You have to spend a considerable amount of time on the streets of the capital city to see scarce plates like these, but fortunately J. Reid Williamson is out there prowling around D.C on our behalf! He photographed these old Medical Doctor plates for DCplates.net on May 27, 2007.
Left Attached to a fairly new Mercedes-Benz SLK32 AMG parked in the 1800 block of Randolph St., NW is a pair of 1974 base MD plates with the remnants of stickers 25-30 years old as proof of their age. Although it is possible that the physician to whom they are assigned received newer plates since the late 1980s and chose not to use them, it's more likely that plates of this rare type were not replaced during the last general isusance, in the mid-1980s, and hence these are the newest plates provided to this motorist. They are likely among the oldest presently in use in Washington, D.C.
Right As was done with other types, MD registration numbers are thought to have been assigned beginning with 101 (i.e. MD-101) when the 1974 ("Bicentennial") base was introduced in April of that year. This Capital City plate indicates that by the mid-1980s numbers were up into the low 3000 series. It's difficult to believe that 3,000 doctors registered their cars in Washington, D.C. from 1974 through the early 1990s (when the Capital City base ceased to be issued), but unless and until information comes to light to suggest that some numbers were skipped we are left to conclude that there were indeed a lot of doctors registering their cars in the District during this period. Note how slanted the slogan is on plate no. MD-3222, which was seen parked in the 2600 block of Moreland Pl. NW.

Most descriptions of the social characteristics of Washington include a discussion of the transient nature of its population. With so many residents in federal government service and with the changing composition of that government from year to year and administration to administration, people come and go here more than in other American cities. A small percentage are what could be considered permanent residents, and fewer still are natives.

Because most vehicle owners don't stay relatively long, most District of Columbia license plates in use at any particular date are relatively new. Therefore, although Capital City plates issued beginning in 1984 to replace earlier plates may still be used, they are seldom seen. Especially scarce close to 25 years after they were distributed are 0-prefix plates, those apparently used to replace older plates (as opposed to higher-numbered plates issued in evidence of new registrations issued through mid-1991). These consecutively-numbered 1984 baseplates were photographed by J. Reid Williamson in late May 2007 in the 1800 block of Randolph St., NW.

The District of Columbia is one of the relatively few U.S. jurisdictions in which specially-marked license plates for disabled motorists are still issued. This example was photographed by J. Reid Williamson in mid-June 2007 in the 3200 block of 45th St., NW.

 

In early 2008 license plates in use on vehicles owned by the District of Columbia government are representative of a number of baseplate styles issued in the past 10 years. Two of them are shown on vehicles parked at the D.C. Dept. of the Environment on N St., NE in January that were photographed by Andrew Pang.

Separate images on our home and Dealer plate pages show a pair of brand new 1922 Gardner automobiles, a roadster (left) and touring car, being demonstrated in deep snow on the Mall. The home page image shows the reflecting pool and Washington Monument beyond, indicating that the images were taken at the base of the Lincoln Memorial steps.

This wonderful old image shows a truckload of beef being delivered to Central Market in Washington in 1923. Barely visible on the side of the truck is ARMOUR AND COMPANY with the number 2353 below. The open-cab truck has solid tires that resulted in a very bumpy ride, although trucks of this era were unable to go nearly as fast as passenger cars of the day. Note the buses and trolley in the background.

The 1923 license plate fastened to the front of the truck is of the same style as those issued for use on private passenger cars, suggesting that specially-marked commercial/truck plates had not yet been introduced.

The typical expensive hearse of the 1920s was equipped with a custom-made carved wooden body mounted on heavy passenger car chassis or light-duty truck chassis. The outer body panels of this rather small, average hearse, however, are probably machine-stamped metal, and the chassis appears to be that of a light Dodge Brothers truck. Almost the entire vehicle, including sidewalls of the tires (inside and out), is painted white.

Most notable in this image taken adjacent to the Neptune Fountain at the Library of Congress is the license plate, the earliest known example of a six-digit registration number. Whether numbers above 99-999 were issued in 1922 or earlier is unknown.

Apportioned is one of the most scarce registration types presently issued simply because most commercial trucks used within the District of Columbia are not registered there. This example was photographed in traffic by J. Reid Williamson late in 2007. Note that registrations of this type are still revalidated with stickers fastened to the plate, not the vehicle's windshield.