PROFILPELAJAR.COM

Vehicle registration plates of the United States by year
Vehicle registration plates of the United States for 1915	Events of 1916	Vehicle registration plates of the United States for 1917

In 1916 Guam and Nevada joined the list of states and territories providing license plates to vehicle owners, and no new states entered the prestate era. There were now 45 states and 4 territories that were issuing license plates and 1 other state requiring owners to provide their own license plates.^[1]^[2]^[3]^[4]

Passenger baseplates

In the table below, a light green background indicates that the owner of the vehicle was required to provide their own license plates. These plates are called "prestate" by most collectors. In the prestate era many states only provided the license plate number on a small disc or on paper, and the owner was required to have their license plate(s) made. These early license plates were created from kits that could be purchased at a hardware store, may have been available from automobile clubs or associations, they were forged by blacksmiths or other tradesmen, or the owner may have made their own plate with whatever materials they had on hand. Prestate plates were made from a variety of materials, but most often were made of leather, steel, or wood.

Legend:	Regular state issue plate(s)	Prestate era plate(s)	No plates issued by state or territory

State	Design	Slogan	Serial format	Serials issued	Notes
Alabama
Alaska					No prestate plates. State issued plates begin in 1921.
American Samoa					No prestate plates. Territory issued plates begin in 1924.
Arizona
Arkansas
California
Canal Zone
Colorado
Connecticut
Delaware
District of Columbia
Florida					State issued plates begin in 1918.
Georgia
Guam					First year for territory issued plates.
Hawai'i					No prestate plates. Territory issued plates begin in 1922.
Idaho
Illinois
Indiana
Iowa	Embossed beige serial on dark olive green plate; "IA" and dash at right	none	123456	1 to approximately 341000	Used until 1918 due to metal conservation for World War I.
Kansas
Kentucky
Louisiana
Maine
Maryland
Massachusetts
Michigan
Minnesota
Mississippi
Missouri
Montana
Nebraska
Nevada					First year for state issued plates.
New Hampshire
New Jersey
New Mexico
New York
North Carolina
North Dakota
Northern Mariana Islands					No prestate plates. Territory issued plates begin in 1944.
Ohio
Oklahoma
Oregon
Pennsylvania
Puerto Rico
Rhode Island
South Carolina					No prestate plates. State issued plates begin in 1917.
South Dakota
Tennessee
Texas					No prestate plates. State issued plates begin in 1917.
U.S. Virgin Islands					No prestate plates. Territory issued plates begin in 1917.
Utah
Vermont
Virginia
Washington
West Virginia
Wisconsin	Embossed red serial on white plate; vertical "WIS." over "'16." at right	none	123456	1 to approximately 115000	First base to use six digits.
Wyoming

References

^ Fox, Jams K. (1997). License Plates of the United States: A Pictorial History 1903-To the Present. Jerico, New York: Interstate Directory Publishing Company. ISBN 9781886777002.
^ Minard, Jeff; Stentiford, Tim (2004). A Moving History, 50 Years Of ALPCA. 100 Years Of License Plates. Paducah, Kentucky: Turner Publishing Company. p. 58. ISBN 1-56311-975-7.
^ Crisler, Bob; Crisler, Chuck, eds. (2007). License Plate Values (7th ed.). King Publishing Company.
^ Martells, Jack (1980). Antique Automotive Collectibles. Chicago: Contemporary Books, Inc. pp. 128–145. ISBN 0-8092-7205-9.