A Pictorial History of Maryland License Plates
Miscellaneous Personal Vehicle Plates Dated 1957 to Present

Amateur radio operators

1957-1975 amateur radio operators
Amateur radio plates were issued with a serial number that matched the radio operator's call sign, probably up to a maximum of six characters. In a sense, these were the first vanity plates. These were reported first issued with 1957 expiration dates. Early examples have a space between the second and third characters; later examples do not. These plates did not contain any identifying legend. 1957-1970 plates with March 31 expiration dates were issued to cars; those with an April 30 expiration date were issued to trucks. There isn't a way to distinguish amateur radio car vs. truck plates on the 1971 base.

1976-1987 amateur radio operators
These plates still did not carry any identifying legend. However, amatuer radio plates issued to trucks did carry a "Truck" legend at the bottom center. I haven't seen an amateur radio multi-purpose vehicle (MPV) plate, but it's likely they exist as well. Amateur radio plates were also available on the optional issue U.S. Bicentennial (1976-1980) and 350th Anniversary (1984-1987) plates.

1987-present amateur radio operators
Amateur radio plates are issued with the serial number that matches the radio operator's call sign, up to seven characters. They differ from ordinary vanity plates in that they carry the screened legend "Amateur Radio Operator" at the bottom center. Amateur radio plates are available for passenger cars, multi-purpose vehicles, and trucks up to 1 ton capacity. The same plates are issued to all of these vehicle types.

Antique, historic, and street rod vehicles

1960-1970 antique vehicles
Antique licenese plates were first issued with 1960 expirations. They displayed the legend "Antique Motor Vehicle" horizontally on the left portion of the plate, with each word stacked above the other. Verified serial formats include 000 and 0000. Antique vehicles received March 31 expiration dates.

1971-1975 antique and historic vehicles
There are examples of dated 1971 base plates with the legends "Antique Motor Vehicle" as well as "Historic Motor Vehicle". In both cases the legend is stacked horizontally on the left portion of the plate. Whether there was a difference in what could be considered antique versus historic, or whether the antique plates were issued first and the historic plates issued later, is not clear. There are more examples of the antique variety of plate floating around. The serial numbers of each type do not provide any obvious clues. I've observed antique serial numbers both lower and higher than historic serial numbers. Format 0000 was used for both types of plates.

1976-1987 historic vehicles
By the time the red and white base was issued, the term "antique" had been retired, and all such plates carried the simple legend "Historic" at the bottom of the plate. A variety of serial formats were used, and it's not completely clear what the sequence was. An educated guess would be, on the 1976 red letter base, first 0000, then x000, then x0000 and x 0000, then finally 0000 x. In the case of formats x0000 and x 0000, a space separator was added at some point, but one format's serial numbers picked up where the other left off. The 1980 plate pictured is a natural. On the 1981 black letter base, the sequence started over, but the spacing between the between the letter and numbers was slightly different; I believe the order was 0000, x000 and x 000, x 0000, and lastly 0000 x. Again, x 000 picked up where x000 left off.

Vanity registration numbers were permitted on both the 1976 and the 1981 historic bases. Historic motorcycle plates and historic vanity motorcycle plates both began on the 1981 base.

1987-present historic vehicles and street rods

• Historic vehicles: Historic vehicles were initially assigned plates on the screened "Maryland" base with serial format 000*00L, with the "L" indicating the vehicle class, and with the screened legend "Historic" at the bottom of the plate. This format was eventually used up, and a second format L00*000 was introduced. This second format was exhausted in late 2005; now a third format 000*0L0 is being issued. Historic motorcycle plates are issued with format 00000L/D. Vanity registration numbers are permitted on both regular and motorcycle historic plates.

• Street rods: A short time after the introduction of the screened "Maryland" base, street rods were split out from historic vehicles into their own class. The distiction is that historic vehicles are over 25 years old in basically stock condition, while street rods are heavily modified or customized vehicles over 25 years old. Street rod plates are in format 000*00N, with the "N" indicating the vehicle class, and with the screened legend "Street Rod" displayed along the bottom of the plate. Street rod motorcycle plates are issued with format 00000N/D. Regular street rod plates can also be issued with vanity registration numbers; I imagine street rod motocycle plates can too, but I'm not certain since I've never seen one.

Handicapped persons

1971-1975 handicapped
Handicapped plates were first issued on the white on blue 1971 base. The format consisted of an embossed wheelchair graphic followed by a numeric serial; format was 00000, with 10001 the first plate number issued.

1976-1987 handicapped
Handicapped plates continued on the red and white and black and white bases with an embossed wheelchair graphic. A variety of serial formats were used on these two bases; it's not clear what the sequence was. Handicapped persons registering trucks or multi-purpose vehicles were issued plates similar to handicapped passenger car plates, but with the word "Truck" or "MPV" embossed at the bottom of the plate, respectively.

1987-present handicapped
Standard handicapped plates on the standard script "Maryland" base are issued with the wheelchair graphic at the far left, followed by the serial number 00000x/x, where the letters may be H/C, H/D, or H/V. Presumably the letter H stands for handicapped; apparently the variable second letter has no hidden meaning. There is no longer a distinction between handicapped car vs. truck or multi-purpose vehicle plates. H/C series and early H/D series have a screened wheelchair graphic and alpha suffix; beginning at about 36000H/D, and continuing into the H/V series, these elements are embossed. The state's web site address began appearing on standard handicapped plates in 2005 at approximatly serial number 69000H/V.

Disabled veterans (veterans who are truly handicapped, and are not necessarily members of the Disabled American Veterans organization) are issued plates with the wheelchair graphic at far left, followed by a serial number in format DV0000. These plates carry the screened legend "Disabled Veteran" at the bottom. These plates are free of charge to the registrant. I don't know if the wheelchair symbol has always been embossed or not.

Non-veteran handicapped plates have also been available on both versions of the optional "Treasure the Chesapeake" base, and are available on the optional "Our Farms, Our Future" base. On the previous green on white Chesapeake base, the plate featured the wheelchair grapic on the left, followed by a serial in format 00000H/P; the screened bird graphic was omitted. Early versions had screened wheelchair graphics and alpha suffix characters; beginning at roughly plate number 13500H/P, the wheelchair graphic was embossed but the alpha suffix remained screened; starting at approximatly 14000H/P, both the wheelchair symbol and the alpha suffix were embossed.

On the Our Farms base, again the wheelchair graphic is at the left, followed by serial format 00000A/E. The wheelchair graphic has always been embossed on this base; the A/E suffix was screened up to about serial 02300A/E or 02400A/E, and since then has been embossed. The handicapped format for the current blue on black Chesapeake plate is 0000D/A, with the screened bird graphic in its normal position on the left edge of the plate, and the wheelchair graphic to the right of the stacked "D/A". The wheelchair symbol and the suffix letters have always been embossed on this base. By the way, I have no idea what the letters AE or DA signify, if anything.

Disabled motorcyclists are able to get handicapped plates as well. The motorcycle plates they are issued display the familiar wheelchair graphic to the far left, followed by serial format 0000D/M. On the one example I've seen, both the wheelchair symbol and the stacked alpha characters are screened.

Non-veteran handicapped plates are available with vanity registration numbers on the standard, Chesapeake, and Our Farms plates, with up to six characters. I don't know whether you can get vanity hanidcapped motorcycle plates.

Low speed vehicles

Low speed vehicle plates were introduced in January 2006. Low speed vehicles are not necessarily personal vehicles, but I didn't know anywhere more appropriate to put this article.

A low speed vehicle is defined as a four-wheeled electric vehicle designed to carry no more than four people, with a maximum speed between 20 and 25 miles per hour, that meets certain federal safety standards. In some other states these are referred to as "neighborhood electric vehicles". The plates make these vehicles street-legal. However, golf carts are explicitly not eligible for low speed vehilce plates, probably because they don't meet the safety standards.

Fellow collector Jeff Ellis has spotted these in use at Baltimore's Inner Harbor, at least one set seen on an electric-powered taxi. According to Jeff, two full-sized plates are issued. As you can see, however, the serial format is 000R00, with no sheild separator and no spaces between any of the characters. The plates bear the legend "Low Speed Vehicle" along the bottom. This serial format is otherwise only used for motorcycle plates, although with different letters. Apportioned truck plates also use the same pattern of numbers and letters, with still different letters, but they have a shield separator dividing the serial number in half. It seems to me that perhaps low speed vehicle plates were intended to be made the same size as motorcycle plates, but someone somewhere got their wires crossed.

These plates have been issued in very small quantities. As of May 2007, only plate numbers 001R01 through 001R05 have been spotted. 001R01 is presumed to be the first plate number.

Multi-purpose vehicles - passenger vans, SUVs, motor homes, private buses, and three-wheeled vehicles

1980-1987 multi-purpose vehicles
Maryland introduced the multi-purpose vehicle class in early 1979 and the first plates issued were on the red and white base. Prior to this time, passenger vans, SUVs, motor homes, and private buses such as church buses were issued regular passenger car plates, and three-wheeled vehicles were issued motorcycle plates. I believe all MPV plates on this base had natural (March) 1980 expirations. Serial format was Z 00000, and the embossed legend "MPV" adorned the bottom center of the plates. On the red and white base, serials never got beyond the lower numbers of the Z series.

In March 1980, the black and white embossed "Maryland" base replaced the red and white base, but had the same serial format and legend. Serial format was x 00000, which was shared with a number of non-passenger plate types. Again, initially the serials had a "Z" prefix, but as mini-vans and small SUVs were introduced in the early and mid 1980s, this class became increasingly popular and the Z series was exhausted. A new "Y" series was introduced fairly late in the life of the black and white base, but it had already reached the upper serial numbers when this base was retired.

The multi-purpose vehicle class was introduced too late to have a version of the optional U.S. Bicentennial plate. However, the optional 350th Anniversary base was made available for multi-purpose vehicles. The serial format was initially 00000 X, but for no apparent reason was later changed to 00000X without a space separator. In both cases the actual letter "X" was constant. This 350th Anniversary plate type was unusual in that it did not have a shield separator; apparently the manufacturing process was set up only to apply the sheild graphic to the center of the plate. There was no legend identifying the vehicle type since the bottom of the plate was used for the legend "350th Anniversary." By the way, the sticker on the 1985 350th Anniversary MPV plate was applied on the wrong location; it belongs in the lower right corner on this plate.

On the 1976 and 1981 standard bases, various special plate types that were assigned to a multi-purpose vehicle carried the "MPV" legend at the bottom. These special plate types include plates issued to handicapped persons, and possibly other types as well. These special MPV plate types are addressed more fully in their respective special plate articles.

1987-present multi-purpose vehicles
Multi-purpose vehicles were initially assigned serial format 000000M on the standard base, with the letter M identifying the vehicle class. With seven characters there was no room for a shield separator; there was also no legend at the bottom. This format was exhausted in the late 1990s and format M000000 was introduced. This second format was also exhausted in 2002, and a third format 000M000, was issued through April 2007 until it too was used up. New plates are now being issued in format 00000M0. All of these formats are still in use. Early in 2005, the legend www.maryland.gov was added to the bottom of standard-issue MPV plates beginning at about serial 480M000; other types of standard plates that didn't already have legends, including passenger plates, then followed throughout 2005.

MPV plates were also the first plate type to be seen with New Jersey-style serial dies in October 2006. New Jersey die characters are much more squared-off than the rounded Maryland die characters. The word is that Maryland had New Jersey stamp out over 30,000 pairs of plates for them, due to the Maryland plate manufacturing facility at the state prison in Jessup being shut down for three weeks due to inmate unrest. Apparently 15,000 pairs made in New Jersey were for MPVs, with serial numbers in the range approximately between 895M000 and 909M999. The Maryland dies reappeared in November 2006 at about serial 910M000, but New Jersey die plates continued to be issued into December.

Multi-purpose vehicles were able to obtain the optional green on white "Treasure the Chesapeake" environmental plates. Serial format xxx*00x was used uniquely for multi-purpose vehicles; with only six characters there was room for the blue heron bird graphic in the center of the plate. All serial characters were variable, but this plate never got out of the early A series; specifically, up to AEY*99W according to one report. Again, these was no legend to identify the vehicle type.

Multi-purpose vehicles may also obtain the optional "Our Farms, Our Future" agricultural base and the new black on blue "Treasure the Chesapeake" environmental base. However, there is not a distinct serial format or range for multi-purpose vehicles on either of these two bases, but rather, cars, taxis, trucks, and multi-purpose vehicles all share the same format and serial range.

Vanity plates

1971-1975 vanity plates
Vanity plates were first made available on the dated 1971 base for both cars and trucks; they were limited to a maximum of six characters. I don't think they were available from the very start of this base in 1970, but were introduced a short time later, approximately in 1971. There was no way to distinguish a vanity plate issued to a car versus a truck on this base.

1976-1987 vanity plates
I'm not sure whether the maximum number of characters was six or seven on the 1976 and 1981 bases. Probably six. Vanity plates were again available for both cars and trucks on the standard-issue bases; however, truck vanities have the legend "Truck" embossed at the bottom center of the plate. Vanity plates were also available for historic vehicles on both bases, which have the legend "Historic" at the bottom. I'm sure vanities were available for multi-purpose vehicle plates as well, but I cannot remember seeing any with an "MPV" legend at the bottom. However, MPV plates weren't nearly as common back then as they are now.

Vanity plates were also available for passenger vehicles on the optional U.S. Bicentennial base. They were also offered for both passenger cars and multi-purpose vehicles on the optional 350th Anniversary base; however, the shield logo was omitted on all 350th Anniversary vanity plates regardless of the number or spacing of characters on the plate.

Vanity plates were issued to both regular motorcycles and historic motorcycles starting with the black on white 1981 base, with a maximum of six and four characters, respectively.

1987-present vanity plates
The maximum number of characters is seven. Vanity plates are available for cars, multi-purpose vehicles, light-duty trucks, and light-duty trailers on the standard-issue base, and also the "Treasure the Chesapeake", and "Our Farms, Our Future" special interest bases. For these types of vehicles, there is nothing on any of these plates to indicate the vehicle type. Vanity plates are also available on historic and street rod plates, with the appropriate legend identifying the vehicle type at the bottom of the plate). They are also available on full-sized handicapped plates and regular motorcycle plates, but with a maximum of six characters in both cases. Historic motorcycle plates and probably street rod motorcycle plates are available as vanities as well, with six characters maximum and a legend at the bottom identifying the vehicle type. I don't know whether handicapped motorcyclist plates can be ordered with vanity registration numbers, or what the maximum number of characters might be.

The shield logo is omitted on all vanities on standard bases, and the blue heron graphic was omitted on all first generation green on white Chesapeake vanity plates, regardless of the number or spacing of characters on the plate. On the current, second generation black on blue Chesapeake plate, the bird graphic is normally to the far left, rather than centered. Therefore, the MVA says that Chesapeake vanity plates with six or fewer characters and spaces retain the bird graphic; those with seven characters and spaces have the bird omitted from the plate.