California License Plates

Gunther Frostyburger reports seeing what was obviously an error plate in Nov. 2015 with number 7QDK528.

Sesquicentennial was removed with the 4NPA series. Highest reported: 4NOZ383

High without: 6TPV999

Low with: 6TPW046

The "Sesquicentennial - 150 Years" slogan was only applied from the 4AAA series through the 4NOZ series. After that, plates reverted to having no slogan (see 1993 Series) until 2011, when "dmv.ca.gov" was introduced.

Issued from 1993 through 2011, except for a brief departure when the "Sesquicentennial - 150 Years" slogan was used.

Series low: 1AAA006 2014-11-21 Scott Broady (gold/blue base)

Highest 6 digit: 971 ZZZ 2015-05-26 Chris Cargill (gold/blue base)

California Apportioned plates since 1982 are assigned to trucks, buses and trailers crossing borders under IRP.

Prefixes AP, BP, CP, EP reserved for two-plate vehicles such as buses and box trucks.

Prefixes SP-ZP reserved for single plate vehicles such as truck tractors.

Prefixes AT-HT reserved for trailer plates issued between 1982-2001, replaced with Permanent Trailer in 2001.

9A, 9B, 9C, 9D, 9E, and 9F are part of a series used for tractor-trailers.  These plates are found only on tractors, not standard light pickups.

Low:  9A04976 on the 1987 base.

9F52984 is the Tractor high with the DMV web on the bottom, spotted on 2016-02-19.

California was expecting to run out of Commercial plates in the current format in August 2008 at 8Z99999, but current indications are that it will be much later, possibly as late as July 2009.  The next format will be 00000A1 with the last digit staying constant as before.  After 99999A1 will be 00000B1.  After 99999Z1 will be 00000A2.

Original format high:  8Z99993

New format low:  00001A1

High without website:  99799E1

Low with website:  00036F1

00001A D/P followed D/P Z9999.  Now the series has advanced to D/P 001AA.

01426D/V reported as a low by Gunther Frostyburger.

"CA EXEMPT" on the top of the plate.

Exempt plates are found on vehicles belonging to public agencies, such as state and local governments, school districts, etc.

E low: E007027 (E prefix dropped when 1000000 reached)

Exempt Motorcycle: 3011726 This is a new type that takes the place of the former diagonal and diamond E types. Low for this type: 3000231

Same style as passenger plate, but with "LIVERY" printed in red at the bottom of the plate.

Series progressed from 1ZZZ to 3ZZA.

3 series low: 3ZZA020

Note:  21A through 29B (all the A and B prefixes from 21-29 were issued) were issued as blue cycles in the late 80s.  20A has been verified.  20B has also been verified on the current base.  Next, will they issue any prefixes between 21 and 29, or just go to 30A?  The DMV has never issued a zero in the 2nd position.  There are no 10A-10Z prefixes.  They started at 11A and 21A previously.

Low:  11E5389

From Scott Broady:  After 20Z9999, cycles go to 21C0000. They skip A and B due to these having been issued in the 1980s on blue cycles. They will go from C to Z for every one of the 20's from this point forward.

Franky Hernandez notes that the 21L series is using a narrower die with wider numbers and letters.

Trailer plates beginning with 4 are permanent issues. Low is 4AA1488

Permanent Trailer plates are also available on the Yosemite special. Douglas Carmack reports 1ZX0017, which he got since they are so rare.

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Trailer plates beginning with 1 require annual registration (recreational trailers, fifth wheels, etc.)

On non-perm trailer plates, 1UA - 1ZY series are used for commercial weight fee trailers.  The high is 1XE1140 from Diedrik Edholm on 2013-08-19.

296NUG also spotted by Gunther Frostyburger on 2013-07-11. Scott Broady reports that there are several series being issued.  Alphas all over the place.  There really isnt a high at the moment.  Maybe after all the initial 7500 are distributed.

First available in 2015. Proceeds benefit the California Cultural and Historical Endowment (CCHE)'s grant program for museums in California.

According to the Los Angeles Times, the redesigned Whale Tail plate is set to debut August 2, 2011. The current plate is being retired in the wake of a dispute with artist Wyland, who created the original design. The new design is in use, which appears similar to the discontinued Wyland design except that the tail is not as wide and is drawn at an angle.

1VDZ316 was the original design, but 1VDZ559 was reported on the new design. However, 1VDY714 was reported on the new design, so there must have been some switching back and forth between the designs briefly.

The California Firefighter license plate can only be issued to a currently registered vehicle owned by an active or retired California firefighter.  The fees collected from these plates (which vary depending on if the plates are sequential or personalized) are deposited in the California Firefighters Memorial Fund, which was created and is sponsored by California Professional Firefighters (CPF).

Lake Tahoe license plate was redesigned, and now it is a "Protect Lake Tahoe" license plate.

Lake Tahoe Truck high - 2Z39959 2009-01-07 Andy Smith

Chris Cargill reports 2Z38003 on a 2012 natural on 2012-11-16.

1963 colors of yellow/orange on black, but with a black reflective background.

These apparently started with B in the first position. No A plates have been seen. All plates reported so far have had zero (0) in the last position.

From Chris Cargill: It appears the numbers after the first letter and the second letter advance. I've yet to see one with something other than a zero in the last position. I'm guessing these may have started at B001A0 progressed to B999A0, then to B001B0, and so on. Though I have no official confirmation, it seems to be the logical progression.

Legacy Motorcycle plates are in the same format, but beginning with C.

Motorcycle high: C125U0 2015-07-14 Jake Bear Spotted in San Diego.

CALIFORNIA embossed at top, graphic of the Liberty Bell (in red) separating the numbers and "US" with blue screened 1791 BILL OF RIGHTS 1991 at the bottom.  This is one of the rarest plates in California. Chad reports 0598 US on a Prius 2009-12-09, so it has obviously been reassigned.

The letters "PP" are inside a triangle.

Letter series also used: CAT, PUG, PET, SAT, apparently not issued in sequential order.

Logo of a yellow bear on the left side of the plate, underlined with "UCLA" written underneath. "BRUINS" at bottom of plate highlighted by a yellow background.

These plates are no longer issued.

Yosemite plates have been in the UB- series, but Art Kraemer reports 1VBA093 on 2012-10-27.  In addition, Chris Cargill spotted 1VBA808 on 2013-09-12.  1VBB325 reported on 2009-05-11.

The V series has been used on the Whale Tail (Coastal Protection) plates, so it's possible that the VBA series Yosemite plates were just a production mistake.

From Andy Smith: Not sure if these are still being issued; they were originally issued to match the current truck-format plates, with a number, letter, then 5 numbers, but with the same Yosemite background as the passenger plates.

Gold star on the left and GOLD STAR FAMILY at the bottom.

This type released to the general public as a replacement for the original Veteran plate listed below in 2012. It is the only current type of Veteran plate and is not necessary to be a veteran to purchase one. Design includes white "HONORING VETERANS" caption on a red bottom stripe and a large space at left for a decal of various branches of the military.

Legion of Valor in block letters, older plate with block CALIFORNIA embossed at top.

Pearl Harbor Survivor written out stacked on the left. State name in older block letters at top.

Purple Heart badge on the left, "Combat Wounded" on bottom.  These also have been issued with PH as a suffix, which probably came before the prefix.

00PH01 came in after PH9999

Veteran plates ended up in the 123ABC format, but they are no longer being issued. The only Veteran plate in California now is the Honoring Veterans, listed above.