License Plates and Registration Numbers
from January 1918 to December 1929
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What is known about the numbering of District of Columbia license plates during this nine-year period is easy to understand, but there are mysteries, especially with respect to the numbering of non-passenger plates, that make this a confusing period. Passenger vehicle registration numbers are comprised of only numbers, assigned sequentially. Whether numbering began at 1, or 101 or some higher number annually is unknown for some years, but 1 is thought to have been the starting point for at least 1923-1926. As discussed in more detail in the appropriate year-by-year sections below, the first six-digit registrations (i.e. numbers 100-000 and above) are thought to have been assigned in 1923. The all-number format was abandoned after 1926, replaced by plates with a letter prefix, but it returned for the periods of 1935 through 1947 and 1966 through 1997. The mere existence of non-passenger plates, and their numbering, are a mystery due to their scarcity today. The few that are known feature letter prefixes and are identified in the appropriate sections below. |
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1918 |
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Washington, D.C. joined most of the states in 1918 when it switched to a system under which new, dated plates were issued to all vehicle owners annually. The (originally) bright yellow 1918 plates were issued singly, but all subsequent D.C. auto plates, with one exception during World War II, have been issued in pairs. Due to poor paint quality and having been made singly, 1918 plates are among the most difficult for collectors to locate in good original condition today. |
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Passenger. Refer to the text above for an overview of registration numbers used from Jan. 1918-Dec. 1926. Specifically with respect to 1918 plates, the lowest and highest numbers observed are 2-484 and 34-468. |
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1919 |
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This is the first year for which Washington, D.C. license plates were issued in pairs. |
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Passenger. Refer to the text above for an overview of registration numbers used from Jan. 1918-Dec. 1926. Specifically with respect to 1919 plates, the lowest and highest numbers observed are 4-439 and 44-713. |
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1920 |
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Passenger. Refer to the text above for an overview of registration numbers used from Jan. 1918-Dec. 1926. Specifically with respect to 1920 plates, the lowest and highest numbers observed are 5-341 and 49,961. |
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1921 |
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Passenger. Refer to the text above for an overview of registration numbers used from Jan. 1918-Dec. 1926. Specifically with respect to 1921 plates, the lowest and highest numbers observed are 7-401 and 63-422. |
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1922 |
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Passenger. Refer to the text above for an overview of registration numbers used from Jan. 1918-Dec. 1926. Specifically with respect to 1922 plates, the lowest and highest numbers observed are 471 and 82,870. |
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1923 |
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It is believed that 1923 was the first year for which registration numbers above 99-999 were required, for if their use was required earlier presumably the change in plate format that occurred in 1924 (as discussed in the 1924 section below) would have occurred earlier, as well. The photograph below of a hearse in 1923 is our only evidence of six-digit 1923 plates, and it is worth noting that, apparently in order to conserve lateral space, a number 1 die without serifs, uncharacteristic of other number 1 dies used that year, was used for the first character of six-digit plates. |
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Passenger. Refer to the text above for an overview of registration numbers used from Jan. 1918-Dec. 1926. Specifically with respect to 1923 plates, the highest observed number is 104-753. |
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1924 |
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The layout of D.C. plates was changed in1924. Jurisdiction and year designations were moved to the top to more comfortably accommodate a sixth digit in the registration number, which is known to have been required in 1923. There has been some question as to the exact background color used on D.C. plates of this year. DCplates.net has followed the practice of earlier printed resources in defining it as dark blue, but at least one author has documented it as black. Because paint generally darkens and changes hue as it ages and due to the age of these plates, determining the exact color of an early plate is often difficult, if not impossible. The modern appearance of paint on the back of well-preserved old plates is often the best of evidence of how it originally appeared. Questions remain as to whether 1924 District of Columbia plates are dark blue or black. |
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Passenger. Refer to the text above for an overview of registration numbers used from Jan. 1918-Dec. 1926. Specifically with respect to 1924, the highest observed number is 74-070. |
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1925 |
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Passenger. Refer to the text above for an overview of registration numbers used from Jan. 1918-Dec. 1926. Specifically with respect to 1925, the highest observed number is 113-377. |
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1926 |
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Passenger. Refer to the text above for an overview of registration numbers used from Jan. 1918-Dec. 1926. Specifically with respect to 1926, the highest observed number is 111-544. |
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Most District of Columbia license plates issued during the eight-year period from 1927 through 1934 include a letter prefix that indicates the registration type. Not surprisingly, the most letters were used to designate passenger car plates. Annually, however, plates numbered 1 through 9999 were also assigned, presumably many of them to the same motorist year after year. It is believed that the introduction of letter prefixes to D.C. plates was accomplished in order to avoid the continued need for six-number auto plates. Private auto plates of 1927 through 1934 are numbered 1 through 9999 and with certain letters followed by numbers 1 through 9999 (e.g. E-1 through E-9999). Although in most cases the letter is in the first (prefix) position, a 1931 plate number 2B-700 is believed to be a bus plate and shows that the letter could be in the second position. Plates of at least one type, motorcycle, do not include a prefix letter (although they did in later years). Passenger. A Sept. 1926 article about the coming 1927 plates published in American Motorist by the local office of the American Automobile Assn. indicates that letters used on passenger plates during this era would be: E, F, G, K, M, N, O, P, Q, S, T, U, V, and W. However, today we know that there are errors in this data. For example, Y and Z (not mentioned in the article) also appeared on auto plates, as did J, which the article indicated would not be used due to its similar appearance with I, which was indeed not used. Plates beginning with O and Q have not been observed and likely were never made or issued due to their similarity. Therefore, in this article we have simply registration number guidelines, not indisputable fact. It is important to point out that not all of the letters identified above as being available for use on auto plates were used in every year of this era. The order of introduction (and presumably issuance) of the letters appears to have been more or less sequential: E, F, G, J, K, etc. No N-series plates are known for 1927, 1929, or 1930, but their having been observed for 1928 suggests that this series was likely issued in sequence annually after M and before P. There is some question as to in which year T was first used, as discussed in the 1928 section below. Non-Passenger. The American Motorist article referenced above also provided information about letter prefixes to be used to denote non-passenger plates. They were listed as follows:
In which year special plates for trailers were introduced is unknown, but the type designation is believed to have been TR (the letters being positioned vertically). |
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1927 |
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Based upon the existence of 1927 plates of two distinctively different styles (as to the registration number dies and manner in which the city name and year designation is displayed), the supply of required plates was apparently procured from two different manufacturers. Perhaps the most noteworthy change for this year, however, is the introduction of letter prefixes. Because the effect of this change was present for an eight-year period it is discussed separately above. |
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Passenger. These ten prefix letters have been observed on 1927 auto plates (in conjunction with the new numbering format introduced for this year and discussed above): E, F, G, J, K, M, P, S, U, and V. The highest observed number is V-900. If it is assumed that only ten prefix letters were used on 1927 passenger plates and including the 9,999 plates without a letter prefix (numbers 1 through 9999), there are a total of 109,989 passenger registration number possible combinations. Based upon the highest registration number observed in several previous years being above 100-000, however, it appears that other prefix letters, perhaps N and/or W, may have been used in 1927. Regarding the two dies styles, all-number plates and plates of the G, K, and M series have been found on the style represented by plate no. G-5593 pictured above whereas plates of the P, S, U, and V series have been observed with the 1926-style dies. Non-Passenger. Refer to the text above for information about to which non-passenger types plates with prefix letters A, B, C, D, H, L, R, and X were assigned. Non-resident plate no. X-24 has been observed. |
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1928 |
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Passenger. These nine prefix letters have been observed on 1928 auto plates (in conjunction with the numbering format introduced for 1927 as discussed above): G, J, K, M, N, P, U, V, and W. Based upon letter series used in 1927 it is reasonable to assume that E- and F-prefix plates were also used for this year, and if this were found to be true there would be 11 passenger letter series for 1928. The highest observed number is W-8100. If it is assumed that 11 prefix letters were used on 1928 passenger plates and including the 9,999 plates without a letter prefix (numbers 1 through 9999), there are a total of 119,988 possible passenger registration number combinations. Based upon the highest registration number observed in several previous years being above 100-000, such as 111-544 in 1926, it seems that more than 119-988 combinations would have been required for 1928. In fact, the T series (registrations T-1 through T-9999) may have been introduced for 1928. Plate number T-237 is known, and while plate collectors familiar with 1920s and 1930s U.S. plates may initially assume that a plate of this era with a T prefix was issued for use on a trailer, the existence of D.C. plate of this era with a stacked TR prefix indicates that when special trailer plates were introduced here (the year being uncertain), the letter T was probably already in use on auto plates, necessitating the creation of a special prefix for the new non-passenger type. That the highest observed T-series plate is only number 237 (whereas high four-digit registrations are known for plates of the V and W series, for example) suggests that T may have been the final passenger series to be introduced in 1928. If the full T series is included in the population of auto plates, the 12 letter-prefix series plus the 9,999 all-number plates would have allowed 129,987 possible passenger registrations. Whether the S series was used for passenger plates in 1928, as it was in 1927, is unknown. Non-Passenger. Refer to the text above for information about to which non-passenger types plates with prefix letters A, B, C, D, H, L, R, and X were assigned. |
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1929 |
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Passenger. These nine prefix letters have been observed on 1929 auto plates (in conjunction with the numbering format introduced for 1927 as discussed above): F, G, J, M, U, V, W, Y, and Z. Based upon letter series known to have been used in 1927 and 1928 it is reasonable to assume that E-, K-, N-, and P-prefix plates were also used for this year, and if this were found to be true there would be 13 passenger letter series for 1929. The letter T (believed to have been used for auto plates in 1928 as discussed above) is thought to have not been used for 1929, it having been essentially replaced by one of the new series for this year, Y and Z. The highest observed number is Z-7470, although whether Z was the final series issued is unknown. If it is assumed that 13 prefix letters were used on passenger plates this year and including the 9,999 plates without a letter prefix (numbers 1 through 9999), there are a total of 139,986 possible passenger registration number combinations. Non-Passenger. Refer to the text above for information about to which non-passenger types plates with prefix letters A, B, C, D, H, L, R, and X were assigned. |
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This page last updated on September 22, 2008 |
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