Washington, D.C. Commercial (Truck) Plates

DCplates.net feels compelled to begin this page with an apology: We're sorry about the relative complexity and length of the discussion that follows. Plate collectors and registration historians have probably already scrolled down this page and thought to themselves "why has it taken so many words to describe a jurisdiction's most plentiful non-passenger type?" Our response is based upon the premise that it's far more difficult and time-consuming to describe the various pieces of extant random evidence about a type's history and to then speculate about what may have happened than it is to simply describe, with brief blocks of text accompanied by photos, what is commonly known to have occurred.

When it comes to documenting the history of plates of most U.S. jurisdictions, hypothesizing about what may have been issued based upon scant evidential matter only needs to be done in instances of rare, seldom-seen types. In D.C., however, the history of all types, even the most common ones, is hazy. With types that have a history as long as commercial it takes a while to lay it all out. Our humble apologies. Give yourself a gold star if you make it all the way through this page, and please help us to fill in the gaps in our information.

In Summary

As with less common D.C. types, what we know about early commercial plates is based almost exclusively on observation of existing examples rather than historical records of what was actually issued. The letter C is most often associated with this type, but A, B, and D have also been used, sometimes alone, at other times following a C. Here's a summary of the type history that's detailed below:

• Specially-marked 1927 plates are believed to be the first distinctive truck plates issued in D.C.
• It is assumed that letter prefixes used on truck plates for 1927 were also used through 1934.
• Plates of 1935 through early 1948 include COMMERCIAL. Letter prefixes appear on most plates of this period.
• Between April 1948 and March 1969 the letter C, most often in a prefix position, designates commercial plates. In most years a second letter (usually A, B, or another C) follows the C prefix.
• Since April 1969 all commercial plates have been marked simply with a C prefix followed by up to five numbers.

Through 1953: More Questions Than Answers

Details, assumptions, and speculation about this type's history follow. Most of the discussion centers on numbering formats because this is how D.C. plates of various types were most often differentiated.

Before 1927. It is unknown whether distinctive plates were issued for use on commercial vehicles prior to 1927. That special truck plates were not introduced until so relatively late in the registration process seems unusual, so it would not be surprising for evidence of an earlier separate series to surface. Nevertheless, the image below of what is obviously a commercial truck registered with a 1923 passenger plate strongly suggests that distinctive commercial or truck plates were not yet being issued. It's possible that there was a separate commercial registration classification (with a registration fee different from that charged for private passenger cars) by the early 1920s even though specially-marked plates were not provided. However, until definitive information is located this type's history can be traced only as far back as 1927, the year that a uniform system of plate type identification was introduced.

1927-1934. Effective with the 1927 registration year there were two series of D.C. plates for commercial vehicles. A letter B prefix marked plates issued for use on vehicles with a manufacturer's rated capacity of 2,500 lbs. or less, and C-prefix plates were issued for trucks with a capacity greater than 2,500 lbs. It is reasonable to assume that these two letter prefixes were used through 1934, although no evidence to support this assumption has been found. The first period during which most D.C. plate numbers began with a letter to indicate the registration type came to an end with the close of 1934.

1935-1947 (3-31-48). This is a confusing era for all D.C. non-passenger plates, and commercial is a particularly difficult type to understand due to the resumption of letter prefixes in 1938. No prefix letters appeared on plates of most (if not all) other types during this period.

From 1935 through the 1946 (3-31-47) baseplate (which was revalidated with a "48" tab to expire 3-31-48), private passenger plates were numbered from 1 through 9999, and then numbers that began at some five-digit number substantially higher than 10-000. The lowest five-digit numbers, beginning at various points at or above 10-000 for various types, were used for non-passenger plates of most types throughout this period but on commercial plates apparently only for 1935, 1936, and 1937. Listed here are numbering formats and plate characteristics reported (but in some cases not verified) about 1935-47 commercial plates as well as numbers and information about examples actually observed.

Upon reviewing this data, a question arises about what the letter prefixes mean. Before we consider that, however, let's look at the all-number plates issued for 1935, 1936, and 1937. If we assume that for 1934 registration purposes all commercial vehicles were still classified in one of two categories, as we know they were in 1927, and if we assume that there were different registration fees for each class, then it makes sense to assume that those classifications were not discarded for 1935. Therefore, it seems reasonable (but by no means certain) to speculate that two separate blocks of all-number registrations may have been set aside for the two classes of commercial registrations. Hopefully we can collect more registration number data for truck plates of this era. The lowest observed passenger plate from this three-year period is from the 47-000 series. Perhaps truck plates of the two weight classes were numbered in the 20-000 and low 40-000 series.

As for the 1938-47 letter prefixes, if certain number blocks were indeed assigned to the two different commercial vehicle classes from 1935-37, it's a reasonable assumption that the distinction was too difficult for police officers and others to make, and that the pre-1935 letter prefixes were therefore restored in a period during which they were not used on other plate types. It seems likely that the previous letters for the two weight classes, B and C, were brought back into use. As for the appearance of A and D prefixes, they may be overflow series. After plate no. B-9999 was assigned, numbers A-1, A-2, etc. were probably issued for light trucks. Similarly, upon issuance of heavy truck plate no. C-9999 numbers were probably assigned sequentially beginning at D-1.

Plates of this era that include both COMMERCIAL and a B prefix to the number have, in some past writings on the subject, been classified as bus plates. Bus is a type that's as confusing as commercial, and there is no definitive information as to the proper classification of post-1934 B-prefix plates. However, we assume that they were not issued exclusively for buses due to our knowledge that the letter was set aside in 1927 for use on all commercial vehicles with a particular carrying capacity, not just buses.

1948-1952. It's ironic that as the plates get newer we know less about them, but that is the case when it comes to D.C. truck plates. The late 1940s/early 1950s confusion stems from the removal of the type name effective with the calendar year 1948 issue. The risk that we might have otherwise been confused by 1939-47 plates with a letter prefix is eliminated thanks to the display of COMMERCIAL on them, but we have no such clue on 1948 plates. It was for this year that type names were eliminated in favor of a return to letter prefixes used to denote registration categories.

Exacerbating the confusion is the lack of known examples, probably because they're difficult to identify. Not only are we uncertain about the appearance of commercial plates of at least the first few years of this era, we also don't know if the system of utilizing two separate categories of trucks (based upon carrying capacity and specified as least as early as 1927) continued past March 31, 1947. Taking all of this confusion and mystery into account, here are numbers reported (but in some cases not verified) for 1948-52 commercial plates:

There are a few important points to consider when speculating as to which known 1948-52 D.C. plates were used on trucks and the appearance of all D.C. truck plates of this period. Before we begin, however, a description of the passenger numbering format is in order. Reserved-number auto plates are numbered 1 through 9999, and general-issue plates are marked 1-1001 through 9-9999, then A-1 through A-9999, B-1 through B-9999, etc. Certain letters, including presumably C, were used exclusively for non-passenger registrations.

Understanding how auto plates were numbered in 1948 and 1949 is presently irrelevant to the topic of truck plates, of course, because we have no information about their appearance. However based upon the appearance of non-passenger plates of other types and the general design of these relatively small plates, it's reasonable to assume that there is no type name legend on them.

1948-52 section to be continued.

Since 1953: C is for Commercial

1953 (dated 3-31-54)-1964 (3-31-65). Things seem to have gotten a little more predictable and uniform, when it comes to D.C. truck plates, around 1953. The type name continued to be omitted but the C-prefix format remained. Specifically, with enough room on the new 6" x 12" plates for six characters, commercial plate numbering began at CA-1001 and proceeded as high as necessary. Numbers were presumably assigned sequentially from CA-1001 through CA-9999, then beginning at CB-1001 through CB-9999, etc. It is unlikely that, even during the two-year useful life of the 1953 (3-31-54) base, registration numbers ever progressed to the end of the CB series. This numbering format was used throughout this period and until early 1969.

Truck plates were replaced annually from 1955 (3-31-56) through 1964 (3-31-65). During these years, plates of this type shared color schemes and other characteristics with passenger car plates. All of that changed, however, for the 1965-66 registration year.

Since 1965 (3-31-66). The replacement timing and characteristics of commercial and passenger car plates differed from April 1965 through the end of the 1973-74 registration year as discussed on a separate page. With the introduction of the 1974 (Bicentennial) baseplate in April of that year, passenger and non-passenger plates were again replaced simultaneously.

The 1965 commercial baseplate, used for four registration years from April 1965 through March 1969, introduced the slender dies that made their debut on passenger plates in the following year and became synonymous with D.C. plates used through the end of the century. An unusual feature of this base is the raised sticker area and corresponding 1966-68 (dated "67" through "69") stickers centered vertically on the right border. The earliest plates of this base have the original expiration date debossed in the sticker area whereas this feature was removed from later plates. Numbering on the 1965 base continued in the format that had been used since 1953 (as discussed above).

Dated black-on-white plates were issued annually from 1969 (dated 3-31-70) through 1973 (3-31-74). Since early 1974 baseplates that correspond in appearance and introduction timing with auto plates have been used. Commercial plate registration numbers began each year (on the dated annual plates) at C-001 and progressed as high as needed without the use of a serial letter. This configuration, a C followed by five numbers, is still used today.