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License Plate Gallery

The Wisconsin Pages:

Month Codes

In 1946, Wisconsin became the first state in the nation to adopt a staggered registration system utilizing all twelve months of the year. From then until the discontinuation of the 1980 baseplate between 1986 and 1993, Wisconsin license plates bore a serial prefix keyed to the month of expiration:

	1946-52	1953-60	1961-86
Jan	1	A	A, B
Feb	2	B	C, D
Mar	3	C	E, F
Apr	4	D	G, H
May	5	E	J, K
Jun	6	H	L, M
Jul	7	J	N, P
Aug	8	K	Q, R
Sep	9	L	S, T
Oct	10	P	U, V
Nov	11	T	W, X
Dec	12	V	Y, Z

Weight Codes

Weight class letters appeared on passenger license plates from 1924 to 1931, and on most truck and trailer plates from 1924 on. Information on early weight codes is a bit incomplete. The weight code appears as the top letter on plates with stacked two-alpha prefixes.

Pounds	1924-31 passenger	1923-24 truck	1935-41	1947-77	1978-date
1600	A
2000	B
2800	C
3000		A	A	A
4000	D
4500	E1	B	B	B	A2
6000		C	C	C	B
8000			D	D	C
10000			E	E	X
12000		D	F	F	D
14000			G	G
16000			H	H	E
18000			J	J
20000		E	K	K	F
22000		F3	L	L
24000			M	M
26000				N	G
28000				R
30000				S4
32000				T	H
34000				V
36000			N	X
38000				XA, Y	J
40000				XB, YA
42000				XC, YB
44000				XD, YC	K
46000				XE, YD
48000				YE
50000				YF	L
52000				YG
54000				YH	M
56000				YJ	N
58000				YK
60000				XF, YM
62000					P
64000				YN
66000				YR
68000				YS	Q
70000				YT		14000 lbs or over 25000 lbs for motor homes 320000 lbs or over 428000 lbs or over for farm trucks 571500 lbs for dairy trucks 626000 lbs or over for motor homes
71000				YU5
72000				YV
73000				YX-YZ	R
76000					S
80000					T6

Constant Prefixes and Suffixes

The following letters apply as constants in some non-passenger serial formats to help indicate the type of plate:

Letter(s)	Format	Type	When used
A	A 1234	Driver Education	1975-93
B	12345B	Bus	2004-date
D	D123	Disabled Motorcycle	1991-date
	D12345	Ducks Unlimited passenger	2001-date
	12345D	Disabled	Late 1990s-date
E	12345E	Endangered Resources passenger	1995-date
F	123456F	Farm Truck	1994-date
G	12345G	Green Bay Packers passenger	2001-date
K	12345K	Celebrate Children passenger	1999-date
L	L12345	Lao Veterans of America, Freemason passenger	2001-date
M	M12-345	Municipal	1958-60
	12345M	Military group passenger	2006-date
N	12345N	Guard Member	2007-date
P	12345P	Gold Star Family passenger	2006-date
R	12345R	Civilian group passenger	2006-date
S	12345S	Donate Life passenger	2008-date
T	12345T A1234T AB123T	Sesquicentennial passenger	1997-98
U	12345U	University group passenger	2006-date
V	VA12	Veteran Motorcycle	2002-date
	12345V	Disabled Veteran	2009-date
W	12345W	Apportioned	2000s-date
X	12345X	Special-X	1954-98
Y	12345Y	Salutes Veterans passenger	2006-date
Z	Z1234	Moped	1978-80
	Z 1234	Special-Z	1967-79
BX	BX 1234 12345 BX	BX Bus	1956-2004
CR	CR 12345	Canadian Reciprocity	1955-66
CT	1234CT	Camping Trailer	1978-97
DA	DA 1234	Disabled	1967-79
DE	12345 DE	Driver Education	1993-2004
ER	12345 ER	Endangered Resources passenger	2010-date
LS	1234 LS	Low Speed Vehicle	2008-date
LZ	LZ 1234	Loaner	1976-86
MB	MB 1234	Municipal Bus	1969-72
MH	MH 12345 MH A1234	Mobile Home	1958-2008
MU	12345 MU	Marquette University passenger	2010-date
MV	MV 1234 A MV 1234AB	Motor Vehicle Business	1996-date
PR	PR 12345	Permit Reciprocity	1956-71
RV	RV 1234 A	RV Dealer	1993-date
	12345 RV	RV Trailer	2008-date
SB	SB 1234 12345 SB	School Bus	1957-72, 1998-2004
SP	12345 SP	Special-X	1998-date
ST	ST 12345	Apportioned Semi Trailer	2001
TL	TL 1234 A	Trailer Demonstrator/Dealer	1996-date
UX	UX 1234	Special-UX	1956-79
ZA	ZA 12345 12345 ZA	Light Trailer	1978-date
ZY	ZY 1234 ZYA-123 123-ZYA	Human Service Vehicle	1979-date
ZZ	ZZ 1234 ZZA-123 123-ZZA	For Hire	1972-2004
DIS	DIS 1234 DIS A123 DIS AB12	Disabled	1979-90s
DUP	DUP 1234	Duplicate	1939-45
POW	POW-123 POW-12A	Ex-Prisoner of War	1980-date
VET	VET 1234	Disabled Veteran	1956-2009
DUPL	DUPL 1234	Duplicate	1928-38