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Vehicle registration plates of the United States for 1901

At this early point in the history of license plates in the United States of America, none of the 45 states, territories, or the District of Columbia, was issuing its own plates.^[1][2][3][4] In this year New York became the first state to require vehicle owners to register their vehicles. The owners of these early New York vehicles had to provide their own license plates with only their initials on them. Plates were often made of metal letters on a thick leather background or on a steel base. This system of using the owners initials lasted until 1903 when a change to using a number provided by the state began.^[5]

While New York may have been the first state to require license plates for their vehicles, there were already cities that required plates. The city of Chicago passed an ordinance in 1899 that required their owners to pass a health test, an oral test, demonstrate their capability to operate the type of vehicle they owned, such as gasoline, steam, or electric, and mandated that the owners place a registration number issued by the city on the back of their vehicle. While this Chicago ordinance took effect in 1899, the first tests were not held until February 17, 1900.^[6][7]

Passenger baseplates[edit]

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. The prestate era officially ended in 1918 when the state of Florida began to officially issue license plates.

Image	State	Design	Slogan	Serial format	Serials issued	Notes
	Alabama
	Alaska
	American Samoa
	Arizona
	Arkansas
	California
	Colorado
	Connecticut
	Delaware
	District of Columbia
	Florida
	Georgia
	Guam
	Hawai'i
	Idaho
	Illinois
	Indiana
	Iowa
	Kansas
	Kentucky
	Louisiana
	Maine
	Maryland
	Massachusetts
	Michigan
	Minnesota
	Mississippi
	Missouri
	Montana
	Nebraska
	Nevada
	New Hampshire
	New Jersey
	New Mexico
	New York	Owner's initials	None	AB or ABC	None	Registrations were numbered 1 to 954, but the number did not appear on the license plate.
	North Carolina
	North Dakota
	Northern Mariana Islands
	Ohio
	Oklahoma
	Oregon
	Pennsylvania
	Puerto Rico
	Rhode Island
	South Carolina
	South Dakota
	Tennessee
	Texas
	Utah
	Vermont
	Virginia
	Washington
	West Virginia
	Wisconsin
	Wyoming

State registrations[edit]

The following chart shows the year each U.S. state, territory, and the District of Columbia began to require license plates (prestate) and when they started to provide license plates. In some cases locations did not issue any prestate plates or no prestate plates are known, and this is indicated by the table cell not having a date. Clicking on a state name or a year in the table will take you to those articles.

See also[edit]

• Antique vehicle registration
• Electronic license plate
• Motor vehicle registration
• Vehicle license

References[edit]

External links[edit]