History of vehicle registration plates of California
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The U.S. state of California first issued license plates in 1913.
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[edit] Passenger baseplates
The state of California alternated issuing single year and multi-year number plates.
[edit] Base plate colours 1914 to 1947
Some plates were revalidated for multiple years. For example, the 1947-dated plate was revalidated with metal tabs until 1950.
| Year of Expiry | Characters on backround |
|---|---|
| 1914 | white on brick |
| 1915 | black on yellow |
| 1916 | blue on white |
| 1920 | white on black |
| 1921 | yellow on black |
| 1922 | blue on white |
| 1923 | white on black |
| 1924 | green on white |
| 1925 | yellow on black |
| 1926 | blue on white |
| 1927 | white on maroon |
| 1928 | yellow on blue |
| 1929 | orange on black |
| 1930 | black on orange |
| 1931 | orange on black |
| 1932 | black on orange |
| 1933 | orange on black |
| 1934 | black on orange |
| 1935 | orange on black |
| 1936 | black on orange |
| 1937 | orange on black |
| 1938 | black on yellow |
| 1939 | yellow on blue |
| 1940 | black on orange |
| 1941 | yellow on black |
| 1947 | black on yellow |
[edit] Base plates 1950-present
All base plates from 1963 to present are still valid for use, assuming that the plate never left the vehicle and the vehicle maintained concurrent registration.
| Image | First issued | Description | Serial format | Serials issued |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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1950 | yellow on black, non-reflective, embossed state name dated 1951, revalidated with metal tabs |
1A23456 | |
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1955 | black on yellow, non-reflective, embossed state name, first plate in the standard size of twelve inches by six inches | ABC 123 | AAA 000 to ? |
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1962 | yellow on black, non-reflective, embossed state name | ABC 123 | ? to ZZZ 999 |
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1968 | yellow on blue, non-reflective, embossed state name | 123 ABC | 000 AAA to 999 ZZZ |
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1980 | yellow on blue, non-reflective, embossed state name | 1ABC234 | 1AAA000 to 1ZZZ999 |
| 1982 | blue on white with graphic state name, reflective | 1ABC234 | 2AAA000 TO 2ZZZ999 | |
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1987 | blue on white with embossed red state name, reflective | 1ABC234 | 3AAA000 to 3FZZ999 |
| 1996 | blue on white with graphic red state name, reflective | 1ABC234 | 3GAA000 to 3ZZZ999 | |
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1998 | blue on white with graphic red state name and "Sesquicentennial - 150 Years", reflective | 1ABC234 | 4AAA000 to 4NOA999 |
| 2000 | blue on white with graphic red state name, reflective | 1ABC234 | 4NPA000 to present |
[edit] Year of Manufacture plates
The use of Year of Manufacture plates is authorized by Section 5004.1 [1] 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.
[edit] References
California License Plate Data (1914-1962)
[edit] External links
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