If you want to learn about the District of Columbia's current license plates, most of which are emblazoned with TAXATION WITHOUT REPRESENTATION across the bottom, of you've come to the right place! Our several pages with content about these plates are described below next to links that you can use to reach them.

The oval link to the left will take you to our main page dedicated to TAXATION plates. Here you'll find basic facts about the several varieties of general-issue auto plates that have been issued since 2001, along with details about the source of the slogan, why it appears on D.C. plates, whose idea it was, and what alternatives are available for motorists that don't like it.

Current D.C. Plates of various types, such as car, motorcycle, and dealer, are pictured on the page reached by this link. Remember that plates of some types don't include the slogan due to space required to display the type name. In most cases these sloganless non-passenger plates are still considered part of the 2000 ("TAXATION") issue.

Looks can be deceiving: not all TAXATION plates were created equal. In fact, the 13-month period that began in Sept. 2001 is one of the more interesting periods in the history of D.C. plates. A number of alterations, mostly subtle although all distinctive, were made to the design introduced in 2000. Use the link to the left to learn about this interesting period of change.

If it's close-up images of lots of 2000 baseplates that you crave, the link to the left will take you to paradise. Because it's where we're collecting images of examples of plates with every two-letter prefix used since 1997, this photo gallery begins with a string of Celebrate & Discover plates. After that, however, it's all TAXATION all the time.

On the other hand, if it's images of TAXATION plates in their natural habitat that you're seeking, we've got that covered, too. This link will take you to the section of our Capital Traffic photo gallery that's dedicated to shots of today's plates in use on highways and byways within the Beltway as well as far-flung places like... Delaware!

If you think that all TAXATION plates have pretty much the same appearance, think again. Users of D.C. registrations numbered 1 through 1250 receive a new pair of plates annually, and since 2001 they've been made in some interesting and unusual designs, but always with the defiant slogan. This link takes you to our page dedicated to reserved-number plates.

Some of the most sought-after TAXATION plates on the streets of D.C. today are the low-number plates assigned to VIPs by members of the city council and other officials. In addition to the page about them described immediately above, we have a separate page with images of several of the plates in use. Click on the link to the left to get there.