All About License Plates

FIRST STATE LAWS PROVIDING FOR LICENSE PLATES, AND STATE-ISSUED PLATES, BY JURISDICTION

                    DATE OF DATE LAW DATE OF FIRST FIRST
STATE               PASSAGE EFFECTIVE REGISTRATION PLATE
Alabama 10/ 9/1903 1911/12
Alaska 5/ 5/1921 Immediately 1921
Arizona 6/15/1912 Immediately 9/20/1912 1914
Arkansas 3/24/1911 8/13/1911 1911
California 3/22/1905 4/21/1905 3/22/1905 1914
Colorado 4/12/1913 7/15/1913 7/15/1913 1913
Connecticut 5/15/1903 7/ 1/1903 5/28/1903 1905/09
Delaware 4/ 6/1905 1909
Dist. of Col. 5/ 3/1903 8/29/1903 8/11/1903 1907/17
Florida 5/11/1905 7/11/1905 7/ ?/1905 1918
Georgia 8/13/1910 9/ 1/1910 9/14/1910 1910/13
Hawaii ?/ ?/1911 ?/ ?/1912 1912
Idaho 3/13/1913 5/ 7/1913 1913
Illinois 5/28/1907 7/ 1/1907 1911
Indiana 3/ 6/1905 4/15/1905 1905/07
Iowa 4/12/1904 7/ 1/1904 6/21/1904 1911
Kansas 3/15/1913 7/ 1/1913 1913/14
Kentucky 3/23/1910 6/13/1910 6/ 6/1910 1910/11
Louisiana 7/ 9/1914 1/ 1/1915 1915
Maine 3/24/1905 6/ 1/1905 6/ 1/1905 1905/11
Maryland 4/12/1904 Immediately 5/28/1904 1910
Massachusetts 6/26/1903 9/ 1/1903 7/21/1903 1903/07
Michigan 5/25/1905 6/15/1905 1910
Minnesota 4/21/1903 Immediately 5/ 2/1903 1909
Mississippi 3/16/1912 6/ 1/1912 6/ 1/1912 1912
Missouri 3/23/1903 6/23/1903 6/20/1903? 1911
Montana 3/12/1913 4/11/1913 1913/14
Nebraska 4/ 3/1905 7/ 1/1905 6/14/1905 1915
Nevada 3/24/1913 4/13/1913 4/16/1913 1916
New Hampshire 3/10/1905 5/ 1/1905 4/ 4/1905 1905/11
New Jersey 3/23/1903 Immediately 3/23/1903 1908
New Mexico 6/ 8/1912 None 8/ 6/1912 1912/13
New York 4/25/1901 5/25/1901 5/ 8/1901? 1910
North Carolina 3/ 6/1909 7/ 1/1909 1913
North Dakota 3/17/1911 7/ 1/1911 6/ 5/1911 1911
Ohio 5/ 9/1908 6/10/1908 1908/09
Oklahoma 3/15/1915 6/22/1915 7/ 1/1915 1915
Oregon 2/17/1905 5/19/1905 5/ 5/1905 1908?
Pennsylvania 4/23/1903 5/ ?/1903 1906
Rhode Island 4/13/1904 6/ 1/1904 (After 5/28/1904) 1904/12
South Carolina 2/21/1906 4/26/1906? 1917
South Dakota 2/24/1905 Immediately 5/ 4/1905 1913
Tennessee 3/27/1905 4/26/1905 5/ 2/1905 1915
Texas 4/15/1907 7/12/1907 7/12/1907 1917
Utah 3/22/1909 5/11/1909 5/11/1909 1915
Vermont 12/10/1904 5/ 1/1905 3/16/1905 1905/07
Virginia 3/17/1906 6/13/1906       1906/10
Washington 3/11/1905 5/ 2/1905       1915/16
West Virginia 2/24/1905 5/ 1/1905 1905
Wisconsin 6/ 5/1905 7/ 1/1905 6/24/1905 1905/11
Wyoming 2/27/1913 4/15/1913 (By 5/ 1/1913) 1913

DATE OF DATE LAW DATE OF FIRST FIRST
JURISDICTION        PASSAGE EFFECTIVE REGISTRATION PLATE
American Samoa 5/10/1921 Immediately (1924)
Canal Zone 8/25/1910 10/31/1910 12/ 3/1910 1910/16
Guam (Dec.16 known) (1924)
Philippines 2/ 6/1912 4/ 6/1912 1912/16
Puerto Rico 3/ 8/1906 4/ 1/1906 1906/16
Virgin Islands (1925)

Alberta 5/ 9/1906 1912
British Columbia 2/10/1904 2/29/1904 1913
Manitoba 2/26/1908 3/27/1908 4/ 1/1908 1911
New Brunswick 4/ 8/1905 5/ 9/1905 1911
Newfoundland (1925)
Nova Scotia 4/25/1907 4/28/1907 5/ 8/1907 1918
Ontario 9/ 1/1903 8/28/1903 1903/05
P.E.I. 4/24/1913 7/26/1913 1917
Quebec 3/ 9/1906 4/ 8/1906 5/10/1906       1908/11
Saskatchewan 5/26/1906 1912

N.W.T. (1941)
Yukon ?/ ?/1914 1914

GOVERNMENT AGENCY ISSUING FIRST REGISTRATIONS

SECRETARY OF STATE/PROVINCIAL SECRETARY:
(VA - COMMONWEALTH, YK - TERRITORIAL, 40 states, 6 provinces)
AL, AZ, AR, CA, CO, CT, DE, FL, GA, IL, IN, IA, KS, KY, LA, ME,
MD, MI, MN?, MO, MT, NE, NV, NH, NJ, NM, NY, NC, ND, OH, OR,
RI, SD, TN, UT, VT, VA, WA, WI, WY, AB, ON, PE, QU, SK, YK
(only IL, ME, MI still issue!)

STATE HIGHWAY DEPARTMENT:
OK, PA, SC, TX

OTHER:
AK - Territorial Treasurer
DC - Secretary of Automobile Board
HI - County Treasurer (1906), Territorial Assessor (1912)
ID - Secretary of State Highway Commission
MA - State Highway Commission
MN - State? Boiler Inspector (1903), Secretary of State (1909)
MS - State Auditor of Public Accounts

WV - State Auditor

BC - Superintendent of Provincial Police
MB - Municipal Commissioner
NB - Secretary of Department of Public Works
NF - Highroads Commission (1925)

UNKNOWN:
US Territories, NS, NWT

NOTES

1905 brought the biggest wave of new state registration laws being

passed (14 states), including all four corners of the then-45
states - California, Florida, Maine and Washington. By mid-year 1905,
more than half the states had registration laws.

Before 1910, state laws stipulated owner-provided plates

   except for 15 states (6 New England states and Delaware, New Jersey,
   Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia and Wisconsin
   Wisconsin). Indiana optional.

Starting in 1910, all states passing their first laws stipulated

state-issued plates except for 3 states (Arizona, Montana and
Nevada). Montana provided a standard plate for an extra fee.

In 1910, the number of states issuing plates exceeded the

   number of states allowing owner-provided plates for the first
   time. This was the year that Maryland, Michigan and New York
   switched to state-issued plates. As of 1911, over half of the 46

states had state-issued plates; in 1913, with the increase to 48

states, this figure reached 75%, finally achieving 100% in 1918.

Geographic center of the U.S.: 1900 - 6 miles SE of Columbus,

IN, 1910 - Bloomington, IN (35 miles west).

U.S. Population: 1900 - 75,994,575, 1910 - 91,972,266.
"Pioneer" plates issued in MN, MT, ND and WY. Began in MN in

   1952 for vehicles built before 1936, spread to MT in 1955, ND
   in 1958 (vehicles at least 40 years old) and WY in 1959 (25
   years old).

Duryea Brothers operated first automobile 9/21/1893 in

   Springfield, MA. Duryea built 13 identical gasoline autos in
   1896, the start of the automobile industry. Henry Ford's
   first experimental vehicle was operated June 1896, but Ford
   Motor Co. not founded until 1903. Commercial production began
   in 1897 by two companies. William McKinley was first
   president to ride in an automobile - a Stanley Steamer - on
   10/14/1899. Olds' Curved Dash model, introduced in 1901, is
   regarded as the first mass-produced vehicle.

AAA founded in Chicago 3/4/1902.
Ford Model T first available 10/1/1908. Note big surge in 1909.
Selden Patent tags cost each auto manufacturer 1¼% of retail

price. See MLPCA JUL-74 P.9.

Variety of prestate ads in MLPCA JUL-74 PP.4-5, NOV-93 P.4.
Undated leather #36, "STANTON" bottom, could be

AL,DE,FL,ID,IA,KY,MI,MN,MS,MO,NE,NJ,NC,ND,TN or TX.

For examples of the vast variety of city license categories,

see MAPA Vol. 11, No. 4, for C.H. Hanson's catalogue ad.

Headlamp numbers date back to at least 1876 in a Philadelphia

ordinance requiring the licensing of hackney carriages.

STATES/PROVINCES ISSUING DISCS
AZ 1912-16 4 MA M/C 1910-14 5 (OH 1906 0)
AR 1911-21 11 MI 1905-09 4 SD 1905-13 1
CA 1905-15 3 MO 1907-11 1 UT 1909-15 1
GA 1910-28 16 NE 1905-10? 1 VT M/C 1911-15 5
HI 1912-21 10 NV 1913-15 3 (WV 1907-11 1)
IL 1907-17 9 NH M/C 1915-17 3 MB 1908-11 1
IN 1905-13 2 (NJ 1907-08 1) NB 1905-17? 1
IA 1904-11 1 NY 1904-10 1 NS 1907-17 1
KY 1910-14 4 NC 1909-13 1 QU 1912-17 6
(TOTAL 96)

INTERNATIONAL:

EUROPE
AUSTRO-HUNGARIAN EMPIRE   Began 1900.
            Vienna, Austria - Began 1898.
            Budapest, Hungary - Registration by name began 1895
            with owner-provided name plates, numbered plates
            issued 1898.
BELGIUM     Regulations 1899, plates issued early 1900.
DENMARK     National system began 8/8/1903.
            Copenhaven - Bylaws 2/1/1903, #K 1 issued 2/3/1903.
FINLAND First auto arrived 5/2/1900. Registration began 1905

only for Province of Turku and Pori.

Helsinki - P 7/22/1907, began 8/21/1907.
FRANCE      Began June 1901. (See ALPCA FEB-84 P.28)
            Paris - Permit issued by special request 4/17/1891.
            Police ordinance 8/14/1893 for owner-provided plates.
GERMANY    National system began 1906, fully implemented by 1910.
    State of Baden - Began 1896 (1893 also reported).
    Berlin - Began 1901. (Also Anhalt, Sachsen, Schaumburg-Lippe)
    Munich - #1 issued 4/14/1899, plate issued.
    State of Hesse - Began 1898.
    Prussia (all) began 1902.
GREAT BRITAIN AND UNITED KINGDOM   Began 11/23/1903.
ITALY       Began July 1901, plates issued for Public Service
            vehicles only. Private vehicles added 1903.
LUXEMBOURG #1 issued 8/10/1895 (type of plate, if any, unknown).
NETHERLANDS Began 4/26/1898.
NORWAY      Fully implemented by 1912. Kristiana (now Oslo) #A-1
            plate issued November 1899.
PORTUGAL    Began October 1901, plates issued.

ROMANIA 138 autos listed in Feb. 1908, #0 - 137.

(Didn't include Transylvania then.)
SPAIN       Royal Ordinance 7/31/1897.
            Royal Decree 9/17/1900 for Palma de Mallorca
            registration, #PM-1 plate issued 10/31/1900.
            Royal Instruction 5/24/1907 for national system.
SWEDEN      Began 1906.
SWITZERLAND All cantons by 1904, federal shield added 1905.
            Zurich - Began 1902.
TURKEY      Automobiles banned until 1909, earliest registration
            known 1920.

SOUTH AMERICA
ARGENTINA   #1 issued 1904.
CHILE       Local issues began 1904.
ECUADOR     Local issues began 1905.
URUGUAY     Began 1905.

AFRICA
EGYPT       Began July 1913.
SOUTH AFRICA   Cape Province - Began 1914.
               Cape Town - Began 1901.
               Durban + Pietermaritzburg - Began 1898.
               Johannesburg - Began 1902.
               Pretoria - First automobile arrived 1/4/1897.

ASIA
CEYLON      Began 1912. (British Territory)
INDONESIA   Java began 1900, country by 1904.
JAPAN       Began 1915.
RUSSIA      Riga began 1904.
SINGAPORE   Began 1907.

OCEANIA
AUSTRALIA   States began: NSW 1910, QLD 1914, SA 1906, TAS 1909,
            VIC 1910, WA 1906.
NEW ZEALAND Began 1903. Registration with local authority P
            10/28/1898, plates.

FIRST INTERNATIONAL CONVENTION ON MOTOR TRAFFIC
Held in Paris 10/11/1909, E 5/1/1910. *Original signatory
International Oval Triptyques:

A Austria                     *MC Monaco
*B Belgium                      MN Montenegro
BG Bulgaria                     NL Netherlands
CH Switzerland (Helvetia)       P Portugal
*D German Federal Republic      R Russia
E Spain (Espana)              *RM Romania
*F France                       S Sweden
GB Great Britian               *SB Serbia
H Hungary                         ?
*I Italy