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This page presents the history of Maryland passenger car license plates from 1904 through 1953. Such plates from this era always had all-numeric serial numbers. Latest noteworthy updates to this page
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From 1910 until 1937, Maryland license plates displayed the year of issuance and expired on December 31 of the year indicated. Plates issued in 1938 were valid for 15 months, and indicated the expiration date of March 31, 1939 on the plate. Thus, there was no dated 1938 plate. From 1939 until 1986, all passenger car plates expired annually on March 31, and indicate on the plates themselves, or via metal tabs or stickers, the year in which they expire. In some years, the expiration month, or month and day were indicated, at other times only the expiration year was shown. I consistently refer to plates by the year that is shown on the plate, regardless of when the plate was actually issued.
Nearly all Maryland plates, excluding motorcycle plates, from 1937 through 1956 expirations were 13 inches wide by 6 inches high. All Maryland passenger car plates from 1910 to 1943 were issued in pairs. 1944 to 1947 plates were issued as singles; 1948 to 1951 plates were issued in pairs; 1952 to 1955 plates were issued singly. All Maryland passenger caeplate serial numbers from 1910 to 1953 were all-numeric.
My "Pictorial History" pages are intended to be a supplement to the information found in the ALPCA Archives. I am providing additional details and additional photos not found in the archives, and clarifying information when appropriate. When the ALPCA archives cover a subject in great detail, I do not repeat that detail here. I sincerely hope that you find this information useful.
If you find an error or have additional information, or can provide a plate or a photo of a plate that I'm missing, please send me an e-mail. There's a link to my e-mail address at the bottom of every page. Please note that all plates shown that are credited to another person are plates that I am still seeking for my own collection.
The solid plate number 5918 went on the rear, while its fraternal twin, the mesh 5918 plate, was obviously intended to be
mounted on the front. The holes allowed air to pass through to the radiator.
(Plate number 3908 – Photo provided by and plate owned by an individual who does not
wish to be credited; used with permission. All other pre-state plates shown are from the Willard
collection.)
Like many other states at the time, the state of Maryland began requiring vehicles to be registered with the state several years before it actually issued license plates. In Maryland's case, vehicle registration began in 1904, but state-issued plates were not produced until July 1910. During the intervening years, motorists were required to display their state-issued registration number on their vehicles. This was usually done using license plates that were either homemede or made from a kit. As you can see, a wide variety of materials and styles were used. One of the more popular methods was to attach metal house numbers to a piece of dark-colored leather. Motorist-provided and/or locally-issued plates that preceded state-issued plates are collectively called "pre-states".
Many Maryland pre-state plates have a consistent format of the registration number followed by the stacked state abbreviation "M/D". These are obviously Maryland pre-state plates. But many pre-state plates that are known to be from Maryland did not have any state identifier, just the registration number. Others identified the state in fairly obscure ways, such as simply with the letter "M" before the plate number. During the pre-state years, once a motorist registered his vehicle with the state and was assigned a registration number, he kept that number indefinitely. There was therefore no reason to put the year on the plate. Registration numbers began at number 1 and got up to approximately 9500 during this six-year period. Based on the numbers of vehicles registered each year, one can determine the year that a given registration number was first assigned.
(1910 and 1911 – Willard plates; 1912 – plate owner not known; 1913
– YOM plate in actual use; 1914 and 1916 – Sallmen photos / plates); 1915 –
Francis plate)
The state of Maryland first issued license plates in July 1910, and during the first several years, the plates changed frequently and substantially. The 1910 passenger car plates were reportedly made of tin and were hand-embossed and hand-painted. Serial numbers could be from one to four digits, and to the right of the serial were the letters M and D displayed vertically, and below that, the year 1910 displayed horizontally. Jim Fox describes these plates further in his 1997 book, License Plates of the United States:
The 1910 plate is made of a particularly thin metal, and was lightly embossed by hammering the plate over wooden dies. This manufacturing process produced one of the most primitive of all state issues and has made finding a fine example of a 1910 Maryland plate a real challenge!
Apparently Maryland realized that the passenger car plates they issued in 1910 were of inferior quality, because in 1911 they switched to much more durable iron coated with porcelain. Passenger car plates were made of these materials through 1914. During these years, the serial numbers for passenger car plates began at either 1000 or 1001, and could be four or five digits. To the right of the serial were the letters MD displayed horizontally, above the year which was also horizontal. In 1911 and 1912, the year was four digits; in 1913 and 1914, only the last two digits of the year were indicated.
For 1915, Maryland again switched materials and maufacturing processes, this time to embossed heavy steel. The basic layout remained the same, with the letters MD over the two-digit year, to the right of the serial number. However, the plate size was increased to 15 inches horizontally and 6 inches vertically; these dimensions remained constant through 1936. 1916 plates were similar to the 1915s, except that the state abbreviation and two-digit year were moved to the left of the serial. This was undoubtedly done because the colors of the 1916 plate were very close to those of the 1913 plate; the different location of the state abbreviation and year made the plates visually different. In 1915 and possibly 1916, passenger car serial numbers began at 4000 or 4001.
| 1910 – | black on yellow | – hand-embossed thin tin | – M / D / 1910 right |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1911 – | white on black | – porcelain | – MD / 1911 right |
| 1912 – | blue on white | – porcelain | – MD / 1912 right |
| 1913 – | yellow on black | – porcelain | – MD / 13 right |
| 1914 – | white on green | – porcelain | – MD / 14 right |
| 1915 – | white on blue | – embossed heavy steel | – MD / 15 right |
| 1916 – | yellow on black | – embossed heavy steel | – MD / 16 left |
(1918 – O'Connor photo / plate)
In 1917, Maryland plates changed significantly once again, but this time the style remained stable for five years. The state abbreviation and year were moved to the bottom edge of the plate in odd years, and to the top edge in even years. Three small dashes were also embossed among the state and year in the following pattern: -MD-19yy- A dash was also introduced into the serial number, between the hundreds and thousands digits. Serial numbers began at 20-000 or 20-001 from 1917 through 1920, and so from this point on, all plates were at least five digits, and beginning in 1918 some were six digits. In 1921 the lowest passenger serial was raised to 30-000 or 30-001, and this remained the lowest passenger serial number through 1953.
Some leftover 1918 plates had their years restamped to 1920 and were then issued in 1920; similarly, some 1919 leftovers were restamped and used in 1921. Plates originally stamped in 1921 used new dies with a serif font.
| 1917 – | green on white | 1919 – | black on white | 1921 – | red on white | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1918 – | white on gray | 1920 – | white on red |
(1922, 1925, 1926, 1932, and 1933 – Harry photos / plates; 1928, 1929, and 1930
– YOM plates in actual use)
Starting with the 1922 plates, the full state name and four-digit year (without dashes) were embossed onto the edge of the plate, continuing the pattern of the top edge in even years, and the bottom edge during odd years. In mid-year 1923, the serial dies were changed back to the same thick-stroke sans-serif font previously used between 1917 and 1920. Lower bolt slots were added to the plates in approximately 1931.
The 1934 and some 1936 plates were distinctive from the other years in this group. The 1934 plate commemorated the 300th year since Maryland was first settled; the top of the plate read 1634 Maryland 1934 with very short characters, while the bottom edge of the plate contained the word Tercentenary using the same short-character font. It has been reported that not all 1934 plates contained the word "Tercentenary", but I've never seen one without it.
Most 1936 plates read Maryland 1936, which is consistent with other years. However, a limited number of 1936 plates were issued with the rear plate using a locking strip that was supposed to deter plate theft. These plates had two holes cut out of the plate on the either side of Maryland; the locking strip was visible through the holes, and it was stamped with "19" visible through the left hole and "36" visible through the right hole. The corresponding front plates did not have holes or any locking strip, but nevertheless were stamped 19 Maryland 36 in order to match the rear plates. Thus, there were actually three styles of 1936 plates.
| 1922 – | white on black | 1927 – | black on white | 1932 – | red on white | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1923 – | black on yellow | 1928 – | white on medium blue | 1933 – | white on dark blue | ||
| 1924 – | orange on black | 1929 – | bright blue on white | 1934 – | yellow on black | ||
| 1925 – | white on dark green | 1930 – | white on green | 1935 – | dark blue on white | ||
| 1926 – | white on black | 1931 – | white on red | 1936 – | white on black |
1937 to 1941 was a period of transition for Maryland license plates. For 1937, Maryland introduced smaller plates which were 13 inches long by 6 inches high; this size would then remain constant through 1956. The smaller-sized plates also necessitated the use of different dies in order for the serial numbers to still fit. For the 1941 expiration plates, the dies were changed again to more rounded chararacters with thinner strokes; however, these were used only for a single year.
During 1938-1939, Maryland converted from calendar year registrations to registrations that expired annually on March 31. Thus, the plate issued at the beginning of 1938 was valid for 15 months. However, it did not contain the year 1938, but rather indicated the expiration date thus: Ex-3-31-39 All dated Maryland license plates, renewal tabs, and renewal stickers from this point forward always indicate the expiration year, rather than issue year. Annual March 31 expirations continued until 1986, when staggered registration periods were implemented.
| 1937 – | black on white | 1939 – | white on green | 1941 – | white on dark blue | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1938 – | No dated 1938 plate | 1940 – | green on white |
(1946 and 1947 – Clark photos / plates)
 "3" restamped to "5" on 1945 plate |
The 1942 plate had the expiration date moved to the upper corners, flanking the state name, with the month and date in the left corner and the four digit year in the right corner. The legend Drive Carefully was embossed along the bottom edge of the plate, and the colors were black characters on a silver background. Despite the silver color, the plates were painted steel, not unpainted aluminum. Like all previous Maryland plates, the 1942 plates were issued in pairs. The 1942 plate became the first Maryland multi-year base plate, as metal tabs dated 1943 and 1944 were issued to extend the expiration year stamped on the base plate. The 1943 tabs were also issued in pairs, but only a single 1944 tab was issued.
A new base plate was issued for 1945 expirations; it was identical in design to the 1942 base and differed only in that the colors were reversed to silver on black; however, only a single plate was issued on the 1945 base. Renewal tabs were again issued (obviously singly) to extend the life of the base plate to 1946 and 1947.
An interesting detail about the 1945 base is that many of them were stamped a second time to change a digit of the serial number. There does not appear to be a consistent pattern for this restamping. The 1945 expiration plate pictured above had its first digit changed from a "3" to a "5", as you can see from the close-up photo at right. I've seen photos of other restamped 1945 base plates, including several where the first digit was changed from a "4" to a "1", and another where the first digit was a "5", and second digit was changed from a "2" to a "5".
Also, on my 1945 plate, it looks like the last digit of the year was also restamped to change the expiration year from 1943 to 1945. This is difficult to see in person, and would be impossible to see in a photo. because of the size of the digit. I've seen a photo of a 1943 sample plate, but no real 1943 expiration plates were issued. It would seem that the state had intended to produce 1943 expiration plates and had already manufactured some, when, due to the metal shortage caused by World War II, they decided to hold on to the 1943 plates they already had and issue the 1943 renewal tabs instead. It would seem that the 1943 plates were made in pairs, but they issued 1945 plates as singles. Apparently one of each pair was restamped to a create a different serial number.
| 1942 – | black on silver plate, no tab | – base plates issued in pairs |
|---|---|---|
| 1943 – | black on yellow tab | – tabs issued in pairs |
| 1944 – | silver on black tab | – single tab issued |
| 1945 – | silver on black plate, no tab | – single base plate issued |
|---|---|---|
| 1946 – | black on silver tab | – single tab issued |
| 1947 – | black on yellow tab | – single tab issued |
On the plate with the 1949 tab shown above, the motorist didn't follow the normal procedure and bend the flaps of the tab
and insert them into the tab slots on the plate; rather, he drilled holes into the tab flaps and the plate itself, and
bolted the tab flaps to the front of the plate.
(1953 – Clark photo / plate)
The 1948 base plate design was a simplified version of the 1942 and 1945 bases. The "Drive Carefully" slogan was removed (perhaps the state thought everyone was now driving carefully enough), and the month, day, and century of the expiration date also vanished. The two-digit expiration year was moved to the bottom center and was flanked by tab slots. Most 1948 base plates were made of unpainted aluminum, although some steel plates are also known to exist. Renewal tabs were issued annully to extend the life of the plate to 1949, 1950, and 1951. This base plate and all of its renewal tabs were issued in pairs.
For 1952 expirations, a new base plate was issued. This plate was made of steel, but was otherwise similar in design to the 1948 base. The major difference was that the expiration month was reintroduced, this time spelled out in full. The tab slots remained on either side of the two-digit year. Thus, the bottom of the plate read March |52|, with the vertical lines indicating the location of the tab slots.
The inclusion of the expiraiton month on the 1952 base was no doubt motivated by the fact that most non-passenger vehicle expirations were shifted from March 31 to April 30, effective 1952. Non-passenger plate types also had the expiration month embossed onto them, although of course the month was April. The 1952 base plates and 1953 renewal tabs were both issued in pairs. After these plates expired in 1953, a new plate expiring in 1954 was issued.
| 1948 – | black on silver plate, no tab |
|---|---|
| 1949 – | silver on black tab |
| 1950 – | white on red tab |
| 1951 – | white on black tab |
| 1952 – | white on black plate, no tab |
|---|---|
| 1953 – | black on white tab |
Continue to History of Maryland passenger car plates, 1954 to present
Related pages on this site |
Elsewhere on the web |
Thanks to those who have directly contributed to the information on this page: Rick Clark, Tim O'Connor, "Tiger" Joe Sallmen, and someone who identified himself only as "Harry". Willard plates are from the collection of John Willard. Francis plate is from the collection of Jeff Francis.
O'Connor photograph © copyright by Tim O'Connor. All rights reserved.
Used with permission.
Clark, Sallmen, and "Harry" photographs are presumed to be copyrighted by Rick Clark, Joe Sallmen, and "Harry",
respectively, and were submitted by and used with permission of their owners.
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