Vehicle registration plates of the United States for 1911

Last updated February 08, 2024

Vehicle registration plates of the United States by year
Vehicle registration plates of the United States for 1910	Events of 1911	Vehicle registration plates of the United States for 1912

In 1911 Alabama, Arkansas, Illinois, Iowa, Missouri, North Dakota, and Oregon joined the list of states and territories providing license plates to vehicle owners, and no new states entered the prestate era. There were now 26 states and 2 territories that were issuing license plates and 10 other states 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					Plates were valid from October 1, 1911, to September 30, 1912. See the 1912 entry for these plates. This plate registration system continued through 1975–76.
Alaska					No prestate plates. State issued plates begin in 1921.
American Samoa					No prestate plates. Territory issued plates begin in 1924.
Arizona					No prestate plates. State issued plates begin in 1914.
Arkansas	Black serial on white porcelain plate with border line; vertical "ARK" and "1911" at left and right respectively	none	1234	1 to about 1600	First year for state issued plates.
California	Black serial on white and many variations	none	12345	New plates numbered 30478 to 61784	Plates 1 - 30477 still valid; This plate number was issued during August 1911. State issued plates begin in 1914.
Canal Zone
Colorado					No prestate plates. State issued plates begin in 1913.
Connecticut	Blue serial number on white porcelain plate	none	C12345	C1 to about C14000
Delaware	White numbers on dark blue porcelain; "DEL. 1911" at top	none	1234	1 to about 1500
District of Columbia	White numbers on black porcelain plate; "DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA" at top	none	12345	Previous issues plus 6273 - 9289^[5]	Not all were issued with some blocks of numbers possibly reserved for motorcycles^[5]
Florida	Owner provided white numbers on black plate	none	12345		State issued plates begin in 1918.
Georgia	Black numbers on bare aluminum base	none	12345	1 to about 10000	Rolled edges and individual numbers slide into plate; valid until 1913
Guam					No prestate plates. Territory issued plates begin in 1916.
Hawai'i					No prestate plates. Territory issued plates begin in 1922.
Idaho					No prestate plates. State issued plates begin in 1913.
Illinois	Black on white; vertical "ILL" at right	none	12345	1 to about 38269	First year for state issued plates. No year on plates; two plates (pairs) issued for each vehicle.
Indiana					State issued plates begin in 1913.
Iowa	Embossed white serial number on dark blue plate with border line; "IA 1911" at right	none	12345	2001 to about 29900	First year for state issued plates.
Kansas					No prestate plates. State issued plates begin in 1913.
Kentucky	White serial number on black porcelain plate; vertical "KY" at right side with circle containing 'B' below	none	1234	1 to about 3200	Two plates (pairs) issued for each vehicle
Louisiana					No prestate plates. State issued plates begin in 1915.
Maine	White serial number on red porcelain plate; "MAINE" centered at bottom	none	12345	1 to about 10050	Manufacturing date code on back of some plates; multiple variations known
Maryland	White numbers on black porcelain plate; large "MD" over "1911" at right	none	1234	1000 to about 8050
Massachusetts	White serial number on blue porcelain plate; vertical "MASS" at left; vertical "1911" at right	none	12345	1 to about 32800	Two plates (pairs) issued for each vehicle
Michigan	White serial numbers on black porcelain plate; state seal at top left with "MICH" over "1911" below	none	12345	1 to about 27550	Plates ending in the letter "M" are dealer or manufacturer plates; two plates (pairs) issued for each vehicle
Minnesota	White serial numbers on dark blue porcelain plate; vertical "MINN" at left and vertical "1911" at right	none	12345	1 to about 19550	Two plates (pairs) issued for each vehicle
Mississippi					No prestate plates. State issued plates begin in 1912.
Missouri	Embossed unpainted aluminum numbers on yellow plate; "MISSOURI 1911" at bottom	none	12345	1 to about 16200	First year for state issued plates. Paint on numbers was buffed off to expose aluminum below
Montana					Prestate plates start in 1913. State issued plates begin in 1915.
Nebraska	Prestate owner provided plate with white serial numbers on black background	none	12345	1 to about 64000(?)	State issued plates begin in 1915. As with most prestate license plates, there is a large variation in the plates created
Nevada					Prestate plates start in 1913. State issued plates begin in 1916.
New Hampshire	White serial number on green porcelain plate; "N.H." centered at bottom	none	1234	1 to about 7250	Manufacturing date code on back of some plates; multiple variations known
New Jersey	Red serial number on light gray porcelain plate; "NJ" over riveted state seal over "11" at right	none	12345	1 to about 38000
New Mexico					Last year for prestate plates. State issued plates begin in 1912.
New York	Embossed white serial on maroon plate; vertical "NY" at right	none	12345	1 to about 81300	"M" prefix plates are dealer plates
North Carolina	White serial numbers on black plate	none	1234	1 to about 7000	State issued plates begin in 1913. Black serial numbers on white plates were also authorized
North Dakota	Light orange serial number on black plate; vertical "ND" at left and vertical "1911" at right	none	1234	1 to about 7000(?)	First year for state issued plates.
Northern Mariana Islands					No prestate plates. Territory issued plates begin in 1944.
Ohio	Black serial number on white porcelain plate; vertical "OHIO" at left and vertical "1911" at right	none	12345	1 to about 46000
Oklahoma					No prestate plates. State issued plates begin in 1915.
Oregon	Embossed black serial on yellow plate with border line; vertical "ORE" at left and vertical "1911" at right	none	1234	1 to about 6200	First year for state issued plates. Two plates (pairs) issued for each vehicle
Pennsylvania	Black serial number on yellow porcelain; "PENNA" over aluminum riveted keystone seal over "1911" at left	none	12345	1 to about 43900	Beveled edge on higher numbered plates
Puerto Rico					No prestate plates. Territory issued plates begin in 1912.
Rhode Island	White serial numbers on black porcelain plate; "RI" at right	none	1234	1 to 7978	Some plates have a seriffed letter "I" in the "RI" state abbreviation
South Carolina					No prestate plates. State issued plates begin in 1917.
South Dakota	White serial numbers on black background	none	12345		State issued plates begin in 1913.
Tennessee	Generally white serial numbers on black background, but the reverse coloring is also known to exist	none	12345		State issued plates begin in 1915.
Texas	White serial numbers on black background	none	12345		No prestate plates. State issued plates begin in 1917.
U.S. Virgin Islands					No prestate plates. Territory issued plates begin in 1917.
Utah	Usually white serial numbers on black background	none	1234		State issued plates begin in 1915.
Vermont	Black serial number on white porcelain plate with border line; large "VT." over smaller "1911" at right	none	1234	1 to about 3300	Holes with grommets at the four corners
Virginia	White serial number on dark blue porcelain plate; "VA." over long dash symbol over "1911" at right	none	1234	1 to about 4000
Washington	White serial number on black background; "WN" at left of serial number	none	1234	1 to 11897	State issued plates begin in 1915.
West Virginia	White serial number on dark blue porcelain plate; large "W" over "VA." over smaller 1910" at right; "LICENSED" centered at top between bolt slots	none	1234	1 to about 1700	Grommets at four corner bolt holes
Wisconsin	Riveted aluminum serial number on black zinc plate	none	12345-W	15212-W to 21983-W	Issued only January through July; replaced in 1912.
Wisconsin	Riveted aluminum serial number on dark green plate; vertical "1911" at left	none	1234W	1W to 1287W	Issued only for new registrations between August and December 1911
Wyoming					No prestate plates. State issued plates begin in 1913.

Related Research Articles

All of the 48 states of the United States of America plus several of its territories and the District of Columbia issued individual passenger license plates dated for the year 1942, and due to metal conservation for World War II, 1943 and 1944 for most states. In 1942, automobile production in the United States was halted for the duration of World War II, and many automobile factories were converted to munitions or other war-oriented industrial manufacturing purposes until 1946.

Each of the fifty states of the US plus many of its territories and the District of Columbia issued license plates for registered vehicles for the calendar year 1960.

Each of the 50 states of the United States of America plus several of its territories and the District of Columbia issued individual passenger license plates for 1975.

In 1910 the Canal Zone, Georgia, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, and New York joined the list of states and territories providing license plates to vehicle owners, and no new states entered the prestate era. There were now 19 states and 2 territories that were issuing license plates and 14 other states requiring owners to provide their own license plates.

In 1912 Mississippi, New Mexico, and Puerto Rico joined the list of states and territories providing license plates to vehicle owners, and no new states entered the prestate era. There were now 28 states and 3 territories that were issuing license plates and 9 other states requiring owners to provide their own license plates.

In 1913 Colorado, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, North Carolina, South Dakota, and Wyoming joined the list of states and territories providing license plates to vehicle owners, and Montana and Nevada entered the prestate era. There were now 35 states and 3 territories that were issuing license plates and 8 other states requiring owners to provide their own license plates.

In 1914 Arizona and California joined the list of states and territories providing license plates to vehicle owners, and no new states entered the prestate era. There were now 37 states and 3 territories that were issuing license plates and 7 other states requiring owners to provide their own license plates.

In 1915 Louisiana, Montana, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Utah, and Washington joined the list of states and territories providing license plates to vehicle owners, and no new states entered the prestate era. There were now 44 states and 3 territories that were issuing license plates and 2 other states requiring owners to provide their own license plates.

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.

In 1917 South Carolina, Texas, and the U.S. Virgin Islands joined the list of states and territories providing license plates to vehicle owners, and no new states entered the prestate era. There were now 47 states and 5 territories that were issuing license plates and 1 other state requiring owners to provide their own license plates.

In 1918 Florida joined the list of states and territories providing license plates to vehicle owners, and no new states entered the prestate era. There were now 48 states and 5 territories that were issuing license plates. The prestate era ended when Florida began to issue license plates.

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. 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.

Massachusetts became the first state to officially issue vehicle license plates in 1903. New York continued to require their residents to register their vehicles with the state, but the owner had to supply their own license plate. Connecticut, Minnesota, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and the District of Columbia all began to require vehicle registration with the vehicle owners also supplying their own plate. Each of the other states of the United States of America plus several of its territories did not require or issue license plates during 1903.

In 1904 Rhode Island became the second state, joining Massachusetts, to issue its own license plates, and the states of Iowa and Maryland began to require owners to provide their own license plates.

In 1905 the states of Connecticut, Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, and West Virginia all began to issue their own license plates. The prestate era of plates began in the states of California, Delaware, Florida, Indiana, Michigan, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oregon, South Dakoya, Tennessee. This year saw the most changes during the prestate era. Eight states were now issuing plates and another 17 required their owners to provide their own plates.

In 1906 Pennsylvania and Virginia joined the list of those providing license plates to vehicle owners, and the prestate era began in Washington (state). There were now 10 states that were issuing license plates and 17 other states requiring owners to provide their own license plates.

In 1907 the District of Coumbia joined the list of states providing license plates to vehicle owners, and the prestate era began in Illinois and Missouri. There were now 11 states and territories that were issuing license plates and 18 other states requiring owners to provide their own license plates.

In 1908 Delaware, New Jersey and Ohio joined the list of states and territories providing license plates to vehicle owners, and no new states entered the prestate era. There were now 14 states and territories that were issuing license plates and 16 other states requiring owners to provide their own license plates.

In 1909 Minnesota joined the list of states and territories providing license plates to vehicle owners, and North Carolina and Utah entered the prestate era. There were now 15 states and territories that were issuing license plates and 17 other states requiring owners to provide their own license plates.

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. The state of New York remained the only state that required vehicle owners to register their automobiles. The system of using the owner's initials as the registration number, begun in 1901, remained in effect. This would change in 1903 when a number was assigned to each owner to display on their vehicle. Across the country the increases in the number of automobiles was being noticed, and there were many cities, like Chicago, that had already begun to require their owners to register their vehicles.

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.
1 2 "District of Columbia Archive". PorcelainPlates.net. Retrieved January 12, 2019.

External links

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[1] 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.

[2] 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.

[3] Crisler, Bob; Crisler, Chuck, eds. (2007). License Plate Values (7th ed.). King Publishing Company.

[4] Martells, Jack (1980). Antique Automotive Collectibles. Chicago: Contemporary Books, Inc. pp. 128–145. ISBN 0-8092-7205-9.

[DC1911-5] 1 2 "District of Columbia Archive". PorcelainPlates.net. Retrieved January 12, 2019.

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v t e Vehicle license plates of the United States
States	Alabama Alaska Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware Florida Georgia Hawaii 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 North Carolina North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virginia Washington West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming
Federal district	Washington, D.C.
Insular areas	American Samoa Guam Northern Mariana Islands Puerto Rico U.S. Virgin Islands
Other registration plates	Canal Zone Native American tribes Designs and serial formats
By year	1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023

v t e Vehicle registration plates of North America
Sovereign states	Antigua and Barbuda Bahamas Barbados Belize Canada Costa Rica Cuba Dominica Dominican Republic El Salvador Grenada Guatemala Haiti Honduras Jamaica Mexico Nicaragua Panama Saint Kitts and Nevis Saint Lucia Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Trinidad and Tobago United States
Dependencies and other territories	Anguilla Aruba Bermuda Bonaire British Virgin Islands Cayman Islands Curaçao Greenland Guadeloupe Martinique Montserrat Puerto Rico Saint Barthélemy Saint Martin Saint Pierre and Miquelon Saba Sint Eustatius Sint Maarten Turks and Caicos Islands United States Virgin Islands

Vehicle registration plates of the United States for 1911

Contents

Passenger baseplates

See also

Related Research Articles

References

External links