of the vehicle). One possible benefit of front license plates is to increase the effectiveness of red-light cameras, which work only if a vehicle can be linked back to its registered owner. Opponents of two license plates usually do not like front plates on certain sports cars and historic cars because of their visual obtrusiveness from the vehicle. They argue that they add cost to production, use resources (metal), create double the amount of waste and do not give police any extra tool in recovering stolen vehicles.

In the Canadian provinces of Alberta, Newfoundland and Labrador, Northwest Territories, Nova Scotia, Nunavut, Prince Edward Island, Quebec, and Saskatchewan, and in the U.S. states of Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, and West Virginia, however, license plates are currently only required on the rear of the vehicle. Some vanity and specialty plates in Arizona and Kansas are issued in pairs, but only the rear plate is required to be displayed; the optional front plate is something of a bonus for paying an extra fee for the plate.

Massachusetts is a unique case for license plate mounting, arising from that all license plates issued there since 1978 are currently valid. Prior to the introduction of the current "Spirit of America" base starting in 1986 for commercial vehicles and vanity plates and 1991 for all other vehicles, the state issued only a single green-on-white plate to be mounted on the rear bumper. With the current-issue base, two plates are issued, to be mounted on both the front and rear bumpers. The result of this is that while most passenger vehicles registered in Massachusetts display two plates, those with the older green-on-white plates only display one.

[edit] Temporary/Transit registrations

When a person buys a vehicle from a dealer, the dealer is typically authorized to issue a temporary registration to allow the buyer to drive the vehicle until the government agency in charge of vehicle registration processes the registration forms.

Similarly, when a person buys a vehicle outside his state or province of residence, he can usually obtain a "transit registration" from the authorities of the state or province where the purchase took place. This transit registration will allow the new owner to drive the vehicle and to properly register and obtain license plates for the vehicle from his state or province of residence.

The physical indicia of such temporary or transit registrations can take a variety of forms, such as:

  • a cardboard or lightweight plastic license plate, to be removed at the end of the temporary registration period;
  • a standard metal license plate with temporary validation, in which case the government agency needs to issue only a validation sticker rather than a license plate; or
  • a form or decal to be applied to a window of the vehicle.

[edit] Plates for various types of vehicles and groups

1980 Tennessee rescue squad license plate.
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1980 Tennessee rescue squad license plate.

In Canada and the United States, there are several types of license plates that are issued to special passenger, non-passenger and non-private vehicles. Depending on the jurisdiction, such types may include:

[edit] Vanity and specialty plates

In 50 states, the District of Columbia, and each Canadian provice but Quebec, motorists are given the option of extra-cost vanity plates (also known as "personalized" or "prestige" plates), which are license plates with a custom serial (sequence of letters and/or numbers). For example, a vanity license plate might read "MY TOY". Generally vanity plates are not permitted to have profane or obscene messages on them, although standards vary widely among issuing jurisdictions as to what constitutes an unacceptable message. In California, motorists may order symbols—a heart, hand, plus sign, or star—on one type of specialty plate.

Example of what a Railfan tag looks like.
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Example of what a Railfan tag looks like.
Florida's Challenger plate. This is the current third edition, which also honors Columbia.
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Florida's Challenger plate. This is the current third edition, which also honors Columbia.
2001New Jersey "Mutts" Animal Friendly license plate This image has an uncertain copyright status and is pending deletion. You can comment on the removal.
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2001New Jersey "Mutts" Animal Friendly license plate
This image has an uncertain copyright status and is pending deletion. You can comment on the removal.
An example of a personalized license plate from Illinois.
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An example of a personalized license plate from Illinois.
California vanity license plate featuring an embossed heart graphic.
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California vanity license plate featuring an embossed heart graphic.
A 1996 Ontario "Star Trek" specialty license plate. This image has an uncertain copyright status and is pending deletion. You can comment on the removal.
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A 1996 Ontario "Star Trek" specialty license plate.
This image has an uncertain copyright status and is pending deletion. You can comment on the removal.
Indiana DARE specialty license plate.
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Indiana DARE specialty license plate.

In some jurisdictions, vehicle owners may also pay extra for specialty plates. With these, the plate serial is chosen by the licensing agency—as with regular plates—but the owners select a plate design that is different from the normal licence plate. For example, an alumnus or student of an area university might get a plate with the school's logo, or an outdoorsman might decide to pay extra for a plate depicting a nature scene. A portion of the extra cost of these license plates often ends up as a donation for a related school or non-profit organization. Other specialty plates include those for motorists with specific accomplishments or backgrounds; for example, a veteran who was a prisoner of war or a Purple Heart recipient may obtain a POW or Purple Heart specialty plate, respectively, after presenting documentation of his or her status to the registrar. In many jurisdictions, there is no charge (or at least no extra charge) for such a plate, in recognition of the veteran's service.

One example of a specialty license plate was a plate issued in 1987 by the state of Florida to commemorate the Space Shuttle Challenger Disaster. Proceeds benefit the Astronaut Memorial Foundation and led to the creation of the Space Mirror Memorial at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Merritt Island, Florida. It remained the most popular of all of Florida's specialty plates until it was overtaken by a plate to support the heavily endangered Florida Panther, which is currently the best-selling specialty plate in Florida. The current third version, introduced in 2004, commemorates both Challenger and Columbia.

New Jersey offers an optional Animal Friendly license plate. The second generation of this plate was first issued in 2001 and features characters from the popular comic strip "Mutts" by Patrick McDonnell. A portion of the revenue from the plates goes to the New Jersey State Department of Health's Animal Population Control Program. [1]

Some states where stock car racing is popular issue special NASCAR-themed plates; a NASCAR fan can purchase a plate with the name and car number of his or her favorite driver, along with the state-issued alphanumeric sequence. Here, a portion of the extra cost goes to NASCAR as compensation for licensing its trademarks. Some jurisdictions allow for these special plates to also be vanity plates, usually for an additional fee on top of the cost of the plate. In 1996 the province of Ontario issued an optional "Star Trek" license plate. It was discontinued in the early 2000s.

Normally such specialty plates can be purchased without proof of any particular status or affiliation, the obvious exceptions being plates which indicate membership or abilities of use in an emergency (firemen, police, EMT, etc.). Also, some states require that the university plates be ordered through alumni associations

All U.S. states and Canadian provinces offer specialized license plates for licensed amateur radio operators. The owner's radio callsign is used instead of a standard license assignment.

In New Jersey, people convicted of drunk driving are banned from using vanity plates. In Ohio, convicted drunk drivers may have the option to drive with special red-on-yellow licence plates in exchange for a lesser sentence. In Georgia and Minnesota, drunk drivers may be ordered to display a plate with a special numbering system indicating restricted driving privileges.

[edit] Examples of optional plates

[edit] Professional and Governmental License Plates

[edit] In the United States

Many states, such as New York and New Jersey, issue license plates to members of certain professions who require some sort of special privileges, such as parking or going behind police lines. Examples include plates for members of the press, doctors, nurses, EMTs, paramedics, volunteer firemen, judges, medical examiners, and elected officials. [2]

In the United States, all states issue some special sort of license plate for vehicles which are owned by state and local governments, and the Federal government issues plates for vehicles owned by it. For the most part, the plates look close to the regular passenger plates, except with a separate numbering sequence and with a message such as "official", "state owned", "municipal", or "exempt" (from registration fees) replacing the slogan.

Some states use a distinctive colour scheme to differentiate the plates from the regular issue. For example, in Virginia, state government license plates have a number suffixed with S and a light blue background, while local government license plates have a number suffixed with L and a tan background. The standard issue has a white background and a different numbering scheme.

The District of Columbia issues special license plates to vehicles owned by the D.C. Government. However, vehicles belonging to the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority receive standard license plates appropriate to the class of vehicle, with special validation stickers.

In New York State, local police vehicles are not issued license plates. In some cases, such as New York City the fleet number of the vehicle is put on a flat license plate using heat transferred letters. In Yonkers there is a special plate that looks similar to the specialized optional plates with the Yonkers Police logo and the fleet number. Other communities in the state have a license plate that looks like the regular issue vanity plate, but with the word "POLICE" on it.

Vehicles owned by a branch of the US military may have a license plate issued by that branch of the military. Vehicles owned by the US General Services Administration will have plates issued by the GSA. Vehicles owned by the United States Postal Service often do not have license plates at all; instead, an identification number is applied to the vehicle body.

[edit] In Canada

In Canada, the vehicles owned by the army, navy, or air force may circulate on the streets and have white license plates with a maple leaf and "Canada" written on them.

The cars owned by the federal government in Ontario are in the format FDX-123, not in the usual four-letter format, with the first two letters always being "F" and "D."

[edit] General Registration License Plates

Many states issue special plates to automobile dealers, auto repair shops, farms, and construction contractors, which are not tied to any particular vehicle. These users typically have many more vehicles on the premises than on the public streets, and it would not be practical to register and insure each individual vehicle. So, they hold a number of "floating" registrations for however many vehicles they plan to use on the public streets simultaneously. States typically have rules about who is eligible and how the plates may be used, and may impose recordkeeping and audit requirements.

[edit] In Canada

In the province of Ontario, motor vehicle dealers licensed under the Motor Vehicle Dealers Act use a single portable plate with the word "DEALER" on the left side and red alpha-numeric characters on a white background. It is for exclusive use by motor vehicle dealers only on motor vehicles owned as part of the dealer's inventory of vehicles for sale. It may be used for private use in Ontario or for purposes related to the sale of motor vehicles that are owned as part of the dealer's inventory of vehicles for sale.

Service providers, including anyone who repairs, customizes, modifies, manufactures or transports motor vehicles or trailers use yellow and black DLR series plates (Dealer and Service Plate).

A Service Plate may be used:

- on a trailer or motor vehicle other than a motorcycle or motor-assisted bicycle for purposes related to the repair, road testing, customization or modification of the vehicle, if the vehicle is in the possession of the person to whom the service plate is issued, or

- for the purpose of transporting the vehicle by a person engaged in the business of transporting vehicles, or

- for purposes related to the manufacturing or sale of a trailer, or

- for the purpose of towing the vehicle by a person engaged in the business of transporting vehicles, or

- to tow a vehicle to a location where its load will be removed or to an impound facility.

Private use of motor vehicles or trailers with a service plate is not permitted.

[edit] Diplomatic license plates

[edit] In the United States

A 1975 New York Foreign Consul license plate This image has an uncertain copyright status and is pending deletion. You can comment on the removal.
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A 1975 New York Foreign Consul license plate
This image has an uncertain copyright status and is pending deletion. You can comment on the removal.

Diplomatic License Plates are issued by the United States Department of State to accredited diplomats. This is an exception to the general rule in the US that license plates are issued by the state, and not the federal government. However, prior to the 1980s, plates were issued by states, with New York issuing the most, followed by the District of Columbia.

Plates issued to cars based in the District of Columbia follow the pattern of a letter identify the status of the owner, followed by the two-letter country code, followed by a four-digit number (S LL NNNN). For member countries of the Organization of American States (OAS), a subset of that numbering pattern is allotted to vehicles based at those countries' missions to the OAS. Plates issued to cars based at the United Nations in New York City are reversed, with the four-digit number first, followed by the two-letter country code, followed by the status code (NNNN LL S). This is because representatives of certain countries are limited to travel to certain radii from their base, and the system allows the city of assignment to be identified easily.

The status codes are "C" for Foreign Consul; "D" for Diplomat; "S" for Non-Diplomatic Staff; and "A" for a UN employee. The rights of the driver and car under diplomatic immunity are defined by this status code.

The country codes are unique to each particular country, but do not correlate to ISO Country Codes or other standards format. For example, France is "DJ" not "F" and Australia is "XZ" not "AUS". This is to prevent the general public from targeting diplomats from particular countries.

However, an urban legend suggests that the code used for the former Soviet Union of "FC" stood for "Fucking Communists", [citation needed] the code system having been devised during the height of the Cold War by Ronald Reagan aide (now Congressman) Dana Rohrabacher. Today Russia is assigned code "YR".

Certain US states will issue Honorary Consul plates to US citizens who have been appointed to that ceremonial office. These plates do not confer diplomatic immunity and are not a part of the US State Department system.

US Diplomatic Plate Country Codes:

[edit] In Canada

1976 Ontario diplomatic license plate. This image has an uncertain copyright status and is pending deletion. You can comment on the removal.
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1976 Ontario diplomatic license plate.
This image has an uncertain copyright status and is pending deletion. You can comment on the removal.

In Canada, the red plates are issued by the province in which the consulate or embassy is located. Thus, most plates are issued in Ontario, where the capital Ottawa is located. With the Ontario plates there is country coding and as with the American diplomatic plates the coding is purposely illogical, not standing for anything. This is to prevent the general public from targeting diplomats from particular countries.

[edit] See also

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[edit] External links

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