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Rick Kretschmer's License Plate Archives |
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Rick Kretschmer's License Plate Archives |
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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.
Latest noteworthy updates:
- Oct. 24, 2007 - Added images of 1960, 1961, 1966, and 1967 plates.
- Nov. 20, 2007 - Replaced image of 2008 red character plate.
- Jan. 11, 2008 - Added image of a 1957 plate. Added 2009 sticker color and serial range. Updated text regarding replacement of older blue character "First in Flight" plates.
- Feb. 17, 2008 - Added candid image of a 2009 expiration plate.
- Apr. 11, 2008 - Added images of 2000 and 2001 plates; replaced image of 2002 plate.
On this page - North Carolina passsenger car plates dated 1956 to present
Introduction
North Carolina passenger car plates dated 1956-1966
North Carolina passenger car plates dated 1967-1974
North Carolina passenger car plates issued 1975-1982
North Carolina passenger car plates issued with 1983-2008 expirations
North Carolina passenger car plates issued with 2008-2009 expirations
Related links
Let me start out by saying that I generally don't collect North Carolina license plates, except in cases where I need them as part of a set. (For example, I have a 1959 N.C. plate in my collection as part of my 1959 U.S. passenger plate set.) Therefore, unlike most pages on this web site, very few of the plates shown here are actually from my collection, and I haven't meticulously identified each plate that's not from my collection. However, unless noted otherwise, I did photograph all plates shown.
So why do I even have North Carolina plate pages on my web site? Well, I've lived in North Carolina since 2001, and so I've become very familiar with the current plates from daily observation. As a collector, I also regularly encounter some of the more common North Carolina plate types from the past few decades. There's also not a whole lot of information already on the web regarding North Carolina license plates. While I make no claim of being an expert on North Carolina plate history, I do feel like I can make a contribution by documenting what I do know.
From 1927 until 1980, North Carolina license plates displayed the year of issuance. Plates and/or stickers supposedly expired each December 31, but a 46-day grace period effectively extended the registration period through February 15 of the following year. The last non-staggered passenger car registrations were indicated either by a dated 1980 plate, or a 1980 sticker, both of which were valid through February 15, 1981. Staggered registrations were first issued in January 1981, and the earliest expirations were indicated as the end of August 1981, but with a 15-day grace period that extended the registration to September 15, 1981. North Carolina has consistently issued single passenger plates since 1956.
Beginning in 1956, North Carolina began a new numbering scheme for its passenger car plates. The serial numbers consisted of one or two letters, followed by one to four numeric digits; lead zeroes were not used. In other words, serial formats x-0, x-00, x-000, x-0000, xx-0, xx-00, xx-000, and xx-0000 were all used for passenger cars. Due to the number of possible combinations, format xx-0000 was by far the most common. All of these formats were used on passenger car plates through 1972. 1956 also was the first year for North Carolina to adopt the North American standard 6 inch by 12 inch plate dimensions. For these reasons, 1956 is a good point to start this history page.
Plate colors alternated between black on yellow in even years, and yellow on black in odd years, through 1966. The location of the state name, the year, and the safety slogan "Drive Safely" were consistent from 1956 to 1960, and then varied over the subsequent years. The slogan was last used in 1963. Also, the presense or absence of a painted border, and the number of digits in the year, varied during the last few years in this time period. The idea was apparently to make each year's plate a little different looking than the plates from any previous years, perhaps to keep people from trying to use a prior year plate, with the year altered or covered in some way, in place of a current year plate. I suspect these deceptive practices may have become a problem during 1958, 1959, and 1960.
For 1967, North Carolina introduced plates with reflective backgrounds. The reflective sheeting applied to the bare metal plates was white in color, so beginning this year all North Carolina passenger car plates have had a white background. Or at least they once had a white background; the sheeting on many of these 1967-1974 plates has become badly mottled and/or discolored to an ugly yellowish-gray color. The embossed areas of these plates continued to be painted; the color alternated between green and red, with the exception of the 1972 plate which used blue. Again, the location of the state name and year, and the number of digits in the year varied in order to make each year's plate a little different looking than the plates from any previous years.
The serial number formats introduced in 1956 continued through 1972. A new format xxx-000 was introduced in 1973 and replaced all of the previous passenger car formats. In this new format, lead zeroes were again not used, nor was the number 100, so each three-letter alpha series consisted of plate numbers 101 through 999 only. In all likelikhood, serial letters G, I, O, Q, and U were also avoided. Note that also beginning in 1973, non-passenger plate types began using serial format xx-0000, which had become available since it was no longer being used for passenger cars.
1967 - green on reflective white | 1971 - green on reflective white 1968 - red on reflective white | 1972 - blue on reflective white 1969 - green on reflective white | 1973 - red on reflective white 1970 - red on reflective white | 1974 - green on reflective white
1975 "First in Freedom" base
North Carolina's first multi-year base plate was issued in 1975. It was colored red on reflective white, and used serial format xxx-000, which had been introduced on the 1973 plate. Serial numbers in each letter combination began at 101. The reflective sheeting quality issues had apparently been resolved, and these plates have held up much better over the years than the 1967-1974 plates.
The legend "First in Freedom" along the top edge of the plate proved to be the source of controversy, confusion, and irony. The 200th anniversary of the Declaration of Indepenence, in which the 13 American colonies declared themselves to be free from the tyranny of the British crown, was rapidly approaching. Several U.S. jurisdictions had already issued license plates commemorating the 1976 Bicentennial of this event and the birth of the U.S. as as a nation. In response, North Carolina proclaimed themselves to be "First in Freedom" on their 1975 license plates. This slogan was a vague reference to the Mecklenburg Declaration of May 20, 1775, in which Mecklenburg County, North Carolina (the county in which the city of Charlotte is located) had declared its independence from Britain. This subtlety was, of course, completely lost on most people. On the contrary, nearly everyone was very much aware that slavery had been legal and practiced in North Carolina until 1865, making it among the last states to actually offer freedom to all of its residents.
During 1975 this plate was used without stickers, as the year "75" was positioned vertically between the serial letters and numbers. This same date also appeared on plates newly issued in 1976, 1977, 1978, and possibly early 1979. Validation stickers were used for both new registrants and renewals during these years. In late 1978 or early 1979, upon reaching serial PMZ-999, this plate was discontinued, in no small part due to the slogan controversy. There seems to be disagreement among sources exactly when this plate stopped being issued. In any event, at least some of these "Freedom" plates continued to be renewed with stickers through 1985.
Between 1981 and 1985, all "First in Freedom" plates were phased out and replaced with either sloganless red-on-white plates (1981-1982) or new graphic "First in Flight" plates (1982-1985). As near as I can tell, "Freedom" plates starting with letters A through H were replaced as they expired in 1981 and 1982, and "Freedom" plates with first letters J through P were replaced approximately in 1985. Or something like that.
Undated base, and dated 1980, 1981, and 1982 bases
For a few years in the late 1970s and early 1980s, several different red-on-white base plates were issued to new registrants. None of them bore the controversial "First in Freedom" slogan, nor any other legend for that matter.
In late 1978 or early 1979, starting with serial PNA-101, North Carolina began issuing a revised plate without the slogan or the now out-of-date embossed year. This plate had a small square separator in place of the previous "75" year in the center of the plate. Where the slogan had been, along the top edge, the new plate just had a big blank space. Otherwise, this plate was pretty much the same as the 1975 base. Being an undated plate, stickers were used to validate it even during the first year of issuance. This plain base was issued throughout 1979 and possibly into early 1980, and I believe it could be renewed through 1986 or so.
The embossed year 1980 was added to the plate in the blank space at the top center where the "First in Freedom" base had once been. Otherwise, the 1980 plate was identical visually to the undated plate. The 1980 plate was used without stickers during 1980, and I believe could be renewed through about 1989.
Versions with embossed 1981 and 1982 dates were also issued; however, both of these differ from previous bases in that the state name runs across the top of the plate, and the year is at the bottom center. Stickers therefore had to go in the bottom corners on these two bases. Also, on both the 1981 and 1982 plates, the state name is embossed with the taller dies that had been used from 1964 through 1974. Due to the implementation of staggered registrations at the beginning of 1981, all dated 1981 and 1982 plates were issued with month and year expiration stickers. However, the taller state name at the top of these bases meant there was not enough room at the bottom of these plates for the stickers to fit properly. These plates could be renewed through 1991.
Based on the ranges of serials issued on each base, the numbers would indicate that the 1980 base was actually issued well into 1981, and the 1981 base was only issued for a few months in 1981. The 1982 was actually introduced in the fall of 1981, but it too was short-lived, since it was discontinued as the graphic "First in Flight" plate made its debut in the spring of 1982.
1981-1982 Conversion to Staggered Expiration Dates Motorists renewing their registrations for 1981 were assigned staggered expiration dates based on the first letter of their last name. Initial staggered registration periods started in January 1981 and expired between August 1981 and July 1982. However, new registrations issued between July and December 1980 were all renewed for 1981 with an initial expiraiton date of June 1981. Month stickers were issued for the first time indicating the expiration month, and the 1981 and subsequent year stickers indicated the expiration year rather than the registration year. The dated 1981 and 1982 base plates were always issued with both month and year stickers since the expiration date was no longer fixed.
1975 - no sticker - natural serial range AAA to approx. H series 1976 - white on blue sticker - natural serial range approx. H to K series 1977 - white on red sticker - natural serial range approx. K to M series 1978 - white on green sticker - natural serial range approx. M to P series 1979 - black on orange sticker - natural serial range approx. P to S series 1980 - white on black sticker - natural serial range approx. S to V series (1980 sticker not used on dated 1980 base plates) 1981 - white on blue sticker - (no naturals due to start of staggered registrations; renewals only; Jun. and Aug. to Nov. expiration months only) 1982 - white on red sticker - natural serial range approx. W to Y series 1983 - white on blue sticker - natural serial range approx. Y to ZRZ series 1984 through 1991 - no naturals, renewals only; see subsequent sections for sticker colors, latest possible renewal year is 1991
5 and 6 character serial "First in Flight" bases
For about the first three years, from mid-1982 to mid-1985, graphic "First in Flight" plates all had 5 or 6 serial characters. The formats issued were xxx-00 and xxx-000. In the case of the 5 character plates, early issues had no spaces before or after the square separator, and so the serial characters were bunched in the middle of the plate, while later issues did have spaces and the serial was spread out across the whole plate.
The sequence in which these plates were issued is somewhat convoluted. Initially, serial numbers picked up where the red on white 1982 base plate had left off, starting with plate ZSA-101, and continued until ZZZ-999 was reached. Again, plate numbers in each letter combination began at 101. Then, 5 character plates and 6 charater plates with the number 100 were issued. It's a matter of debate among plate historians whether these were issued simultaneoulsy or whether the number 100 plates were issued only after all the 5 character combinations had been issued. In either event, serials started with AAA-11 and inexplicably ended at about XZZ-100. Plate numbers in each letter combination began at 11 on the 5 character plates. Finally, 6 character plates were issued starting at AAA-101 and ending at JAY-999 in mid-1985, again with each letter combination having an initial number of 101. At this point, no further 6 character plates could be issued because the remaining numbers were still in use on the red on white 1975-1982 base plates.
Although North Carolina passenger plates had had reflective backgrounds since 1967, some "First in Flight" plates in the 6 character B, C, and D series were painted rather than made of reflective sheeting. There were two versions of painted plates - the earlier version in the B and C series on which the blades of grass cannot be seen behind the words "North Carolina", and the later verison in the C and D series where the blades of grass are visible through the red paint of the state name. However, there were not clean start and end points for these painted plates; reflective background plates were intermingled with the painted plates sequence-wise.
The 5 and 6 character plates could be renewed until sometime in mid-2007. Beginning April 16, 2007, they were supposed to all be replaced with new red character "First in Flight" plates and removed from service rather than renewed. Mostly, they have been. However, some motorists with plates slated for replacement were nevertheless issued 2008 renewal stickers for their old plates, even though their previous registration expired in May, June, or even July 2007. Therefore, the latest expiration stickers that should be found on these plates is July 2008, and these old plates should all be off the road by August 16, 2008. Thanks to plate spotter Mike Fox, who has followed these developments much closer than I have, and who even sent me a photo he managed to snap of what will be one of the very last 6 digit plates on the road, one indicating a July 2008 expiration, shown at right.
Likely the last possible expiration month for older
Flight plates is July 2008 (Fox photos of plate in use)
1983 - white on blue sticker - natural serial ranges 6 character ZSA to ZZZ series; all 5 characters; 6 character approx. A series 1984 - white on red sticker - natural serial range 6 character approx. B to D series 1985 - white on blue sticker - natural serial range 6 character approx. D to F series 1986 - white on black sticker - natural serial range 6 character approx. F to JAY series 1987 through 2008 - no naturals, renewals only; see subsequent sections for sticker colors, latest renewal sticker should be 2008
7 character blue serial "First in Flight" base
(2008 plate in actual use)"First in Flight" graphic plates with 7 blue serial characters were issued continously from mid-1985 until April 2007, when red serial character plates were introduced. The serial format is xxx-0000. The first plate number issued was ANA-1001, because the second letter of these plates is limited to the range of N through Z. Why exactly this is so has been a long-running mystery among plate historians. Also, the letters G, I, O, Q, and U are avoided, and in each 3 letter combination, numbering starts at 1001 and goes up to 9999. The last blue character plate issued is reported to be in the upper WTF-1000 series, somewhere between WTF-1845 and WTF-1994. I've personally seen plate number WTF-1845 myself.
Older 7 character plates starting with letters A through H are also being replaced with red chartacter plates as they expire between about April 2007 and July 2008. It's expected that additional blue character plates will also be replaced as they expire in the coming years.
1986 - white on black sticker - natural serial range A series starting at ANA-1001 1987 - white on red sticker - natural serial range A to B series 1988 - white on green sticker - natural serial range B to C series 1989 - black on orange sticker - natural serial range C to ??? 1990 - white on blue sticker - natural serial range not determined 1991 - white on black sticker - natural serial range not determined 1992 - white on red sticker - natural serial range not determined 1993 - white on green sticker - natural serial range not determined 1994 - white on orange sticker - natural serial range not determined 1995 - white on blue sticker - natural serial range not determined 1996 - white on black sticker - natural serial range not determined 1997 - white on red sticker - natural serial range not determined 1998 - white on green sticker - natural serial range not determined 1999 - white on orange sticker - natural serial range not determined 2000 - white on light blue sticker - natural serial range not determined 2001 - white on black sticker - natural serial range M to N series 2002 - white on red sticker - natural serial range N to P series 2003 - white on pale green sticker - natural serial range P to R series 2004 - white on orange sticker - natural serial range R to S series 2005 - white on light blue sticker - natural serial range S to T series 2006 - white on red sticker - natural serial range T to V series 2007 - white on green sticker - natural serial range V to W series 2008 - white on blue sticker - natural serial range W series to upper WTF-1000 series 2009 and beyond - no naturals, renewals only; see subsequent sections for sticker colors
(2009 plate in actual use)North Carolina officially began issuing otherwise familiar "First in Flight" plates with red serial characters on April 16, 2007. A small number of these plates were issued early, during March and the first half of April, at some DMV locations that had run out of blue character plates prematurely. The serial format continues unchanged, and serial numbers began where the blue character plates ended, as fate would have it, in the early WTF series. The congruity of this letter series being the break point between the blue and red character plates is not lost on this writer. I have confirmed the existence of red character plates with WTF prefixes; the lowest number spotted so far is WTF-1995.
The specific reason, if any, for this color change is not clear. Various DMV employees who have addressed this question in the media don't seem to really know, either, and have suggested reasons that clearly cannot be correct. For example, one DMV representative stated the change was made because the blue paint faded too quickly. This is certainly not the case, with the exception of a relatively small batch of plates issued in 1983. In fact, the color red is actually much more prone to fading than blue, and even unfaded, is harder to read from a distance than blue.
I suspect that the color change was actually prompted by one or more of the following:
- Since blue character First in Flight plates had been issued continually for 25 years, someone decided that it was just time for a change, but there was no money budgeted to allow for any significant change.
- Should the replate continue, the color change will provide a visual breaking point at some point in the future, when all blue number plates would be obsolete and only red number plates would be valid.
- Those motorists who were the among the first to get blue number First in Flight plates will now be among the first to get red number plates.
- With the approaching issuance of plate ZZZ-9999, a color change along with the replate will provide the option to reissue serial numbers that had been previously issued on blue character plates, but which by then will be gone from the road.
2008 - white on blue sticker - natural serial range from upper WTF-1000 series to X series 2009 - white on purple sticker - natural serial range from X series to ???
Other related pages on this site
A Pictorial History of Maryland Passenger Car Plates, 1954 to Present
A Pictorial History of Pennsylvania Passenger Car Plates, 1958 to Present
North Carolina passenger car plates elsewhere on the web15q.net - North Carolina page by David Nicholson
The Plate Shack - North Carolina section by Marc Welby
The Plate Shack Y2K+ License Plates - North Carolina page by Mike Sells
ncplates by Richard Baucom
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