License Plates and Registration Numbers
from March 1940 to March 1950
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1940 March 1, 1940-March 31, 1941 |
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The only notable historical fact about 1940 District of Columbia license plates is that they were used for a 13-month period, not the standard (for the era) 12-month period. The extra month of use was required in order to shift the term of the registration year from March 1-Feb. 28 to April 1-March 31 (as summarized near the bottom of our home page). |
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Passenger. An overview of registration numbers used from Jan. 1935-March 1948 is provided on our page upon which plates of the 1930s are described. Click here to get there. Specifically with respect to 1940, the lowest five-digit and highest passenger vehicle registration numbers are 52-060 and 124-144, respectively. Non-Passenger. Letter prefixes that appear on Commercial (Truck) plates (A and B are known for 1940) are believed to be indicative of the weight class upon which the registration fee was based. |
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1941 April 1, 1941-March 31, 1942 |
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Passenger. An overview of registration numbers used from Jan. 1935-March 1948 is provided on our page upon which plates of the 1930s are described. Click here to get there. Specifically with respect to 1941, the lowest five-digit and highest passenger vehicle registration numbers are 65-653 and 169-209, respectively. |
1942 April 1, 1942 - March 31, 1943 |
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1944 April 1, 1944 - March 31, 1945 |
| Most 1942 (dated EX-3-31-43) plates were revalidated with metal tabs for two additional years, through April 1945. | ||
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District of Columbia license plates issued during the spring of 1942 were used for three years, not one as were most previous issues, due to the conservation of metal used in non-military applications during World War II. Dated 3-31-43 plates were revalidated (when properly renewed) with metal tabs for the 1943 and 1944 registration years. The tabs were designed to appear correctly on full-size plates (those 12.5" in length), so they look awkward, partially covering the expiration date legend, on the shorter 9" plates. |
It is also worth noting that there are two styles in which the expiration date is displayed. Note the variation in this feature on plates 60-457 and 8370 pictured above. Number 8370 exhibits the more unusual style. The unusual, unexpected varieties in which 1942 Diplomatic plates were made, as pictured, are discussed near the bottom of our page dedicated to this type. |
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Passenger. An overview of registration numbers used from Jan. 1935-March 1948 is provided on our page upon which plates of the 1930s are described. Click here to get there. Specifically with respect to the 1942-44 base, the lowest five-digit and highest passenger vehicle registration numbers are 57-221 and 215-478, respectively.
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1945 April 1, 1945-March 31, 1946 |
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Passenger. An overview of registration numbers used from Jan. 1935-March 1948 is provided on our page upon which plates of the 1930s are described. Click here to get there. Specifically with respect to 1945, the lowest five-digit and highest passenger vehicle registration numbers are 54-492 and 114-455, respectively. |
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1946, '47 April 1, 1946-March 31, 1948 |
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Washington, D.C. plates issued in the spring of 1946 were used for two registration years. As had been done a few years earlier, revalidation for the second year was accomplished by a dated steel tab made to cover the expiration year designation embossed in the plate. As there was for 1943 (dated "44") and 1944, the |
1947 (dated "48") tab used on this base comes in three styles. The passenger variety is made to fit in the lower right corner of the plate whereas a separate non-passenger variety, such as is shown on Commercial (Truck) plate no D-1870 below, is properly placed in the upper right corner. A third style (not shown) is designed to cover the entire left portion of motorcycle plates. |
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Passenger. An overview of registration numbers used from Jan. 1935-March 1948 is provided on our page upon which plates of the 1930s are described. Click here to get there. Specifically with respect to the 1946-47 base, the lowest five-digit and highest passenger vehicle registration numbers are 61-433 and 180-246, respectively. |
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1948 April 1, 1948-March 31, 1949 |
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A number of noticeable changes were made to District of Columbia license plates for the 1948 registration year. Most noteworthy, perhaps, is the change in the manner in which they are dated. Whereas since 1939 (exp. 2-29-40) D.C. plates were marked with the expiration date, effective April 1948 the designation was changed to indicate the year of issuance. Despite the change, the registration year remained the same: April 1 through March 31. |
Also for 1948, a uniform plate size was introduced, and passenger car registration numbers began to include letters again (as they had from 1927-1938). Specifically, auto plates were numbered 1 through 9999; then 1-1001 through 1-9999, 2-1001 through 2-9999, etc. through 9-9999; then A-1 through A-9999, E-1 through E-9999, etc. Certain letters were set aside for use on non-passenger plates, such as B, C, and D for busses, commercial vehicles, and dealer-owned vehicles, respectively. |
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Note: 1. Livery plates were issued for use on "sightseeing, funeral cars, chartered busses, etc." according to the above-referenced March 1947 document. |
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1949 April 1, 1949-March 31, 1950 |
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Note: 1. Livery plates were issued for use on "sightseeing, funeral cars, chartered busses, etc." according to the above-referenced February 1948 document. |
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This page last updated on August 9, 2008 |
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