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License Plates and Registration Numbers
from April 1960 to March 1968



 1960 Passenger plate no. GB-674

1960

April 1, 1960-March 31, 1961

1960 Reserved Passenger plate no. 829

 1960 Commercial (Truck) plate no. CB-6924
1960 Dealer plate no. DD-660

 1960 Diplomatic plate no. 703

1960 Hire (Taxi) plate no. HP=306

1960 Medical Doctor plate no. MD-213

 1960 Trailer plate no. T-236

1960 Dealer-Issued Temporary plate no. DX-65049

1960 Sample plate

Detail-oriented observers will note that some 1960 plates have oblong holes whereas others have round holes.


Just the Facts...
License plates of registration year
1960 (April 1, 1960-March 31, 1961)
are marked
3-31-61,
are painted
dark blue on yellow,
measure
6" x 12" (except motorcycle plates),
are made of
embossed steel,
and were issued
in pairs except for motorcycles and trailers.
Reserved numbers issued by the Board of Commissioners:
1-1250 (for use only on passenger cars)
By The Numbers...
Registration Statistics:
Passenger
184,536
   
Motorcycles
846
   
Trucks
19,655
   
Buses
1,770

1960 Registration Numbers

An overview of 1957-1963 registration numbers is provided on our page upon which plates of the 1950s are described. Click here to get there.

Passenger - General-Issue. These 11 prefix letters have been observed on 1960 auto plates: A, E, G, J, K, M, N, P, R, S, and W. The highest observed number is WP-999. The number of registration number combinations from AA-100 through WP-999 is 209,700.

Passenger - Reserved. Numbers 1 through 1250 were assigned by the Board of Commissioners.

Non-Passenger. Refer to the 1957-64 registration numbers section referenced above for information about to which non-passenger types plates with prefix letters B, C, D, H, L, M, and T, as well as DPL, were assigned.

Click on image for caption. Courtesy DC Public Library, Star Collection, copyright Washington Post




 1961 Passenger plate no. WH-153

1961

April 1, 1961-March 31, 1962

1961 Reserved Passenger plate no. 21

 1961 Bus plate no. BC-896

1961 Sightseeing Bus plate no. BS-168

1961 Commercial (Truck) plate no. CA-5125

 1961 Dealer plate no. 1284

1961 Transport plate no. 115

1961 Diplomatic plate no. 125

 1961 Hire (Taxi) plate no. HL-431

1961 Livery plate no. LA-283

1961 Trailer plate no. T-1521

 1962 Special Use temporary plate no. X-83221

1961 Sample plate

1961 Dealer-Issued Temporary plate no. DX-93749


Just the Facts...
   
License plates of registration year
1961 (April 1, 1961-March 31, 1962)
are marked
3-31-62,
are painted
yellow on dark blue,
measure
6" x 12",
are made of
embossed steel,
and were issued
in pairs except for motorcycles and trailers.
Reserved numbers issued by the Board of Commissioners:
1-1250 (for use only on passenger cars)
By The Numbers...
Registration Statistics:
Passenger
185,724
   
Motorcycles
911
   
Trucks
19,613
   
Buses
1,741

1961 Registration Numbers

An overview of 1957-1963 registration numbers is provided on our page upon which plates of the 1950s are described. Click here to get there.

Passenger - General-Issue. These 11 prefix letters have been observed on 1960 auto plates: A, E, G, J, K, M, N, P, R, S, and W. The highest observed number is WV-835. The number of registration number combinations from AA-100 through WV-835 is 214,036.

Passenger - Reserved. Numbers 1 through 1250 were assigned by the Board of Commissioners.

Non-Passenger. Refer to the 1957-64 registration numbers section referenced above for information about to which non-passenger types plates with prefix letters B, C, H, L, M, and T, as well as DPL, were assigned. This is the only year since 1948 for which dealer plates do not include a letter D prefix.

 



 1962 Passenger plate no. KG-926

1962

April 1, 1962-March 31, 1963

1962 Reserved Passenger plate no. 81

 1962 Bus plate no. BD-348

1962 Dealer plate no. DB-460

1962 Sightseeing Bus plate no. BS-132

 1962 Commercial (Truck) plate no. CB-8531

1962 Transport plate no. 130

1962 Diplomatic plate no. 749

 1962 Motorcycle plate no. M-868

 1962 (exp. 3-31-63) Hire plate no. HK-439

1962 Livery plate no. LA-286

1962 Trailer plate no. T-1430

 1962 Special Use temporary plate no. X-92992, expires 6-22-1962
1962 Sample plate

1962 Dealer-Issued Temporary plate no. DX-39287


D.C. plates of 1962 were the first to be reflectorized. Click here to reach a page upon which this important change is discussed.


Just the Facts...
   
License plates of registration year
1962 (April 1, 1962-March 31, 1963)
are marked
3-31-63,
are painted
dark green on reflective white,
measure
6" x 12" (except motorcycle plates),
are made of
embossed steel,
and were issued
in pairs except for motorcycles and trailers.
Reserved numbers issued by the Board of Commissioners:
1-1250 (for use only on passenger cars)
By The Numbers...
Registration Statistics:
Passenger
189,904
   
Motorcycles
1,021
   
Trucks
19,417
   
Buses
1,713

1962 Registration Numbers

An overview of 1957-1963 registration numbers is provided on our page upon which plates of the 1950s are described. Click here to get there.

Passenger - General-Issue. These 11 prefix letters have been observed on 1962 auto plates: A, E, G, J, K, M, N, P, R, S, and W. The highest observed number is WV-262. The number of registration number combinations from AA-100 through WV-262 is 213,463.

Passenger - Reserved. Numbers 1 through 1250 were assigned by the Board of Commissioners.

Non-Passenger. Refer to the 1957-64 registration numbers section referenced above for information about to which non-passenger types plates with prefix letters B, C, D, H, L, M, and T, as well as DPL, were assigned.

 

Click on image for detail and caption. Courtesy DC Public Library, Star Collection, copyright Washington Post




 1963 Passenger plate no. MH-937

1963

April 1, 1963-March 31, 1964

1963 Passenger plate no. 53

1963 Bus plate no. BD-823

1963 Sightseeing Bus plate no. BS-156

1963 Commercial (Truck) plate no. CA-9996

 1963 (exp. 3-31-64) Dealer plate no. DB-892
1963 Diplomatic plate no. 1080 1963 Transport plate no. 111

 1963 (exp. 3-31-64) Hire plate no. HD-428
1963 Motorcycle plate no. M-369 1963 Livery plate no. LA-345

 1963 Special Use temporary plate no. X-13988
1963 Sample plate 1963 Dealer-Issued Temporary plate no. DX-83176


Just the Facts...
License plates of registration year
1963 (April 1, 1963-March 31, 1964)
are marked
3-31-64,
are painted
black on reflective yellow,
measure
6" x 12",
are made of
embossed steel,
and were issued
in pairs except for motorcycles and trailers.
Reserved numbers issued by the Board of Commissioners:
1-1250 (for use only on passenger cars)
By The Numbers...
Registration Statistics:
Passenger
197,830
   
Motorcycles
1,170
   
Trucks
19,726
   
Buses
1,798

1963 Registration Numbers

An overview of 1957-1963 registration numbers is provided on our page upon which plates of the 1950s are described. Click here to get there.

Passenger - General-Issue. These 12 prefix letters have been observed on 1963 auto plates: A, E, G, J, K, M, N, P, R, S, W, and X. The highest observed number is XJ-763. The number of registration number combinations from AA-100 through XJ-763 is 224,764.

Passenger - Reserved. Numbers 1 through 1250 were assigned by the Board of Commissioners.

Non-Passenger. Refer to the 1957-64 registration numbers section referenced above for information about to which non-passenger types plates with prefix letters B, C, D, H, L, M, and T, as well as DPL, were assigned.

 

Click on image for detail and caption. Courtesy DC Public Library, Star Collection, copyright Washington Post


 

1963 Passenger plate no. GZ-670
1964 Passenger plate no. 5H943
1963 Passenger plate no. GZ-671
1964 Passenger plate no. 5H944
1963 Passenger plate no. GZ-672
1964 Passenger plate no. 5H945
It is unusual to locate two used license plates with consecutive registration numbers, and to have three in a row is very rare. These sets of sequentially-numbered passenger car plates illustrate the predictable manner in which numbers were assigned during the 1963 and 1964 registration years.

 



 1964 Passenger plate no. 6T464

1964

April 1, 1964-March 31, 1965

1964 Passenger plate no. 1S53

 1964 Reserved-number passenger plate no. 87

1964 Personalized plate no. ROB

1964 Commercial (Truck) plate no. CA-3941

 1964 Dealer plate no. DB-195
1965 Hire (Taxi) plate no. HP-168 1964 Transport plate no. 122

 1964 Bus plate no. BD-196
1964 Motorcycle plate no. M-461 1964 Sightseeing Bus plate no. BS-187

 1964 Diplomatic plate no. 666
1964 Livery plate no. LA-120 1964 Trailer plate no. T-1289

 

Just the Facts...
   
License plates of registration year
1964 (April 1, 1964-March 31, 1965)
are marked
3-31-65,
are painted
red on reflective white,
measure
6" x 12" (except motorcycle plates),
are made of
embossed steel,
and were issued
in pairs except for motorcycles and trailers.
Reserved numbers issued by the Board of Commissioners:
1-1250 (for use only on passenger cars)
By The Numbers...
Registration Statistics:
Passenger
205,137
   
Motorcycles
1,448
   
Trucks
20,194
   
Buses
1,962

1964 Registration Numbers

Passenger - General-Issue. The passenger registration format was completely changed for 1964. The chosen configuration is curious for a number of reasons, primarily because it did not provide enough combinations whereas the previous format (AB-123) would have if the X, Y, and Z series had been fully utilized.

The first and most common format of 1964 auto plates is comprised of one number followed by a single letter and three numbers. In effect, therefore, the first-position letter of 1957-63, of which 12 were used (and 14 were available), was replaced by a number, of which there are only nine. Furthermore, whereas on earlier plates all three-digit numbers 100 through 999 were used, on 1964 plates no triple-repeating numbers (111, 222, 333, etc.) appear after the letter, further limiting the number of available registration combinations.

Numbers in this first format therefore began at 1A101 and ended at 9Z998. All letters except F, I, O, and Q were used. This series of plates provides for 184,230 combinations, all of which were assigned.

Because the first series of numbers was depleted, four-digit registrations in a similar format were issued starting at 1A11 and ending at 9Z99. This series provides for 18,423 combinations. Whether all were issued is unknown, but if they were, which is certainly a possibility, a third format would have had to be introduced. The highest observed number is 2T56.

Passenger - Reserved. Numbers 1 through 1250 were assigned by the Board of Commissioners.

Non-Passenger. Despite the overhaul of general-issue passenger registration numbers, non-passenger numbering remained unchanged from 1957-63. Numbers on plates of most types begin with a letter, and several types are numbered in the 1957-63 passenger format but with certain letters followed by a serial letter (although F, I, O, and Q continued to not be used in the serial (i.e. second) letter position). For example, 1964 Bus plates are numbered beginning at BA-100. Distinctive plates for rental cars returned for 1964 after a nine-year hiatus, as discussed here. Notable exceptions to the two-letter, three-number format are Commercial, Motorcycle and Diplomatic, plates of which began at CA-1000, M-1 and DPL-1, respectively.

Specifically, here are the nine known non-passenger 1964 types and the first assigned number of each: Bus, BA-100; Commercial (Truck), CA-1000; Dealer, DA-100; Diplomatic, DPL-1; Hire (Taxi), HA-100; Livery, LA-100; Motorcycle, M-1; Rental Car, RA-100; and Trailer, T-100.

Click on image for caption. Courtesy DC Public Library, Star Collection, copyright Washington Post




 1965 Passenger plate no. 5BM26

1965

April 1, 1965-March 31, 1966

1965 Reserved-number passenger plate no. 7

 1965 (exp. 3-31-66) Bus plate no. BA-024

1965 Commercial (Truck) plate no. CA4611

1965 (exp. 3-31-66) Hire plate no. HJ-667

 1965 Diplomatic plate no. 1543

1965 Personalized plate no. US-1

1965 (exp. 3-31-66) Transport plate no. 038

 1965 Motorcycle plate no. M1577

 1965 Diplomatic plate no. 1543

1965 Medical Doctor plate no. MD-059

1965 Diplomatic plate no. WN-1250

 1965 Rental Car plate no. RC-853

1965 Dealer-Issued Temporary plate no. DX-66819

1965 Sample plate

New narrower dies and a new black-on-white color scheme began to be introduced for 1965, making this a confusing year for Washington, D.C. license plates. This is also the first year that the city name is displayed as WASHINGTON, D.C., although it would not be until 1969 that this change was reflected on Dealer and Transport plates. For further information about the confusing 1965 and later plates, click here.


Just the Facts...
License plates of registration year
1965 (April 1, 1965-March 31, 1966)
are marked
3-31-66,
are painted
black on reflective gold,
measure
6" x 12",
are made of
embossed steel,
and were issued
in pairs except for motorcycles and trailers.
Reserved numbers issued by the Board of Commissioners:
1-1250 (for use only on passenger cars)
By The Numbers...
Registration Statistics:
Passenger
214,183
   
Motorcycles
2,005
   
Trucks
20,019
   
Buses
1,868

1965 Registration Numbers

Passenger - General-Issue. Because the number of available configurations in the configuration introduced for 1964 was insufficient, another new format was utilized for 1965: one number, two letters, then two numbers. This is actually a variant of that used from 1957 through 1963, being comprised of two letters and three numbers although in a different, more confusing order than in the past. The advantage of this format is that the first of the two letters can duplicate first-position letters of non-passenger plates such as B, H, and L, allowing for more passenger combinations. For example, 1BA23 can be issued as a passenger number while BA-123 is still used for a bus registration.

Numbers in the 1965 format began at 1AA01 and proceeded as high as necessary. The letters F, I, O, and Q are not used in either letter position. Unlike 1964 triple-repeating numbers are known to have been used for 1965 because plate number 2BB22 has been observed.

Regarding the order of registration number assignment, all numbers, including the one to the left of the letters, changed before letters. For example, the C series began at 1CA01 and numbers were assigned through 1CA99, then 2CA00 through 2CA99, all the way through 9CA99. Only then would a letter be changed. The CB series would then be assigned beginning at 1CB01.

The highest observed number is 2MH31, which is the 232,779th general-issue number assigned during the 1965 registration year.

Passenger - Reserved. Numbers 1 through 1250 were assigned by the Board of Commissioners.

Non-Passenger. Despite the overhaul of general-issue passenger registration numbers, non-passenger numbering remained unchanged from 1957-64. Numbers on plates of most types begin with a letter, and several types are numbered in the 1957-63 passenger format but with certain letters followed by a serial letter (although F, I, O, and Q continued to not be used in the serial (i.e. second) position). For example, 1965 Bus plates are numbered beginning at BA-001. Notable exceptions to the two-letter, three-number format are Commercial, Motorcycle and Diplomatic, plates of which began at CA-1000, M-1 and DPL-1, respectively.

Specifically, here are the ten known non-passenger 1965 types and the assumed first assigned number of each: Bus, BA-001; Commercial (Truck), CA-1000; Dealer, DA-001; Diplomatic, DPL-1; Hire (Taxi), HA-001; Livery, LA-001; Motorcycle, M-1; Rental Car, RA-001; Trailer, T-001; and Diplomatic Staff, WN-1000.




 1966 (exp. 3-31-1967) Passenger plate no. 297-861

1966, '67

April 1, 1966-March 31, 1968

1966 Passenger plate no. 367-082 revalidated for 1967 (exp. 3-31-1968)

 1966 Reserved Passenger plate no. 76

1965 Motorcycle plate no. M1577

1967 Reserved Passenger plate no. 76

 1966 (exp. 3-31-67) Dealer plate no. DA-1203

1967 (exp. 3-31-68) Dealer plate no. DA-700

1965 (exp. 3-31-66) Bus plate no. BD-521 validated for 1966 (exp. 3-31-67)

 1966 (exp. 3-31-67) Transport plate no. 168

1967 (exp. 3-31-68) Transport plate no. 210

1965 (undated variety) Commercial (Truck) plate no. CC-013 validated for 1966

 1966 (exp. 3-31-1967) Diplomat plate number 3146

1965 (exp. 3-31-66) Hire plate no. HL-222 validated for 1966 (exp. 3-31-67)

1965 (undated, exp. 3-31-66) Hire plate no. HS-517 validated for 1967 (exp. 3-31-68)

 1966 Rental Vehicle plate validated for 1967 (exp. 3-31-1968)

1966 Dealer-Issued Temporary plate no. DX-16848

1966 Sample plate


Just the Facts...
License plates of registration years
1966 (4-1-1966 through 3-31-1967) and 1967 (4-1-1967 through 3-31-1968)
are marked
3-31-67 or are undated,
are painted
black on reflective white,
measure
6" x 12" (except motorcycle plates),
are made of
embossed steel,
and were issued
in pairs except for motorcycles and trailers.
Reserved numbers issued by the Board of Commissioners:
1-1250 (for use only on passenger cars)
By The Numbers...
Registration Statistics:
 
1966
1967
Passenger
218,964
224,851
 
Motorcycles
2,590
2,704
 
Trucks
20,952
20,059
 
Buses
1,833
1,802

 

Washington, D.C. license plates of the 1966-68 and 1968-74 baseplates are often confused for two reasons, the first of which is their similar appearance. Because they share a color scheme, only the reversed positions of the city name and slogan and the blocks of numbers that appear on auto plates may be used to tell them apart. Second, with the introduction of this base in early 1966 plates of certain non-passenger types were not replaced, contrary to the past practice of always replacing passenger and non-passenger plates simultaneously. This overlapping of three bases (1965, 1966-68, and 1968-74, as discussed in the Non-Passenger Numbering section below) continues to confuse collectors today.

There are two distinct varieties of this two-year baseplate: dated and undated. Both styles have "3-31" embossed in the lower left corner. The dated version has "67" stamped in the lower right corner whereas the undated variety does not. As with plates of earlier years, dated plates were used for the 1966-67 registration year with no other visible form of validation (i.e. a plate or window sticker), and for the 1967-68 registration year they were validated with white-on-green dated “68” stickers placed in the upper right corner. Nineteen sixty-six baseplates were replaced during March 1968 for the registration year that began on April 1, 1968.

Click here to view an image of a 1967 (exp. 3-31-68) registration and plate validation sticker envelope.Although stickers affixed to Washington, D.C., plates for the 1967-68 registration year were the first used by most city residents, they had been used to validate personalized plates since the introduction of that type in late 1964. As discussed on the Validation Stickers page, effective with the "68" sticker the final three digits in the serial number should match the final three numbers on plates issued in evidence of a new registration, whereas this matching characteristic is not present on plates issued to replace older plates used in evidence of an existing registration.

License plate collectors should note that mint (unissued and unused) examples of both styles of the 1966 base are relatively plentiful.


1966 and 1967 Registration Numbers

After several years of experimenting with various general-issue numbering formats, officials of the D.C. DMV returned to the one that had served well for many previous years: six-digit numbers assigned sequentially as high as necessary. Registration numbers for non-passenger vehicles continued to feature letter prefixes to denote the type.

Passenger - General-Issue. A block of 300,000 six-digit registration numbers, 100-001 through 400-000, was set aside for this base. Not all were issued, however, and the ample supply of unissued plates makes these two years among the easiest for collectors to locate.

The cutoff point between dated and undated varieties of this base is unknown. For years it has been assumed to be numbers 300-000 (last dated) and 300-001 (first undated). However, assuming that, as in previous years, slightly more than 200,000 registration numbers would be required for the 1966 registration year and that DMV officials were aware of this as the plates were being manufactured during 1965, and taking into consideration that we have not observed any examples of this base numbered between dated plate no. 299-992 and undated plate no. 320-064, we are left to wonder whether 1966 baseplates may have been dated into the 300-000 series, perhaps up to 320-000. Only by observing examples numbered between 300-001 and 320-000 will be able to estimate when the "67" year designation was removed from the lower right corner to effectively create the undated variety.

Undated plates could not have been issued during the 1966 registration year because the "67" year designation would be absent. However, dated plates leftover from 1966 could have been issued during the 1967 registration year because the year designation would appear in the form of the "68" sticker, making these plates appear identical to plates issued in 1966 and renewed for 1967.

1966 (exp. 3-31-1967) Passenger plate no. 297-861Dated 1966 Baseplates Dated plates that have been used are known from numbers 101-060 through 294-788. As for higher numbers of the dated variety, all are unused. Specifically, many examples from the ranges of 297-744 through 297-999 and 299-553 through 299-992 are held by collectors today.

We know that in the late 1960s or early 1970s the DMV sold surplus, unissued plates at auction, some of which were purchased by collectors. Perhaps 6 lots of 500 pairs each, comprising the range of 297-001 through 299-999, were sold, but only two of the lots were purchased by plate collectors, thus the lack of used or unused plates from 297-001 through 297-500 and 298-001 through 299-500. This is just a guess, and we don't know why these apparently large blocks of plates were unissued. It would be easy to assume that numbers above about 295-000 simply were not needed during the 1966 registration year except that given plate quantities that appear to have been issued in 1965 and earlier years (based upon registration numbers of known used plates), it doesn't seem reasonable that only 195,000 sets of plates would have been be needed from April 1966 through March 1967.

1966 Passenger plate no. 367-082 revalidated for 1967 (exp. 3-31-1968)Undated 1966 Baseplates Whereas used examples of the dated variety are relatively common, used undated plates are not. The majority of undated plates held by collectors were never issued and are numbered within the ranges of 366-508 through 366-835 and 367-082 through 367-444. Again, we assume that these plates were among large lots sold as surplus materials by the city government, and all of the documented examples are likely from one large lot, possibly 1,000 pairs numbered 366-501 through 367-500. All unused plates in these ranges have a 1967 ("68") validation sticker with a serial number that ends in the same three digits as the plate number.

Also held by collectors are unused undated plates from outside of the 366-501 through 367-500 range, such as 322-822, 335-452, and 351-393. However, the lack of more than one or two with close numbers suggests that these are isolated unissued plates, not part of a larger span of plates not used.

Passenger - Reserved. Numbers 1 through 1250 were assigned by the Board of Commissioners.

Non-Passenger. The numbering of 1966 base non-passenger plates is consistent with 1965. And, in fact, for the first time in the history of Washington, D.C. license plates, prior-year plates of certain types were revalidated for a new registration year (1966, in this first instance) when auto plates were replaced. Previously, plates of all types, passenger and non-passenger, were replaced (or not) simultaneously.

The black-on-white color scheme and new, narrow dies of 1966 baseplates were actually introduced one year earlier on Commercial plates of 1965 (and marked EXP. 3-31-66 as shown above). These 1965 Commercial plates were revalidated with stickers for several years, and right through the two-year life of the 1966 baseplate, so that there is no Commercial plate on this base. Plates of some types (such as Bus and Livery) were replaced with new black-on-white plates for 1966 that were used beyond the useful life of auto plates of this base, whereas other non-passenger plates (we believe that Rental Car, Medical Doctor and Diplomatic are examples) were replaced in 1966 and 1968 on the same schedule as auto plates.

In short, the period of April 1965 through March 1974 is a confusing one when it comes to identifying when non-passenger plates were issued and replaced. Compounding the problem is that many examples of these plates held by collectors today are unused and thus do not include validation stickers that would provide information as to their period of use. For further information, visit our page dedicated to this period by clicking here.








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This page last updated on December 31, 2017

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