Download California History License Plates
1) Check The License Plate for Free 2) Full License Plate Records Free. Search Any License Plate Using Our Free License Plate Search Service.
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 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 (clicking on the images will bring up more vintage California tags).
From 1942 to 1955, California Issued Metal Year Tabs for their License Plates As part of our ongoing series on California license plate history, we thought we’d post pictures of the old metal license plate year tabs that were attached to California plates. Prior to stickers, these small metal tabs were used on the base year plates: 1941, 1945, 1947, and 1951. The only exception was in 1944, when a square windshield sticker was used, to conserve metal during the war. If you need one (or two) of these tabs for the California Year of Manufacture Program (YOM), we have several for sale on our two webstores:,. Most of the old California license plates were made of steel (1970’s and earlier), but we’ve seen a number of 1947, 1956, and 1963 trailer plates that were made of aluminum.
Although the modern-day California license plates are made of aluminum, most of the older plates were made of steel. If you have an older trailer plate, maybe a base plate for 1947, 1956, or 1963, it may be made of aluminum. If you are not sure, you can check with a magnet (if it sticks, it’s steel). If you are applying for the YOM program, and have an authentic vintage California license plate, made of aluminum, some dmv’s may need to check the old manuals (or data sheets) to verify that some of the older plates were made of aluminum.
Below is a picture of a 1947 California trailer license plate, made of aluminum (no rust!). From 1957-1962, California issued a smaller registration sticker for motorcycle license plates. Vintage California motorcycle license plates came in a variety of sizes, generally smaller than the standard automobile license plates.
So when California started using renewal stickers in 1957, the motorcycle stickers were a little smaller, which fit better on the smaller plates. We have a couple of NOS 1960 and a 1962 registration stickers, these are both 1-1/2″ by 1″ – you can click on the images to go to our webstores. The California Year of Manufacture program allows commercial vehicles 1972 and older to apply for YOM registration with old California commercial license plates: this includes the Ranchero, El Camino, and pickups. Please note: vintage California commercial license plates have a different configuration than passenger plates, and can be a little harder to find. They also might be in rougher condition, as commercial vehicles were often used as work trucks. You’ll need a matching pair of “clear” plates, and an old California sticker that matches the model year of your vehicle: 1956-1962 commercial vehicle: you’ll need a clear pair of the vintage YELLOW California commercial license plates, and a year sticker.
1963-1969 commercial vehicle: you’ll need a matching pair of the old BLACK California commercial license plates, and a year sticker. 1970-1972 commercial vehicle: you’ll need a matching pair of the 6-CHARACTER BLUE California commercial license plates (and a year sticker), though you may want to check with your local dmv to see if you can use the vintage black plates for these years. Looking for an authentic old California license plate sticker for your Year of Manufacture plates?
If the dmv said you needed an old year sticker (sometimes called a registration decal) for your California YOM license plates, and you weren’t sure where to start looking, we have them! We have years 1957 to 1969 for passenger cars, and 1957 to 1972 for commercial vehicles (metal year tabs were used prior to 1956 – we have those, too). These authentic old year stickers ranging from fair to mint condition, with pictures and descriptions of each one, are listed on our two webstores. We mail each one in a small USPS priority mail box, well-packed with bubble wrap, for safe shipping. We are able to list stickers by year on this webstore. Stickers are arranged in random order by Ruby Lane (we wish there was an option to list them by year). After you get to our Ruby Lane webstore, you may want to use the store search bar to see all of the stickers we have of a specific year (i.e.
“1967 sticker”), as we usually try to have at least three of each year. Pictures of California license plate stickers and decals, 1957 to 1962: Pictures of California license plate stickers & decals, 1964 to 1972.
The popular black California license plates, issued from 1963 to 1969, almost always had the year ’63 (or just 63) stamped into the upper right sticker well, as that was the base-year plate. But you may have seen some without the 63 showing. We think this is an interesting piece of California license plate history – really, we do! What we think happened: since many of the passenger license plates starting with the letters Y and Z were done at the end of the manufacturing run, the debosser was worn so thin by that time, that the stamp just didn’t show up. We’ve also seen several trailer and commercial license plates without the 63 showing.
California History Timeline
This may cause a little concern at some dmv’s if you are applying for Year of Manufacture registration (YOM). If that happens, we’ve heard there is a “No-63” procedure for plates that are missing the 63 stamp.
History License Plates
Early California History
If your California dmv has that information, it could help get your YOM license plates approved. Sometimes, if you look on the back of the plate, you can see a very light 63 indentation on the back of the sticker well. Old California trailer license plates can also be tricky with the YOM registration program, as some were made of aluminum (no rust!), instead of steel. This piece of information is contained in some of the old dmv California Special Plates literature, in section 4.700, Year of Manufacture Plates. Here are a few pictures of black California plates we’ve come across that do not have the 63 showing in the upper right sticker well.