License Plates
License plates are the backbone of the automotive industry. Not only do license plates identify each individual car from state to state but they are also some of the most popular collector items in the United States. Each state has its own design, layout and state slogan on the plates. Some states require a plate on the front and the back of the car and some states only require one plate on the car, usually in the back. The plates are usually metallic or plastic and contain a numeric or alphanumeric code that the police use to identify each vehicle on the roadways.
Every vehicle on the road must have a license plate, as required by United States law, including commercial vehicles, motorcycles and some golf carts. When vehicle owners sell their vehicles they must remove the license plates from the car. The new owner of the car has to register for new plates, or tags, with the Division of Motor Vehicles. In the United States, New York became the first state to require vehicles to have license plates beginning in 1901. The catch was that the state did not issue plates; the vehicles owners had to make their own plates and attach them to the car.
The first two states to require license plates on vehicles and issue them to the vehicle owners were Massachusetts and West Virginia in 1903. Standard plates, of definitive sizes, were first issued in 1957 for every vehicle across the country. Their standard size is 12 by 6 inches.
In the United States there are a variety of different plates to cover a variety of different vehicles. Those plates are used for classic/historic cars, commercial vehicles, government vehicles, fire trucks, police cars, tractor trailers, buses, farm equipment, a veteran driver, a handicapped driver and volunteer firefighters.
Aside from there being certain plates for certain vehicles, there are also vanity plates for cars. Vanity plates are specialized plates designed by the vehicle owner. All 50 states and the District of Columbia provide drivers with the option of designing their own vanity plates for a cost higher than regular license plates. Vanity plates are used for a person’s name, their pet, their favorite vacation spot, their favorite team or athlete, or a favorite saying.
Other vanity plates can have team logos and team designs. Some can be purchases to benefit a charity such as a local animal shelter or to help cure cancer. Optional plates include amateur radio, Eagle Scout, DARE, rotary club and prisoner of war.
If required by law to have two license plates on a vehicle, the driver of the car can be ticketed for not having two license plates on their vehicle. License plates can be ordered from the Division of Motor Vehicles or the Motor Vehicle Commission, which are run by each individual state. In the District of Columbia license plates are issued by the city government. License plates do not cost all that much unless the owner wishes to purchase vanity plates.