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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.

[Michigan dashboard disc] 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.

[California 1916 license plate] 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.

[Connecticut 1937 license plate] 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.

[Ohio 1943 trailer plate] 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.

[Missouri 1953 license plate] 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.


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
IdahoCars 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
MinnesotaCars 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 MexicoCars 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 -
OregonCars 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
WashingtonCars 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
WisconsinCars 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

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Last update 26 September 2015.