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License Plate Gallery

License Plate Sticker Colors, Part 1: The Origin of Stickers

Validation stickers on license plates are ubiquitous today, and have been ubiquitous in most states for more than 40 years. How did it all begin, though? Surprisingly, ancillary means of revalidation have existed for nearly as long as license plates themselves.

The distant ancestor of the validation sticker was the metallic tax disc, usually fastened to the wooden dashboard of a car. In 1907 the state of Michigan began to issue dated dashboard discs on an annual basis, displayed in conjunction with an owner-provided multi-year plate. Michigan discontinued discs in 1910, but Nevada, Massachusetts, and New Hampshire experimented with similar systems (sometimes for motorcycles only) through the course of the teens. Other states also issued metallic dashboard discs in this era, but used them in conjunction with annual dated plates.

In 1916, the state of California issued a porcelain-enamel baseplate. The base was intended to be used for four years, and had rivet holes for annual metal tabs to be affixed directly to the license plate itself.

Several states and provinces followed California's lead and experimented with multi-year base use and metal tabs or inserts in the teens and 1920s, but few of them stuck with it for long. Small tabs were difficult to identify for validity at a glance, and easy for thieves to steal. By 1925, every jurisdiction in North America was issuing annual license plates in embossed steel.

In 1937, Connecticut bucked the prevailing trends and brought out a multi-year base that was designed to be used for many years and validated by annual date tabs from the outset. Durability concerns were mitigated by the fact that the plates were made of heavy-gauge aluminum with no background paint (making them immune to fading and rust), and the fact that the annual renewal tabs were brittle and difficult to steal helped salve concerns about security. It was a sign of trends to come.

Due to metal shortages and rationing concerns during World War II, all states were forced to look and scramble for ways to save material. Some jurisdictions issued license plates made of fiberboard or other alternate materials, some discontinued front plates in reaction, and many of them revisited the concept of multi-year baseplate use. The most common strategy was to issue metal date tabs, proven by Connecticut. Some states instead elected to issue windshield decals. Trailers and motorcycles lacked a windshield to stick things to, however...so alternate means of revalidation had to be used.

In 1943, trailers and motorcycles in Ohio were revalidated by a decal that was affixed to the license plate itself. This was the first example of a validation "sticker" in North America...although the decal was not self-adhesive and needed to be soaked in water before use. Delaware, Manitoba, and Nova Scotia also experimented with plate decals during the war.

The first self-adhesive license plate stickers in the United States were issued by Missouri in late 1952, partway through the 1953 expiration year. The trend snowballed quickly, with no fewer than six states (Missouri, Nevada, Arizona, California, Washington, and Pennsylvania) issuing them before the decade was through.

Validation stickers were first issued in Canada during 1963, making their appearances in the Maritime provinces of Prince Edward Island and New Brunswick that year. Since stickers were less expensive, less cumbersome, and more theft-resistant than metal tabs, the older format of revalidation made a rapid disappearance as the 1960s drew to a close. The last North American jurisdiction issuing metal tabs was Manitoba, which switched to stickers in 1971. Indiana finally discontinued issuing annual plates to passenger vehicles ten years later, and multi-year sticker-validated baseplates became universal...except in New York and New Jersey, where the stickers went on the windshield instead.

Ironically for having been the state that pioneered stickers in the 1950s, Missouri later regressed and reverted to annual dated plates from mid-1967 expirations through 1980.

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Stickers indicating years of issue and primary use (as opposed to dates of expiration) are noted in italics.

United States
Alaska		Metal tabs through 1963.											64	65	-	67	-	69	-	71	72	73	74	75	>
Arizona		Metal tabs			-	57	58	-	60	-	62	63	-	65	-	67	68	-	70	71	72	-	74	75
Arkansas		Annual plates through 1968.																69	70	71	72	73	74	75
California		Metal tabs			-	57	58	59	60	61	62	-	64	65	66	67	68	69	70	71	72	73	74	75
																					72a	73a	74a	75a
Colorado		Annual plates through 1960.								61	Annual plates through 1975.
Connecticut		Metal tabs through 1963.										63b	64	65	66	67	68	69	70	71	72	73	74	75	>
Delaware		Metal tabs through 1962.									62b	63	64c	65c	Colors vary c				d c	71	72	Colors vary c
District of Columbia		Annual plates through 1967.												65e	66e	67e	68	69e	70	71	72	73	74	75
Florida		Annual plates through 1975.																	70f	71f	72f	73f	74f	75f
Georgia		Annual plates through 1971.																			72	73	74	75
Hawaii		Windshield stickers through 1968.																-	70	71	72	73	74	75
Idaho	Cars	Annual plates through 1968.																69	70	71	72	73	-	75	>
	Motorcycles																	69	70	71	72	-	74	75
Iowa		Annual plates through 1972.																				73	74	-
Kansas		Annual plates through 1976.																			72g	73g	74g	75g
Maine		Metal tabs through 1967.															-	69	70	71	72	73	-	h
Maryland		Annual plates through 1971.																			72	73	74	75
Massachusetts		Biannual plates and windshield stickers through 1969.																	70e	71i	72	73	74	75	>
Michigan		Annual plates through 1971.																			72	-	74	75
Minnesota	Cars	Metal tabs through 1964.												-	66	67	-	69	70	-	72	73	-	75
	Motorcycles													-		67	-	69	-	71	-	73
Missouri		53b	54	55	56	57	58	59	60	61	-	63	64	65	66	67	Annual plates through 1980.
Montana		Metal tabs through 1966.														-		69	-	71	72	-	74	-
Nebraska		Metal tabs through 1959.							-	61	-	63	64	-		67	68	-	70	71	-	73	74	75	>
Nevada		-		55	Annual plates through 1961.						62	63	64	-	66	67	68	-	70	71	72	73	74	75
New Hampshire		Annual plates through 1973.																					74	75a
New Jersey (motorcycles)		Annual plates through 1960.								61	62	63	64	65	66	67	68	69	70	71	-	73	74	75
New Mexico	Cars	Annual plates through 1959.							60j	-	62	63	64	65	66	67	68	69	70	71	-	73	74	75
	Motorcycles	Annual plates through 1968.																69	70	Annual plates				-
New York		Metal tabs through 1963.											-	65	66	67	68	69	70	71	72	73d	74a	75a	>
North Dakota		Metal tabs through 1961.									-	63	64	65	-	67	68	69	-	71	72	73	-	75
Ohio		Annual plates through 1974.															68k	69k	-					l
Oklahoma		Annual plates through 1973.																					74	-
Oregon	Cars	Metal tabs through 1960.								61	62	63	64	65	66	67	68	69	70	71	72	73	74	75
	Motorcycles	Annual plates through 1966.														67	-	69	70	71		73	74
Pennsylvania		Annual plates through 1958.						59	60	61	62	63	64	-	66	67	68	69	70	-	72	73	74	75	>
Rhode Island		Metal tabs through 1960.								61	62	63	64	65	66	67	68	69	70	71	72	73	74	75
Tennessee		Annual plates through 1962.										63	64	65	-	67	68	69	70	-	72	73	74	75
Utah		Annual plates through 1968.								61m	62m	-						69	70	71	72	-	74	75
Vermont		Annual plates through 1967.															68	-	70	71	-	73	74	75
Virginia		Annual plates through 1973.																				73	74	75
Washington	Cars	Metal tabs through 1957.					58	59	60	61	62	-	64	65	66	67	68	69	70	71	72	73	74	75	>
	Motorcycles	Annual plates through 1965.												65	66	67	68	69	70	71	72	73	74	75
West Virginia		Annual plates through 1970.																		71	72	73	74	75
Wisconsin	Cars	Metal tabs through 1960.								-	62	-	64	-	66	67	-	69	70	71	72	-	74	75
	Motorcycles	Annual plates through 1965.													66	-	68	69	-	71	-	73	-	75

^a Issued to motorcycles only.

^b Stickers issued to late registrants only; others received metal tabs.

^c For many years, Delaware issued stickers in colors for expiration months that stayed similar from year to year. The following colors were used on expiration stickers from 1964 to 1970, although some yellow year-only stickers were also distributed in 1964-65:

Mar

Jun

Sep

Dec

A 12-month color palette was introduced for 1973 expirations and modified two years later:

73-74	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
75	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec

^d Or windshield/window sticker.

^e Used on vanity plates only.

^f Half-year registration stickers for non-residents.

^g Stickers used on interim/overflow plates with "Z" serial code.

^h For many years, Maine issued combined month-year stickers in unique colors for each expiration month. Due to the transition into a staggered registration system, 1975 expirations covered only the last three months of the year:

Oct

Nov

Dec

ⁱ Some examples of Massachusetts '71 stickers were red on white:

71

^j Sticker applied to metal tab.

^k Local tax stickers on annual dated plates.

^l Four different colors of Ohio '75 stickers were issued, depending on the expiration and use:

Passenger vehicles (exp. Apr 76)	75
Passenger vehicles (exp. May 76)	75
Motorcycles (exp. May 76)	75
Replacement and misc. types	75

^m Used for durability tests on experimental reflective plates only.

Canada
British Columbia	Cars	Annual plates through 1970.							70	71	72	-	74	75	>
	Motorcycles	Annual plates through 1974.												75
Alberta		Annual plates through 1973.											74	-
Manitoba		Metal tabs through 1970.								71	72	73	74	75
Ontario		Annual plates through 1973.											74	75
New Brunswick		63	-	65	-	67	68	-	70	71	-	73	74	-
Nova Scotia		-				67	68	-	70	71	-	73	74	75
Prince Edward Island		63	-			67	68	-	70	71	72	-	74	75	>
Newfoundland & Labrador		Annual plates through 1970.								71	72	-	74	75