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This page has information about so-called "year of manufacture" (YOM) plate programs that permit owners of antique and classic vehicles to use license plates from the year the vehicle was made. Mostly, this page addresses the applicable laws and other information specific to motorists living in the state of Maryland. Latest noteworthy updates to this page
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"Year of Manufacture" or YOM refers to a program offered in a number of states that allows owners of antique, historic, and classic vehicles to legally drive their vehicles using license plates from the year that the vehicle was made. For example, you could drive your 1935 Ford while displaying 1935 license plates rather than current plates. Actually, "year of manufacture" is probably a misnomer, because at least in the states that I'm familiar with, it's the model year of the vehicle that matters, not the year it was actually built.
Not every state has a YOM plate program, however, and even among those that do, the applicable laws and regulations vary tremendously from one state to the next. Therefore, it's difficult to provide much in the way of general information or guidelines that would be applicable in most situations.
To find out whether your state even permits YOM plates, and what the rules are, you'll need to check with the Department of Motor Vehicles or equivalent agency in your state. Unfortunately, however, there's a very good chance that you'll be given incorrect or out-of-date information by your DMV. Alternatively, if you're a member of an antique or classic car club, your club, or knowledgeable members within your club, can probably provide you with accurate information that's relevant to your state and to your vehicle.
The Maryland Motor Vehicle Administration (MVA) has no information about YOM plates that I can find on their web site. However, Maryland law does permit their use and spells out the requirements that must be met. Below are links to the relevant sections of state law pertaining to YOM plates. Throughout this law, what are commonly known as YOM plates are referred to as "vintage registration plates".
Maryland Transportation Code, Title 13 (Vehicle Laws – Certificates of Title and Registration of Vehicles):
(First, the disclaimer. I'm not qualified to give legal advice, I have no inside knowledge of the workings of the Maryland MVA, and I have no firsthand experience trying to register or use vintage license plates in Maryland, so don't rely on anything I say. The statements below are my own personal interpretations and opinions only, based on my familiarity with old Maryland license plates.)
Vehicles registered in Maryland as Class L (historic motor vehicle) or Class N (street rod) vehicles are eligible to display vintage license plates in lieu of the current Class L or Class N plates. You have to actually keep the vehicle currently registered as a Class L or Class N vehicle, and while you're using the vintage plates on the vehicle, you must keep the current plates somewhere in the vehicle. Therefore, the normal Class L or Class N restrictions apply – the vehicle cannot be a daily driver, you can't use it for commercial purposes, etc. The owner must register the vintage plates with the Motor Vehicle Administration and pay a one-time registration fee of $25.50, in addition to the normal Class L or Class N registration fees. The law does not specify whether a plate number that is already in use, either on another registered vintage plate from a different year or on a current plate, will be allowed or not.
  Possibly either of these are correct for a 1967 model car |
The plates must have been issued in the same year as the model year of the vehicle, which must have been at least 25 years prior to the current year. Okay, let's use an example to understand this better. Say you have a 1967 Camaro; therefore, you can use plates that were issued in 1967. By my own interpretation, which counts for nothing, I imagine the choice would be yours between plates showing a 1967 expiration date and plates showing a 1968 expiration date. (Here's my rationale: Car plates expired each March 31, and new plates began to be issued and could be displayed beginning March 1 each year. Therefore, 3-31-67 expiration plates were issued through February 28, 1967. 3-31-68 expiration plates were issued beginning March 1, 1967.) Of course, the MVA may have a different interpretation and allow only one or the other of these two expiration years, and they have the final word, so it's best to check with them. To meet the 25 year age requirement, during 2008 the vehicle in question must be from model year 1983 or earlier. In 2009, model year 1984 vehicles will become eligible for the first time.
The vintage plates must have been actually issued by the state of Maryland. Obviously, this means you can't use vintage plates from another state, nor can you legally use reproductions of vintage plates. The law does not specify whether repainted plates are allowed, or whether the colors must be correct. I'll guess that repaints are okay, but I couldn't say whether they know or care if the colors are right or not.
The law says the vintage plates must be a matched pair and attached to the vehicle front and rear. However, this does not provide for the years when only single plates were issued – expiration years of 1945, 1946, 1947, 1954, and 1955. Neither does it address motorcycles, which were only ever issued one plate. It's impossible to use vintage plates and also comply with a strict interpretation of the law in those situations, since only one plate was originally issued by the state, but two plates issued by the state are now required. Whether the MVA realizes this and does not actually require pairs of plates in such instances, I have no idea. I imagine single motorcycle plates aren't a problem, but I could easily see the MVA prohibiting you from registering a single plate from one of the years listed above to your car or truck. If that's the case, you're in a real no-win situation, unfortunately.
There's apparently no requirement that the plate has to be correct for the type of vehicle – so if you want to run truck plates on your car or vice versa, or if you've done so inadvertently because you didn't know the difference, there seems to be nothing that says you can't. Some historic vehicle owners care a great deal whether the plates are correct for their vehicle, and others don't seem to care one bit. Personally, I think it looks stupid to have plates of the wrong type, but that may just be because I know the difference and I'm a perfectionist anyway.
The information in this section is condensed down to the most relevant and significant points, for quick reading. For more detailed information, refer to the appropriate Maryland Plate History page elsewhere on this site. These pages are listed in the left column of the site menu on my home page, and they're also listed on the Maryland index page.
 1938 vehicles have no choice but to use 1939 expiration plates |
 The plate is stamped with a 1948 date under the 1951 metal tab |
Plates were valid throughout the calendar year from 1910 to 1937. Beginning in 1939, all plates expired on March 31 of the year indicated, and in most years had the full expiration date on the plate. This means there were no plates with the year 1938 on them; the 1937 plate just said "1937", and the 1938-1939 plate said "Ex-3-31-39". Beginning with 1952 expirations; cars and motorcycles retained their March 31 expirations, while all other vehicle types changed to April 30 expirations. Post-1938 plates with only the year on them actually indicate the expiration year, and expired in March or April of the year shown.
Metal expiration year tabs were used in some years to extend the life of a plate beyond the year stamped on the plate. These served the same purpose as today's expiration year stickers. Metal tabs were used to indicate 1943, 1944, 1946, 1947, 1949, 1950, 1951, and 1953 expiration years on non-motorcycle plates. Motorcycles received new plates annually during these years.
New plates were issued annually through 1971 expirations. For expiration years 1972 through 1975, expiration year stickers were applied to both the front and rear 1971 plates.
 Truck plates have the letters at the end; first letter is D, E, or J |
 This car plate expired in March 1981 |
1976 and 1981 expiration plates are not dated or stickered, except for optional Bicentennial plates which indicate 1976. Standard 1976 expiration plates are red numbers on a white background; 1981 expiration plates have black numbers on a white background. Expiration year stickers were applied front and rear to the 1976 and 1981 expiration plates to validate them for subsequent years through 1980 and 1986, respectively. Some 1986 and all 1987 expirations were indicated with month and year stickers on the rear plate only.
Unfortunately, old license plates suitable for YOM use don't grow on trees. Some will be easy to find, and some may be very difficult or even impossible to find.
The Questions from people searching for specific license plates section of my FAQs page will provide you with some useful tips for finding old license plates.
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