The use of new, shorter dies and a new numbering format for all types (except Commercial, Motorcycle, Trailer, and Diplomatic) effective April 1957 was described by the Dept. of Vehicles and Traffic in a memorandum of Feb. 9, 1956, from which three particularly relevant passages have been excerpted:

"For the registration year commencing April 1, 1957, the motor vehicle identification tags shall be of uniform size...with 2 5/8" letters and numerals patterned after the national standard adopted by the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators."

"Except for numbers 1 to 1000, inclusive, which are assigned by the Board of Commissioners, all tags shall bear a prefix of two letters followed by three numerals (except commercial which shall be numbered from CA-1000 to CZ-9999, and motorcycles and trailers which shall be numbered from M 1 and T 1 and up, respectively)... Numerals following the lettered prefix shall start with 100 and end with 999. All tags, except numbers 1 to 1000 and diplomatic tags, shall be issued in strict sequence and shall not be held or reserved for any applicant for registration."

"The dies used by the Lorton Reformatory for manufacturing the District's automobile license tags are worn out and must be replaced for next year's issue. It seems appropriate at this time to recommend a new identification system which will be much simpler and easier for the public to remember, and since there is an adequate supply of numbers available for this purpose, we are recommending that each passenger car tag have not more than two letters and three numbers instead of two letters and four numbers as now. The present system is being retained for commercial vehicle tags. The prefix of all of the commercial series starts with "C" and there would not be sufficient numbers available for this purpose if the passenger car numbering system were followed."

The above-referenced memo is the only internal DMV document known that describes plates issued during this period, and it addresses only 1957 ("3-31-58") plates. Information about passenger and non-passenger plate numbering presented below is based upon this memo and observations of later (i.e. 1958 through 1963) plates held by collectors today.

Passenger - General-Issue. Numbers commenced at AA-100 and progressed as high as necessary annually. First-position letters observed for each year are listed in each year section below. Throughout this period there were 22 second-position letters, only F, I, O, and Q not appearing in that position. Plates in all two-letter series used are numbered 100 through 999.

Passenger - Reserved. Numbers 1 through 1200 were assigned by the Board of Commissioners for 1957 and presumably throughout this period. Although the Feb. 9, 1956, memorandum quoted above indicates that 1957 reserved plates would be numbered from 1 only through 1000, that directive was superseded by a separate memo dated March 7, 1957, that effectively increased the number of available reserved plates by 200.

Non-Passenger. Letter prefixes set aside for various non-passenger types since 1948 continued to be use during this era. As since 1953, in most cases the type designation letter is followed by a serial letter, but now there are only three numbers following, not four. For example, 1957-63 Bus plates began at BA-100 and Dealer plates began at DA-100. Plates of three types continued to be numbered in the manner of 1955 and 1956 plates: Commercial, Motorcycle and Diplomatic plates began at CA-1000, M-1 and DPL-1, respectively.

Specifically, here are the nine known non-passenger types issued from 1957 to 1963 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 (but see text immediately below in which this type is discussed); and Trailer, T-100.

The Mystery of R-Prefix Plates

The question being addressed is whether 1957 through 1963 plates that begin with R are general-issue passenger plates or non-passenger plates issued for use on rental cars. There is a slight possibility that they are both, which is to say that during this period R may have been a passenger series but that rental cars were issued plates only from this series. Perhaps a portion of the R series was reserved for rental cars and the balance of the series was used for general-issue purposes.

Background. It is a fact that 1927 through 1953 base District of Columbia license plates with an R prefix were set aside for issuance to rental car companies. (Note, however, that this designation was not used throughout this period, the type name RENTAL being displayed from 1937 through the 1946 base.) Internal DMV memos in which plates of 1948 (marked "1948") through 1957 (marked 3-31-58) are described have been used as a source of information throughout this site, especially with respect to the identification of non-passenger types, although these documents are known to contain some errors and omissions. Pre-1948 documents also identify R-prefix plates as being associated with rental cars, or (as in a Dec. 1932 D.C. government memo) "passenger motor vehicles for hire where driver is not furnished."

It is also a fact that R-prefix plates were issued until recently (if they are not indeed still issued) for use on rental cars, and R-prefix plates of the 1966 (marked 3-31-67 or undated) and most later baseplates are known, these being years during which general-issue auto plates do not feature a letter prefix. Regarding 1965 plates, although auto plates are numbered in a 1AB23 format, plates with the earlier (AB-123) format that begin with R (such as no. RC-853) were clearly used on rental cars.

Therefore, we can conclude that distinctively-marked plates were issued for rental cars from 1927 through March 1955, and April 1965 through the present, and that in most cases the plates are distinguished by an R prefix.

The Questions. There is some confusion, however, as to whether distinctive rental car plates were issued on the nine annual plates of 1955 through 1963. During these registration years auto plates and plates of several non-passenger types begin with two letters, and the only way to identify non-passenger types so marked is by the first letter. For example, number KA-100 is a private auto plate whereas LA-100 is a livery plate. The questions are whether rental car plates were issued on the 1955 and 1956 bases, and whether plates numbered beginning at RA-100 known to have been issued from 1957 through 1963 are rental or private auto plates.

1955 and 1956 Plates. General-issue auto plates of these years are numbered in an AB-12-34 format and begin only with the letters A and E. Therefore, if plates are found that begin with R, a reasonable assumption may be made that they are special rental car plates.

1957-1963 Plates - In Support of the Argument That R-Prefix Plates Were Not Assigned to Rental Vehicles. There are several facts that suggest that R-series numbers were freed from restriction and issued to private motorists beginning with the 1957 (or perhaps the 1955) registration year.

Omission From DMV Documentation. As mentioned above, documentation is at hand in which plates of most years from 1948 through 1958 are described. The documents were typically drafted about one year before the start of the registration year for which the plates being described were to be issued, and in most cases they include a list of non-passenger plates and how they would be marked. For example, the Feb. 17, 1948, memo in which plates to be used during the registration year to begin April 1, 1949, are described includes a list of plate types and numbers, including "R-1 to R-9999 - Rental cars." The last memo in which this type is included is dated May 1, 1952, and describes the green-on-white 1953 plates (marked 3-31-54) to be introduced eleven months later. The notation is as follows: "R - rental cars."

The 1953 plate was used for two years, so the next plate issue called for in one of these DMV memos is that of 1955 (marked 3-31-56). The May 21, 1954, document includes a list of non-passenger types and their letter prefix, but R is conspicuous in its absence. (Note, however, that R would not have been needed for private passenger use during the 1955 and 1956 registration years because the passenger configuration, two letters followed by four numbers, provided for ample registration combinations using just A and E in the first position. It was beginning in 1957, when the two letters were followed by no more than three numbers (i.e. from 100 through 999), that additional use of additional first-position letters become necessary.)

All of the later DMV memos that we have, which describe plates through the 1957 issue, omit R from the list of non-passenger prefix letters. Was this omission inadvertent or was R really abandoned as a non-passenger prefix in 1955?

Presence of High-Number R-Prefix Plates. Washington, D.C. license plates with an R prefix are known for most (if not all) years from 1957 through 1963. Some of them have numbers as high as the Z series, such as RZ-100. If the entire R series was used and assigned only to rental vehicles, this would mean that there were almost 20,000 registrations of this type, which seems unlikely.

1957-1963 Plates - In Support of the Argument That R-Prefix Plates Were Assigned to Rental Vehicles. The most compelling fact is simply that R-prefix plates issued before and after the period in question are known to be non-passenger, rental car plates, so there is no reason to believe that despite information presented above, R-series plates were released for general-issue use for this eight-year period.

1957

April 1, 1957-March 31, 1958

Almost everything about 1957 Washington, D.C. license plates was new. A completely new color scheme, new dies, and a new numbering format resulted in a plate that appeared unlike any issued during the first half-century that they were provided by the District government. Even subtle differences, such as dies used to stamp the expiration date and the size of bolt holes, are found to have been changed

Just the Facts...
Offical correspondence dated		Feb. 9, 1956, and March 7, 1957,
as to plates of registration year		1957 (April 1, 1957-March 31, 1958)
and to be marked		3-31-58
indicates that they are to be painted		white on green (which was not done),
measure		6" x 12",
be made of		26 gauge carbon sheet steel,
and be issued		in pairs except for motorcycles and trailers.
Reserved numbers to be issued by the Board of Commissioners:		1-1200 (for use only on passenger cars)

1958

April 1, 1958-March 31, 1959

Nineteen fifty-seven is the final year for which official correspondence in which D.C. license plates are described has been located. Data presented below (except registration statistics) has been compiled from alternative sources and based upon examination of 1958 plates. Furthermore, assumptions have been made regarding characteristics that are not likely to have been changed from the previous year.

Just the Facts...
License plates of registration year		1958 (April 1, 1958-March 31, 1959)
are marked		3-31-59,
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:		Unknown; probably either 1 through 1200 or 1 through 1250

An overview of 1957-1963 registration numbers is provided above. Note that the letter R has been included in both passenger and non-passenger sections below due to uncertainty as to how this letter was used (as discussed above).

Passenger - General-Issue. These ten prefix letters have been observed on 1958 auto plates: A, E, G, J, K, M, N, P, R, and S. The highest observed number is SY-449. If R-series plates were indeed used for private passenger vehicles, the number of registration number combinations from AA-100 through SY-449 is 197,800, whereas if R is excluded it is 178,000.

Passenger - Reserved. Numbers 1 through either 1200 or 1250 were assigned by the Board of Commissioners. The exact year that the quantity of available reserved numbers was increased from 1200 to 1250 is unknown.

Non-Passenger. Refer to the text above for information about to which non-passenger types plates with prefix letters B, C, D, H, L, M, R, and T, as well as DPL, were assigned. Special Antique Car plates was introduced at the beginning of this registration year, as discussed on a separate page. For 1957 Bus plates were numbered from BA-100 through BR-999 whereas plates of the BS series were set aside specifically for use on sightseeing buses. Whether this distinction continued to be made in 1958 and later years is unknown.

1959

April 1, 1959-March 31, 1960

Just the Facts...
License plates of registration year		1959 (April 1, 1959-March 31, 1960)
are marked		3-31-60,
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:		Unknown; probably either 1 through 1200 or 1 through 1250

An overview of 1957-1963 registration numbers is provided above. Note that the letter R has been included in both passenger and non-passenger sections below due to uncertainty as to how this letter was used (as discussed above).

Passenger - General-Issue. These 11 prefix letters have been observed on 1957 auto plates: A, E, G, J, K, M, N, P, R, S, and W. The highest observed number is WH-552. If R-series plates were indeed used for private passenger vehicles, the number of registration number combinations from AA-100 through WH-552 is 205,103, whereas if R is excluded it is 185,303.

Passenger - Reserved. Numbers 1 through either 1200 or 1250 were assigned by the Board of Commissioners. The exact year that the quantity of available reserved numbers was increased from 1200 to 1250 is unknown.

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

1903-1917 Plates

1968-74 Baseplate

1974-78 ("Bicentennial") Baseplate

1978-84 ("Nation's Capital") Baseplate

1984-91 ("A Capital City") Baseplate

2000 ("Taxation Without Representation") Baseplate