Standard state license plate

Standard Passenger. Return to Category. The cost of this license plate is in addition to vehicle registration fees and taxes. Please contact the organization with questions regarding these funds. The car drivers then were worried that their front-mounted license plates would block the airflow to their radiators. In response, some states issued slotted license plates. But they stopped this practice in The first license plates were sheet iron.

But by , they replaced it with tin sheets, and they used this material until During the period from to , Arizona started making its tags from sheet copper. Porcelain plates also became popular during these early license plate days. Delaware was the last state to use porcelain license plates in At the time of the Second World War, license plates were being made from soybean-based fiberboard. There was a need then to use metals only for the war effort.

At around , many states started using prison inmates to do the processing of registration plates. This provided useful work for the inmates and also kept the cost of license plate production down.

Then in , the government required that automakers install lights to illuminate license plates at night time. This led to the next development in license plates. The state of Arizona was the first state to issue reflectorized license plates. This happened in Another evolution of the license plate started in Georgia.

This state was the first one that used decals in And then came , when the size of license plates was standardized. The standard size of license plates became 12 inches by 6 inches Since the early days of vehicle license plates up to around , many states displayed county designations, police troop codes, and congressional districts on their license plates. But by , only 10 states continued to observe this practice. The advent of computer tech made this possible since fewer codes are required to identify vehicles quickly.

You can trace it back to the early days of horses and carriages. For instance, Vintage Vehicles have Horseless Carriage license plates in several states. Historical plates are also issued to car owners whose vehicles were built after and 25 years old and older. Some trucks in Alabama have a license to operate in a certain area that has a mile radius.

This is an outdated regulation based on the total distance a mule can travel in one day. So, the license plates on these types of trucks are now called mule tags.

Read on to learn more about the required size of license plates in the US and how this size came to be the standard. The size of a license plate required in the United States is 12 inches by 6 inches. This dimension may vary slightly depending on the jurisdiction. It is the same size worldwide because it benefits economies of scale to the manufacturers of license plates.

This size is the standard size for all 50 states in the US. Additionally, all vehicle license plates are aluminum which is resistant to corrosion. These plates also have similar overall designs. However, you can tweak the logo design, fonts, and other vanity options. With the same overall license plate size being followed worldwide, the license plate market will have a boost.

Up to the year , vehicle owners were still responsible for creating their own license plates. They also stenciled their license numbers on the front and back of their vehicles. It is very different today where vehicle owners should display standard license plates on their vehicles.

The Department of Motor Vehicles in each state monitors this requirement. Vehicle owners should register their vehicles, and their current license plates are their proof of registration.

The government agency responsible for issuing license plates will provide them their license plates upon submission of the necessary documents and proofs. You can then attach the license plate, which is 12 inches by 6 inches in size, to your vehicle using two screws into two standard screw holes.

See more about license plate screw sizes in our article on various license plate screw sizes for your car. For smaller vehicles such as motorcycles and golf carts, the size of license plates is smaller. In the United States, the standard size for such vehicles is 7 inches by 4 inches. Regarding the license plate design, all license plates in the United States have a similar overall design.

However, the government allows for modifications in the logo design, vanity option, and fonts. During the s, the automotive industry around the world agreed with international standard organizations and governments to make a standard size for vehicle license plates.

Previously the standard size for the front license plate in the EU was 52 cm x The rear plate could have the same dimensions, which are Due to the increasing vehicle registration year by year globally, officials issued license plates. There is considerable vehicle growth in the emerging markets, particularly in the BRIC countries. This is spurred by the vigorous and ongoing industrialization and global trade exchanges in these countries. Over the last couple of years, China has sustained its leadership position being the biggest vehicle market in the world.

It is the same with India, whose market is also rapidly expanding. Another state that attracts visitors with its natural diversity, Maine offers a "Support Wildlife" sportsman plate. Maine's standard-issue plate , on the other hand, depicts the state bird the black-capped chickadee and a pine cone to symbolize the state tree the eastern white pine.

The plate also advertises that Maine is "vacationland. Between and , Maryland's standard-issue license plate commemorated the War of in honor of the bicentennial of the conflict. Given that the state didn't fare so well in the war, Marylanders weren't thrilled about the focus. More innocuous, the current plate's design incorporates the state flag. Along with a patriotic color scheme, Massachusetts' license plate features the slogan "The Spirit of America.

One of four standard-issue license plates in Michigan, the "Spectacular Peninsulas" plate displays some of the state's best-known features, including the eponymous peninsulas, the Great Lakes, and the Mackinac Bridge. Minnesota's license plate references one of the state's nicknames, the "Land of 10, Lakes. In , Mississippi unveiled the Biloxi Lighthouse license plate, a tribute to the resilience of the state's gulf coast in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. As of , Mississippi plates instead honor blues singer BB King and his legendary guitar, "Lucille.

License plates from the "Show Me" state , Missouri, depict several state symbols : the state bird the eastern bluebird and the state flower the white hawthorn blossom.

Montana offers several environmentally-oriented specialty plates , including the "Yellowstone Forever" plate. The standard-issue plate is much simpler, showing a silhouette of the state and Montana's nickname, the "Treasure State.

Although its current license plate features a minimalistic rendering of the state capitol building , Nebraska's plates were more colorful until , when they were enlivened by the warm tones of the state bird and flower the western meadowlark and goldenrod, respectively. Between and , Nevada issued the "Sunset" license plate depicting the Sierra Nevada mountains. Beginning in , the state introduced the "Home Means Nevada" plate, which is predominantly sky-blue with a stylized, multicolored rendering of the mountains.

New Hampshire's license plate bears the state's bold slogan, "Live Free or Die. New Jersey's license plate is no-nonsense.

Other states advertise their exports or their natural wonders on their plates, but Jersey's reputation as the Garden State clearly precedes it. With its captivating green, yellow, and red color combo, New Mexico's license plate lives up to the state's nickname, the "Land of Enchantment.

The regal, two-tone New York license plate supports the state's identity as the "Empire State. As historical evidence revealed in , the brothers might not have been the first to successfully fly a plane.