Classic California License Plates & Stickers: Welcome Note

Vintage California license plates, old California stickers, decals, metal year tabs, frames, and novelty plates.

We have old Florida tags, too!

We have been working on a new website! Feel free to take a look at: ClassicLicensePlates.forsale – we are adding items daily!

Since we’ve always enjoyed talking to our California and Florida customers on the phone about the how to find the right license plates for their old cars, and helping them with California’s Year Of Manufacture program, we thought we could share some info with a blog.

In addition to posting updates and pictures, we have helpful YOM registration tips, information about California license plate history, pictures of unusual or rare California license plates, and other useful information.

Thank you for visiting!

Harold’s and Harrah’s Toppers – Nice Reproductions

We found a couple nice-looking toppers – these are flat (non-embossed) metal attachments (both a little bigger than a regular license plate), click on the image for more info!

Novelty License Plates for Jeep, Chevy, Mopar, and more!

Are you looking for a novelty license plate to show off your favorite classic car or truck, or to let folks know what year it is? We have popular model year, California-style, AMC, Buick, Chevy, Ford, Dodge, GMC, Harley, Lincoln, Mercury, Mopar, Jeep, Plymouth, Oldsmobile, Pontiac, and Rambler plates! We do not make plates, these are just some we have collected over the years.

Vintage Florida Tags

We just added some old Florida license plates, 1961 to 1975, to our revamped website. Some can be used for the Authenticated License Plate Program (using an old plate that matches the year of your 1960’s or 1970’s vehicle), and some are for collecting. Be aware that Florida re-issued the same plate numbers for different-year plates – so there are duplicates out there! Click on the image below to see what we have.

Vintage California License Plates, Stickers, and Tabs

We just added some old California license plates, stickers, and metal tabs to our revamped website. Some can be used for the California Year of Manufacture Program (YOM) and some are for collecting. Click on the image below to see what we have.

Blue and Yellow California License Plates added to the YOM Program!

Great news for everyone who has been waiting for the California blue and yellow license plates to be added to the YOM program! Beginning in January 2017, if you have a 1970 to 1980 passenger car or commercial vehicle, you can put an approved set of the old blue plates on your vehicle!

**Very Important: to go along with the plates, you will also need an old California year sticker (sometimes called a registration decal or tag)  that matches up with the model year of your vehicle.

1970-1979 passenger cars need to use blue plates with SIX yellow characters.

1980 automobiles can use either SIX or SEVEN character blue plates.

1975-1980 commercial vehicles  may use SIX or SEVEN character blue plates (1970-1974 commercial vehicles must use blue plates with SIX yellow characters)

California YOM Program: Helpful Information

We get many phone calls from our California customers about the Year of Manufacture Registration Program (YOM). This was one of our earlier posts, and we thought it would be helpful to run it again, as we seem to be getting more questions about the YOM program.

You’ll need a clear pair of vintage California license plates AND an old year sticker (or metal year tab) that match up with the model year of your vehicle.  This includes the popular black California license plates from 1963-1969, and the older plates.

Starting in 2017, the blue and yellow California license plates can be used on 1970-1980 vehicles!

If you have a passenger car or commercial vehicle that is a 1980 model or older, it is eligible for the YOM program.

First the plates: you’ll need a base pair of “clear” California license plates (“clear” meaning that there is no old record on file or that the letter/number configuration is not in use on another year plate, as California sometimes had to re-issue the same numbers/letters on different year plates). You can call the dmv to check on plate numbers.

**Very Important: to go along with the plates, you will also need an old California year sticker (sometimes called a registration decal or tag) or metal year tab that matches up with the model year of your vehicle:

1970-1980 passenger cars and commercial vehicles: you’ll need a clear pair of the old California blue and yellow license plates, and an old year sticker that matches the year of your vehicle. We hear from a lot of folks that the dmv likes to see just the ONE sticker on your plates – the old year sticker that matches your vehicle. 1970-1979 passenger cars need to use blue plates with SIX yellow characters. 1980 automobiles can use either SIX or SEVEN character blue plates. 1970-1974 commercial vehicles must use blue plates with SIX yellow characters; 1975-1980 commercial vehicles  may use SIX or SEVEN character blue plates.

1963-1969 passenger cars: you’ll need a clear pair of the old California black license plates, and an old year sticker for years 1964-1969. We hear from a lot of folks that the dmv likes to see just the ONE sticker on your plates – the old year sticker that matches your vehicle. Since 1963 was the base year, the 63 is already stamped into the upper right sticker well, so no sticker would be needed if you have a 1963 model year vehicle.

1956-1962 vehicles: you’ll need a clear pair of the vintage yellow California license plates, and a sticker for years 1957-1962. Since 1956 was the base year, the 56 is already stamped into the plate, so no sticker would be needed if you have a 1956 model year vehicle.

Click here to see our earlier post about old California license plate stickers.

1947-1955: base plates and metal year tabs were used during these years.

Click here to see our earlier post with pictures of old California license plate tabs.

1945-1946: In order to save metal for the war effort, only one plate was issued per vehicle, and a 46 metal tab was used in 1946.

Old motorcycle license plates – great for collecting!

Here are a few vintage motorcycle license plates that we’ve come across.

Motorcycle plates are great for collecting, as they are smaller and don’t take up much space. Generally, they can be a little rougher-looking than passenger plates, as the vibrations from motorcycles are hard on the bolt holes, and they aren’t as protected as those on automobiles.

Old California License Plates With a 6-Number Configuration

We want to hear from you!

If you have been able to find “clear” YOM California license plates which have a 6-number configuration, please see our poll below.

Vintage California plates with six numbers have always been a little more difficult to use for the YOM program, as California used the 6-number configuration on a few different types/year plates (a few shown below), so there’s always a chance that the same 6-number configuration is in use on another set of older YOM passenger plates (or on a newer pair of commercial vehicle plates); or on an older trailer, motorcycle, or  exempt plate.

             

           

Old Florida License Plates and Tags

Old Florida license plates and tags: county and vehicle-type codes.

If you’ve ever wondered what the first few numbers on old Florida tags stood for, here is some historical information on plates from the 1960’s and 1970’s.

The first number(s) on the tag is the County code (1-68), and the next letter(s) stood for the type of vehicle and/or weight. Here are some of the more common vehicle codes:

• Passenger cars: D, T, W, WW. For cars weighing 2501-3500 pounds, there was no code.
• Antique cars: Q
• Commercial vehicles: CV, G, GH, GK, GL, GV, P (off-road vehicle, harvest truck)

Note: if you want to use vintage Florida tags for the Authenticated License Plate Program (using an old plate that is the same year as your vehicle), it is our understanding that you may be able to use any county or vehicle type code (please check with your local motor vehicle office for current requirements). Also, be sure to check that the plate number itself is not already in use, as Florida re-used the same configurations on many different year plates.

Click here to see our Florida license plates at ClassicLicensePlates.forsale

Old California License Plates

Old California License Plates: Collect Them!

Vintage California license plates are great for collecting! They don’t take up much room, look great in a garage, and have been increasing in value!

Some folks collect a California series, either by year (having a plate from each year on a display is very impressive) or alphabetical. Some people like to collect plates that were issued the year they were born.

Recently, we’ve been helping collectors who are investing in the old blue pairs of California tags like these:

Vintage California Horseless Carriage License Plates

Old California Horseless Carriage plates from the 1970’s – great for collectors!

 

 

 

 

Ford Mustang – Happy 50th Birthday!

The original Ford Mustang, 50 years old!

We’ve had a couple Ford Mustangs over the years: the purple one below was purchased in 1965, and the blue-ish one, in the early 1980’s. Both great cars, but sold years ago. We still love seeing one on the road these days!

Old Nevada License Plates

Nevada State Assemblyman 1 and US Senate USS2 and license plates:

We were looking through some old boxes and found these interesting tags from the 1970’s.

Old Florida License Plates

Vintage Florida license plates (old tags)  from the 1960’s and 1970’s.

If you live in Florida, you may be interested in their Authenticated License Plate Program, which allows some Florida tags to be used on cars from the 1960’s and early 1970’s – and we have several that may be eligible for that program:

Click here to see our Florida license plates