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License Plate Gallery

The Wisconsin Pages:

Human Service Vehicle ("ZY")

Human Service Vehicle plates are issued to small buses and other vehicles used to transport elderly or disabled persons. One of the more inconspicuous non-passenger classes that exist; this type is identified only by the letters "ZY" within the serial.

For Hire ("ZZ")

"For Hire" vehicles encompass taxis and airport shuttle vans. Like Human Service Vehicle plates, these follow an inconspicuous format; identifiable only by the letters "ZZ." A very limited number of these were issued at any one time, and it appears that issuance may have been discontinued altogether in favor of passenger plates in 2004.

Personalized Passenger

Own-choice serials in any combination of letters and numbers have been available since 1979. Seven-character vanities became possible following the switch to narrower dies in late 1994.

Amateur Radio

Special callsign license plates for amateur radio operators have been available since at least 1952; though a special caption wasn't employed until 1979. Wisconsin is in zone 9; consequently, the vast majority of Wisconsin amateur radio license plates contain a numeric character of "9" in the serial. Out-of-district callsigns may occasionally be spotted; belonging to radio operators that have moved to Wisconsin from elsewhere in the country.

Collector Special

The so-called Collector "Special" plates (captioned as "Vehicle Collector" on more recent issues) are special issues available to motorists that own Collector vehicle registrations. Such plates bear a serial number common to a Collector plate already registered in a motorist's name, and are treated similarly to vanities.

Disabled

Special license plates providing parking privileges to disabled motorists have been issued as far back as the 1960s. A variety of different serial formats have been used over the years.

A related class is Disabled Motorcycle. Formerly, other "dual type" plates in combinations such as Disabled Truck and Disabled Motor Home were issued as well; however, this practice has since ceased in favor of a single series that can be used on multiple vehicle types.

In addition to Disabled license plates, the Wisconsin DOT also issues parking identification placards that may be moved between vehicles at will. Such placards are validated by month and year stickers similar to those used on license plates. The stickers are supposed to go on the card itself, but once in a blue moon someone will stick them on the license plate instead...

Motor Home

Motor Home plates were introduced in 1978, and have generally remained similar in appearance to passenger plates since.

Although it appears that the original intention was to validate the plates with annual year stickers in the lower right corner, larger insert stickers have been used instead; allowing the option of quarterly registration to motorists. An additional sticker containing a weight class code letter is also used; though it is sometimes missing. All Motor Home plates back to 1987 remain in use.