A Brief History of Washington State License Plates

1905

• The Division of Motor Vehicles was created by the Legislature and placed under the direction of the Secretary of State. The Secretary of State signed all licenses personally.
• There was a flat fee of $2 charged on a yearly basis. A license number was then assigned. The owner was responsible for making his own "plate." It could be made of wood, metal, or leather, with number pained or fasten on. This plate had to be carried on the vehicle. If the owner did not wish a plate, they could stencil the number on the front and rear of the vehicle itself. There were not plates issued by the Division of Motor Vehicles.
• The first vehicle licensed belonged to Mr. S. A. Perkins of Tacoma. On May 2, 1905 he licensed a 30 HP Pope-Toledo Touring car. Mr. Perkins retained his license number B-1 for many years.
• During the first year, 763 license numbers were issued resulting in a revenue of $1,526. The license year ended on May 31. Failure to apply for renewal by June 1 resulted in the number being reassigned.

1906

• During this year the total number of licenses increased to 1,253. In 1910 the total number of vehicles had risen to 9,311. In the next 5 years the rate of increase expanded, and by the year 1915, had increased to 46,000 vehicles.

1916

• During this year, the Division of Motor Vehicles, under the direction of the Secretary of State, issued the first metal license plates. They were made with a blue background and white letters. Truck plates had TRUCK across the top of the plate. The plate had WN vertically on the left side of the plate. These plates were larger than later year issues measuring 6 1/4" X 16"

1917

• Passenger vehicles were designated by a small "X"; trucks by a "T"; and publicly owned vehicles by a small "E". License plates were issued to the individual and were transferred from vehicle to vehicle. Throughout the years the colors of the plates have changed.

1921

• By 1921 the number of registrations had reached 137,000 vehicles and produced revenue in the amount of $2,841,000. At this time the Legislature also changed the date of expiration to December 31, which required that another license plate having a different date of expiration be ordered. When these license plates arrived, they were stored with the other license plates in the basement of the Capitol Building. The weight of the license plates was so great that the floor of the building began to sink. The sinking of the basement floor necessitated the license plates being transferred to another part of the building during a weekend.

1923

• In 1923 manufacture of license plates began in the penitentiary at Walla Walla. This produced a considerable cost savings. The same colors were used for plates manufactured in 1923, 1924, and 1925. This resulted in cost savings through purchasing the enamel to paint the license plates in large quantities.

1926

• A new license design was instituted this year. The design was slightly larger than previous license plates and had the word "Washington" stamped in full across the bottom of the plate. These changes resulted from letters received from Washington Vehicle owners. The following are examples of the letter that were received:
• "A great many Washington automobiles travel into other states in the course of the year and if the name is brought to the attention of the people in those states, it will be a very suggestive form of advertising. it will also be a wonderful help in selling the state to our own people. Using the abbreviation is more or less like calling a man by a nickname and does not carry the dignity which the name of the state should have."
• "The tourist travel to the East is getting larger every year and a license bearing the "Washington" would be much more effective from an advertising standpoint than the abbreviated form "WN"."

1934

• Prior to 1934 all motor vehicle license plates were mailed from Olympia. In 1934 the system was changed and license plates were assigned to the counties. A system of assigning county letters to the plate number was adopted. This system has since been abandoned. The use of county temporary license plates was abandoned. Registrations in 1934 had increased to 460,000.

1939

• A "Golden Jubilee" 50th anniversary license plate was issued.

1943

• In 1943, 1944, 1946, 1948 and 1952 windshield stickers were used in lieu of license plates. The use of windshield stickers was due to the fact that aluminum was not available during the war years.

1944

• A metal plate was available in this year but was only issued to vehicles being brought into the state and licensed. Few of these were issued as people were not very transient during the war years. Validation for most vehicles were a 1942 plate with a 1944 window sticker.
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1950

• This was the first year of the base plate that would have metal validation tabs attached to the plate for subsequent years except for 52 which was a window sticker. The 50 plate had a metal tab for 51 and 53 validation.

1951

• New registrant were issued a single 1951 plate. Normally 2 plates were issued

1954

• A new base plate was issued in this year with metal tabs for 55, 56, and 57.

1957

• 1957 saw the introduction of a new size plate. They went to a national standardized 6" X 12" available to new registrants.

1958

• A new type of license plate was issued. The new plates used a combination of three letters and three numbers.

1963

• Due to a misunderstanding in the specification for the new 1963 license plates, there was no space provided for the validation tabs, so "Washington" was abbreviated to "Wash". This caused a storm of protests from citizens and the legislature.

1965

• The 1965 Legislature passed a law prohibiting the use of the abbreviation "Wash" on vehicle license plates.

1968

• A 1968 law required that all new license plates be manufactured using reflectorized material. This was to allow easier identification of license plates in the dark.

1975

• Personalized plates were authorized by the legislature and were made available to the public. These plates could contain from 2 to 6 numbers or letters in any combination that did not conflict with existing license plates.

1986

• The legislature passed a bill mandating the Department of Licensing to design a new license plate in recognition of Washington State's Centennial. 1,300 designs were turn in by Washington residents. A panel selected 12 designs out of the 1300. The Governor and Director of the Department of Licensing then selected the final design. The winner of the design contest was Eric Booth, and 18 year old high school student. The legislature also authorized use of single letters or numbers on personalized license plates this year.

1987

• Starting on January 1, 1987 license plates representing Washington's centennial were issued. These plates have a blue color scheme on a while background with "Washington" and "Centennial Celebration" in red. A rendition of Mount Rainier is in the background.

1990

• The line "Centennial Celebration" was dropped from the license plate, otherwise the license plates remained the same. Legislation this year has allowed veterans to display a U.S. flag and campaign ribbons on the bottom of the license plate.

Washington Passenger License Plate Colors (1916 - 1994)

16

White on blue

17

White on lavender

18

White on black

19

Black on yellow

20

Metal tabs, black on white

21

White on green (3/1920 to 3/1921); black on grey (3/1921 to 12/1921)

22

White on brown

23

Blue on white

24

White on blue

25

Blue on white

26

White on green

27

Green on white

28

Black on orange

29

White on green

30

Green on white

31

White on green

32

Green on white

33

White on green

34

Green on white

35

White on blue

36

Blue on white

37

White on blue

38

Green on white

39

Yellow on green

40

Green on white

41

White on green

42

Green on white

43

Windshield sticker

44

Green on White orWindshield sticker

45

Green on white

46

Windshield sticker

47

Green on aluminum

48

Windshield sticker

49

Green on gray

50

Green on white

51

Green on White or Metal tabs, green on aluminum

52

Windshield sticker

53

Metal tabs, green reflective material

54

White on green

55

Metal tabs, red on aluminum

56

Metal tabs, green on white

57

Metal tabs, white on green

58

White on green, silver on green tab

59

Validating tabs, green on silver scotchlite

60

Validating tabs, aluminum on green

61

Validating tabs, green on aluminum

62

Validating tabs, silver on green scotchlite

63-86

General issue green on white plates

87-94

Mount Rainier

Note: Plates from 1916 to 1920 were issued on a March to March basis. The year of the plate indicated the year of expiration.

This information was kindly provided by the Washington State Department of Licensing, Olympia, Washington 98504-8001.and ALPCA

Some information has been updated and expanded from that provided by the State.