|
|
US License Plate Search
License Plate Search Review.
A sample standard-issue California license plate. In the United States, license plates are issued by 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.
Diplomats and consular staff are issued plates by the province their consulate or embassy
particularly in the United States until the 1980s.
If you are looking
for license plates lookup or the owner of a US
License plate this License Plate
Lookup site is one of the best.
License
Plate Page - includes US trade list with pictures, especially Utah,
and other collector's links.
In the United States, on the other hand, the term "license plate" is frequently used in statutes.
Numbering and lettering
A 7 character New York "Empire State" license plate circa 2001. Generally, the appearance of plates is frequently chosen to contain symbols, colors, or slogans associated with the issuing jurisdiction. The format for license plate numbers (which often contain characters) will provide enough numbers for all the motor vehicles in the jurisdiction. So, for example, Wyoming, the smallest U.S. state by population, issues plates with the numbers 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);
Indiana passenger license plate circa 1982.
New Jersey passenger license plate circa 1999.
New Jersey passenger license plate current numbering series. Some other examples of passenger plate numbering:
ABCD-123 (used in Ontario currently)
AB-123C (used in New Jersey in the 1990s)
ABC-12D (used in New Jersey in the 1980s (blue plates) and currently (yellow plates))
1AB-234 (used in South Dakota currently)
12A B3456 (used in Idaho currently)
1234 AB (used in Maine currently)
1-A23456 (used in Montana currently)
ABC 123 (used in Louisiana currently)
A12-BCD (used in Florida currently)
1AB-C23 (used in Maryland currently)
12A B34 (used in Massachusetts currently)
AB 123 (used in Prince Edward Island currently)
ABC12 (used in Yukon currently)
A12-BCD (once used in Texas)
ABC-123 (used in Minnesota currently)
123-ABC (used in Saskatchewan and Texas currently)
ABC-1234 (used in North Carolina currently)
A sample Iowa disabled license plate. In the United States and 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.
This sample 1990 Idaho plate shows an example of the use of a single validation
sticker. Tags are usually placed on one corner of the plate, while the month of the year in which the tags 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 colour of plate stickers and windshield decals often change annually, to allow for easier detection by police.
Vanity and specialty plates
In almost all US and Canadian jurisdictions, people can pay extra and get vanity plates:
license plates with a custom number (character set). For example, a vanity license plate might read "MY TOY". Generally vanity plates are not allowed to have profane or obscene messages on them, and of course they must also be unique.
A sample Pennsylvania railroad heritage plate.
Florida's Challenger plate. This is the current third edition, which also honors Columbia.
2001 New Jersey Mutts Animal Friendly license plate
Idaho bluebird plate, one of more than 30 specialty plates in that state.
In some jurisdictions, vehicle owners may also pay extra for specialty plates: with these, the sequence of letters and numbers is chosen by the licensing agency—as with regular plates—but the owners select a plate design that is different from the normal
license plate. For example, a former soldier who became a prisoner of war might choose a special POW plate, 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.
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 went to 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 the best-selling specialty plate in Florida. The current third version, introduced in 2004, remembers both Challenger and Columbia.
In California, it is possible to have certain symbols on a vanity plate. The available symbols are a heart, hand, cross, or star.
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 something like "official", "state government", "municipal", or "exempt" (from
registration fees) replacing the slogan.
|
|
