Massachusetts was the first U.S. state to issue license plates on September 1, 1903, to Frederick Tudor.[1] Plates are currently issued by the Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles (RMV).
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Current series | |
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Slogan | The Spirit of America |
Size | 12 in × 6 in 30 cm × 15 cm |
Material | Aluminum |
Introduced | 1987 | (vanity plates and some non-passenger types; used as standard passenger base from 1993 onwards)
Availability | |
Issued by | Massachusetts Department of Transportation, Registry of Motor Vehicles |
History | |
First issued | September 1, 1903 | , to Frederick Tudor
On November 12, 2019, Massachusetts became the final state to issue temporary license plates (designated as type PAS, subtype TP), which can be printed at home & put in the RMV sleeve & affixed to the back of the vehicle. Temporary plates are initially good for 20 days but can be renewed once after 17 days if permanent plates haven't arrived yet.
All plates since 1978 are currently valid. Prior to 1993, only rear plates were required; since the first "Spirit of America" plate was issued in 1986, front and rear plates have been required since. As such, the 1978-1993 issues continue to only require the rear plate, while the "Spirit of America" issues since 1986 require front and rear plates.
Passenger baseplates
edit1903 to 1966
editIn 1956, the United States, Canada, and Mexico came to an agreement with the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators, the Automobile Manufacturers Association and the National Safety Council that standardized the size for license plates for vehicles (except those for motorcycles) at 6 inches (15 cm) in height by 12 inches (30 cm) in width, with standardized mounting holes.[2] The 1955 (dated 1956) issue was the first Massachusetts license plate that complied with these standards.
Image | Dates issued | Design | Serial format | Serials issued | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1903–07 | White serial on blue porcelain plate; "MASS. AUTOMOBILE REGISTER" at top | 12345 | 1 to 26207[1] | ||
1908 | Blue serial on white porcelain plate; vertical "MASS" and "1908" at left and right respectively | 12345 | 1 to approximately 17500 | First dated plate. | |
1909 | White serial on blue porcelain plate; vertical "MASS" and "1909" at left and right respectively | 12345 | 1 to approximately 23500 | ||
1910 | Blue serial on white porcelain plate; vertical "MASS" and "1910" at left and right respectively | 12345 | 1 to approximately 29000 | ||
12345
|
1911 | White serial on blue porcelain plate; vertical "MASS" and "1911" at left and right respectively | 12345 | 1 to approximately 33000 | |
1912 | Blue serial on white porcelain plate; vertical "MASS" and "1912" at left and right respectively | 12345 | 1 to approximately 41000 | ||
1913 | White serial on blue porcelain plate; vertical "MASS" and "1913" at left and right respectively | 12345 | 1 to approximately 54500 | ||
1914 | Blue serial on white porcelain plate; vertical "MASS" and "1914" at left and right respectively | 12345 | 1 to approximately 62000 | ||
1915 | White serial on blue porcelain plate; vertical "MASS" and "1915" at left and right respectively | 12345 | 1 to approximately 79500 | ||
1916 | Dark blue serial on cream flat metal plate; vertical "MASS" and "1916" at left and right respectively | 123456 | 1 to approximately 102000 | ||
123,456
|
1917 | Cream serial on dark blue flat metal plate; "MASS. 1917" centered at bottom | 123,456 | 1 to approximately 127,000 | |
1918 | Dark blue serial on cream flat metal plate; "MASS. 1918" centered at bottom | 123,456 | 1 to approximately 142,000 | ||
123,456
|
1919 | Cream serial on dark blue flat metal plate; "MASS. 1919" centered at bottom | 123,456 | 1 to approximately 177,000 | |
1920 | Embossed dark blue serial on white plate; "MASS. 1920" centered at bottom | 123,456 | 1 to approximately 219,000 | First embossed plate. | |
1921 | Embossed white serial on dark blue plate; "MASS. 1921" centered at bottom | 123,456 | 1 to approximately 260,000 | ||
123,456
|
1922 | As 1920 base, but with "MASS. 1922" at bottom | 123,456 | 1 to approximately 321,000 | |
123,456
|
1923 | As 1921 base, but with "MASS. 1923" at bottom | 123,456 | 1 to approximately 402,000 | |
1924 | Embossed white serial on maroon plate; "MASS. 1924" centered at bottom | 123,456 | 1 to approximately 473,000 | ||
123,456
|
1925 | Embossed white serial on black plate; "MASS. — 1925" at bottom | 123,456 | 1 to approximately 546,000 | |
123,456
|
1926 | Embossed white serial on blue plate; "1926 — MASS" at bottom | 123,456 | 1 to approximately 598,000 | |
1927 | Embossed white serial on maroon plate; "MASS — 1927" at bottom | 123,456 | 1 to approximately 624,000 | ||
1928 | Embossed white serial on green plate; "1928", cod fish graphic and "MASS" at bottom | 123,456 | 1 to approximately 644,000 | ||
1929 | Embossed white serial on blue plate; "MASS — 1929" at bottom | 123,456 | 1 to approximately 712,000 | ||
1930 | Embossed white serial on maroon plate; "1930 — MASS" at bottom | 123,456 | 1 to approximately 749,000 | ||
123,456
|
1931 | Embossed white serial on green plate; "MASS — 1931" at bottom | 123,456 | 1 to approximately 792,000 | |
123,456
|
1932 | As 1930 base, but with "1932 — MASS" at bottom | 123,456 | 1 to approximately 740,000 | |
123,456
|
1933 | As 1931 base, but with "MASS — 1933" at bottom | 123,456 | 1 to approximately 759,000 | |
123,456
|
1934 | As 1930 base, but with "MASS — 1934" at bottom | 123,456 | 1 to approximately 749,000 | |
1935 | As 1931 base, but with "1935 — MASS" at bottom | 123,456 | 1 to approximately 734,000 | ||
123,456
|
1936 | Embossed white serial on maroon plate; "MASS 36" centered at top | 123,456 | 1 to approximately 729,000 | |
123,456
|
1937 | Embossed white serial on green plate; "37 MASS" centered at top | 123,456 | 1 to approximately 755,000 | |
1938 | Embossed white serial on maroon plate; "MASS 38" centered at bottom | 123·456 | 1 to approximately 751·000 | ||
123·456
|
1939 | Embossed white serial on green plate; "39 MASS" centered at bottom | 123·456 | 1 to approximately 771·000 | |
1940 | Embossed white serial on maroon plate; "MASS 40" centered at top | 123·456 | 1 to approximately 779·000 | ||
1941 | Embossed white serial on green plate; "41 MASS" centered at bottom | 123·456 | 1 to approximately 852·000 | ||
1942–44 | Embossed white serial on maroon plate; "MASS 42" centered at bottom | 123·456 | 1 to approximately 828·000 | Revalidated for 1943 and 1944 with wind- shield stickers, due to metal conservation for World War II. | |
123·456
|
As above, but green rather than maroon | 828·001 to approximately 855·000 | |||
1945 | Embossed white serial on dark blue plate; "45 MASS" at top | 123·456 | 1 to approximately 799·000 | ||
1946 | Embossed white serial on black plate; "46 MASS" at bottom | 123·456 | 1 to approximately 843·000 | ||
1947 | Embossed white serial on dark green plate; "MASS 47" within embossed white bar centered at top | 123·456 | 1 to approximately 897·000 | ||
1948 | Embossed white serial on maroon plate; "48 MASS" within embossed white bar centered at bottom | 123·456 | 1 to approximately 948·000 | ||
No image
|
1949–50 | Embossed white serial on black plate; "49 MASS" within embossed white bar centered at top | 123·456 | 1 to 999·999 | Revalidated for 1950 with windshield sticker. |
A12·345 | K, H and J series | ||||
1951–52 | Embossed white serial on maroon plate; "MASS 51" within embossed white bar centered at bottom | 123·456 | 1 to 999·999 | Revalidated for 1952 with windshield sticker. | |
A12·345 | K, H, E and P series | ||||
1953–54 | Embossed white serial on black plate; "MASS 53" within embossed white bar centered at top | 123·456 | 1 to 999·999 | Revalidated for 1954 with windshield sticker. | |
A12·345 | K, H, E, P and L series | ||||
No image
|
1955–56 | Embossed white serial on maroon plate; "55 MASS" within embossed white bar centered at bottom | 123·456 | 1 to 999·999 | Revalidated for 1956 with windshield sticker. |
A12·345 | K, H, E, P, L, N and X series | ||||
1957–58 | Embossed white serial on black plate with border line; "MASS 57" within embossed white bar centered at top | 123·456 | 1 to 999·999 | First 6" x 12" plate. Revalidated for 1958 with windshield sticker. | |
A12·345 | K, H, E, P, L, N, X and U series | ||||
1959–60 | Embossed white serial on maroon plate with border line; "59 MASS" within embossed white bar centered at top | 123·456 A12·345 |
Revalidated for 1960 with windshield sticker. | ||
1961–62 | Embossed white serial on dark green plate with border line; "MASS 61" within embossed white bar centered at top | 123·456 A12·345 |
Revalidated for 1962 with windshield sticker. | ||
1963 | Embossed white serial on black plate with border line; "63 MASS" within embossed white bar centered at top | 123·456 A12·345 |
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1964–65 | Embossed white serial on maroon plate with border line; "MASS 64" within embossed white bar centered at top | 123·456 A12·345 |
Revalidated for 1965 with windshield sticker. | ||
1966 | Embossed white serial on dark green plate with border line; "66 MASS" within embossed white bar centered at top | 123·456 A12·345 |
1967 to present
editMassachusetts implemented a monthly staggered registration system in 1969. Since then, serials on passenger plates have been coded by the month of expiration of the registration, determined by the last number in the serial (1 for January, 2 for February and so on up to 0 for October). From 1969 through 1977, serials with 'X' and 'Y' suffixes were used for November and December expirations respectively. Registrants are issued plates expiring the last day of the previous month (e.g. a motorist registering a vehicle in June will be issued May plates). If a vehicle is registered in December or January (so that November and December plates would be called for), leftover plates are issued from other months with manufacturing overruns.
In addition to the standard serial formats, Massachusetts also issues "reserve" plates. Reserve plates permit the plate holder to receive the same serial number when new plate styles are issued, or to transfer the serial number to family members. These plates are either all-numeric (1 through 99999) or consist of a single letter followed or preceded by a number (A 1 through Z 9999 and 1 A through 9999 Z). Reserve serials may also be of the forms A (expires on December 31), A#A, A##A, #A#, and #AA#, where # represents any number, and A represents any letter. Low-number reserve plates – now called "Lottery Plates" by the RMV – are of the forms A, #, ##, ###, A #, A ##, # A, and ## A only. When a registrant cancels a low-number reserve registration, the number is placed in an annual lottery.[3] Registration for the lottery generally begins each June, and the drawing must be held by September 15. Prior to the institution of this annual lottery[when?], low-number reserve plates were issued only to well-connected individuals, and it is widely believed that drivers with low registration numbers were given preferential treatment by law enforcement. The annual lottery was instituted in response to complaints about the politics behind the issuance of low-number registrations.[citation needed] As with standard registration plates, the final digit on low-number reserve plates indicates the month of expiration.
Two-year registrations are mandatory, with the exception of vehicles initially registered during December or January. Vanity plates and motorcycle plates must be renewed annually. All apportioned plate registrations expire on June 30, all trailer and passenger vanity plate registrations expire on November 30, and all motorcycle, commercial, and single digit letter plate registrations expire on December 31.
Currently, the Livery plate is the only common license plate in Massachusetts that is allowed to have more than six characters in its serials. All Livery plate serials start with the letters "LV", even if not stamped.
Because the RMV utilizes "Plate Type" to describe the type of registration, it is theoretically possible to have two plates issued with seemingly the same serial. Some of the plate types, and their three-letter codes, are listed below:
- PAN - Passenger: Normal
- PAR - Passenger: Reserved
- PAS - Passenger: Specialty (Antique, Veteran, Environmental, Sports, Spay & Neuter, Breast Cancer, United We Stand, etc.)
- PAV - Passenger: Vanity
- PAY - Passenger: Year of Manufacture (Antique plate with year stamped; AN gets added to the beginning of plate number on registration)
- CON - Commercial: Normal (plates starting SR are for snow removal; HR for Hearse)
- COR - Commercial: Reserved
- COV - Commercial: Vanity
- MCN - Motorcycle: Normal
- MCR - Motorcycle: Reserved
- MCS - Motorcycle: Specialty
- MCV - Motorcycle: Vanity
- AHN - Camper: Normal
- AHR - Camper: Reserved
- AHV - Camper: Vanity
- AMN - Ambulance: Normal (includes Animal Ambulance)
- AMR - Ambulance: Reserved
- LVN - Livery: Normal
- LVR - Livery: Reserved
- LVV - Livery: Vanity
- SPN - School Pupil: Normal
- TAN - Taxi: Normal
- TAR - Taxi: Reserved
- TRN - Trailer: Normal (not used on Camper trailers)
- TRR - Trailer: Reserved
- VPN - Van Pool: Normal
- SBN - School Bus: Normal
- SBR - School Bus: Reserved
- BUN - Bus: Normal
- BUR - Bus: Reserved
- BUV - Bus: Vanity
Image | Dates issued | Design | Serial format | Serials issued | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1967–68 | Embossed blue serial on reflective white plate with border line; "MASSACHUSETTS" centered at top | 123·456 | 100·001 to 999·999 | Revalidated with windshield stickers through the end of 1969, then coded by month of expiration (see above) and revalidated with plate stickers. | |
A12·345 | E10·001 to Y99·999 | ||||
1969–71 | 123·45A | Coded by month of expiration | Revalidated with plate stickers. All plates replaced 1972–73. | ||
1972–78 | Embossed red serial on reflective white plate with border line; "MASSACHUSETTS" centered at bottom | 1A·2345 12A·340 123·456 A12·345 123·45A |
Coded by month of expiration | 12A·340 serial format used only on plates expiring in October.[4] Issued in alternating weeks from 1977, following the introduction of the green-on-white base (below), until supplies were exhausted. Replaced 1982–83. | |
1977–93 | Embossed green serial on reflective white plate with border line; "MASSACHUSETTS" centered at top | 123·ABC | 100·AAA to 999·VZZ (see right) | Only rear plates issued (except for reserved and non-passenger plates). On all plates, the last digit corresponded to the month of expiration, with November and December expirations discontinued except on non-passenger plates and on red-and-white plates until 1980–81. All-numeric plates were generally issued to holders of the same serials on the red-on-white base. Still currently revalidated. | |
1983–93 | 123·456 | 100·000 to 999·999 (see right) | |||
1993–present | Embossed red serial on reflective white plate; "Massachusetts" and "The Spirit of America" screened in blue centered at top and bottom respectively | 123·ABC | 999·ZZZ to 100·WAA (reverse issue) | This base was first issued in 1987 for vanity plates and some non-passenger types, before becoming the standard passenger base in 1993. On all standard passenger plates, the last digit corresponds to the month of expiration. Letters Q and U never used. Letters I and O used in 123·ABC and 1234 AB formats (IA-IZ, OA-OZ were skipped) | |
1234 AB | 1000 AA to 9999 AA, then 1000 AB through 9999 AZ and so on through 9999 ZZ (January issued only through 9991 TZ, February issued only through 9992 YZ)[5] | ||||
12A B34 | 10A A00 to 99A A09, then 10A B00 through 99A Z09, then 10B A00 through 99Z Z09 and so on through 99Z Z99 (May issued only through 99Z Z85, June issued only through 99Z Z86) | ||||
123 AB4 | 111 AA0 to 999 AA9, then 111 AB0 through 999 AZ9 and so on through 999 ZZ9 (October issued only through 999 NZ0 due to confusion with previous 123·ABO format) | ||||
1AB 234 | 1AA 110 to 9ZZ 999 | ||||
1ABC 23 | As of July 18, 2024:
| ||||
12A 340 | 11A 100 to 99Z 990 (October only) | ||||
123 A40 | 111 A10 to 479 Z90 (October only) |
Current passenger baseplates
editCurrently, both the 1977 green-on-white base and the 1987 "Spirit" base are valid for registration. On the 1977 base, only rear plates were issued for most types (except for Reserved, Commercial and Taxi, for which front plates were also issued and must also be displayed today), whereas on the current "Spirit" base, both front and rear plates are issued. Registrants with 1977 plates have the option of replacing these with "Spirit" plates at no charge (though a different number will be used); however, most choose to keep their 1977 plates as a point of pride. In many cases, the 1977 plates are worn and illegible; legally per M.G.L. Chapter 90, a car with an illegible plate (regardless of age or color) must fail the state's annually required vehicle safety inspection. This is a safety fail, which under Massachusetts law prohibits operation of the vehicle until the issue is corrected.
Reserved plates
editImage | First year of issue | Description | Serial formats | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
|
1987 | Low-number reserve: Red on reflective white base with screened state name and slogan in blue | Coded with "n" by month of expiration (1 through 9 for January through September. 0 for October):
|
* Available only via lottery.[6]
** No longer used. |
Vanity plates
editNon-passenger plates
editReferences
edit- ^ a b "History of the Plate". Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles. Archived from the original on January 4, 2017. Retrieved August 18, 2017.
- ^ Garrish, Christopher (October 2016). "Reconsidering the Standard Plate Size". Plates. Vol. 62, no. 5. Automobile License Plate Collectors Association.
- ^ 2011 Low Plate Lottery Announcement
- ^ Tanner, Eric N. "Massachusetts License Plates". allaboutlicenseplates.com. Retrieved December 5, 2015.
- ^ Sage, Kit; Tanner, Eric. "licenseplates.cc Massachusetts highs page". Retrieved June 24, 2009.
- ^ "Passenger Plates Booklet" (PDF). massDOT Registry of Motor Vehicles Division. Commonwealth of Massachusetts. July 2014. Retrieved 7 October 2022.
External links
edit- Massachusetts license plates 1969–present
- Passenger Plates Booklet July 2014. Registry of Motor Vehicles (MassDOT). Retrieved 2014-07-02.